Eugene H. Peterson

Eugene H. Peterson (2009)

Eugene H. Peterson (born November 6, 1932 in East Stanwood , Washington - † October 22, 2018 ) was an American Presbyterian pastor, linguist, Bible translator of The Message , author, poet, philosopher, and was Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver .

Life

Peterson grew up as the son of a butcher and a Pentecostal pastor in Kalispell , western Montana . He studied philosophy at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle , Washington , where he also received his bachelor's degree. He continued his studies at the Theological Seminary New York in New York continued, and his Master of Arts in Semitic languages he received from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore .

In 1962, as a young pastor, Peterson founded the Christ Our King Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Bel Air , a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland , where he served as senior pastor for 29 years until 1991. He then became Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia , until his retirement in 2006.

After retiring, he and his wife lived near Glacier National Park in western rural Montana.

Teaching

Peterson was a creative Bible teacher, linguistically gifted preacher, nonconformist pastor, and self-critical leader in the United States. He complained that many pastors and church leaders hardly take time for silence, reflection and prayer because their lives are too overloaded. So he began to enter encounters with Karl Barth , Jean Calvin , Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Sören Kierkegaard in his agenda , which simply meant undisturbed reading times. He advised everyone to be demanding in their reading and to choose the most competent authors. An extended vacation in the mountains of Montana for his family and for his sermon preparations was also important to him. He was looking for a spiritual guide and colleague for a professional exchange. Pastors should treat their parishes like patient farmers who till their fields, not like rigorous urban planners who are shaped by feasibility and technocracy. People need conversations without pressure and agitation. God come into the unholy world in Jesus Christ and patiently care for sinners and sick people.

Works

His main work: The Message

Peterson is best known for The Message , his translation of the Bible into contemporary language. As a linguist he had noticed that the vitality and directness of the biblical texts had been neglected up to now. That is why he tried to translate the rhythms and conciseness of the texts from the original languages ​​directly into English. In addition, he put himself in the position of the writers of the Bible in such a way that his sentences would sound as they would have sounded at the time for the letter recipients, who were often completely affected, captivated and moved.

In 1990 the publisher asked him for this translation, in 1993 the New Testament was published by NavPress , and in 2003 the whole Bible .

• The message. The New Testament in Contemporary Language. NavPress, 1993. ISBN 978-0-913-36740-7 ( full Bible in English only from 2003)

Other works

In addition to translating the Bible, Peterson has written many works on the spiritual life. He also took up agricultural references and used them as analogies for the Christian faith. The American farmer, university professor and writer Wendell Berry inspired and strengthened him.

Published in English (selection):

• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society , Intervarsity Press, Chicago 1980, ISBN 978-0-8308-2257-7
• Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best , Intervarsity Press, Chicago 1983, ISBN 978-0-8308-3706-9
• Working the angles. The Shape of Pastoral Integrity , Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 1987, ISBN 978-0-8028-0265-1
• Answering God: Psalms as Tools for Prayer , Harper Collins 1989, ISBN 978-0-0606-6512-8
• The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction , Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 1989, ISBN 978-0-8028-0114-2
• The Gift: Reflections of Christian Ministry , Harper Collins 1989
• Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places. A Conversation in Spiritual Theology , Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 1999, ISBN 978-0-8028-6297-6
• Eat this book , Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2006, ISBN 978-0-8028-6490-1 or ISBN 978-0-3409-5489-8
• The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way , Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2007, ISBN 978-0-8028-6703-2
• The Pastor: A Memoir , Harper Collins 2011, ISBN 978-0-0619-8821-9

Only a few works have been translated into German:

• The lost shepherd. How God leads spiritual leaders out of the desert, R. Brockhaus , Wuppertal 2000. ISBN 978-3-417-24426-7
• Whoever seeks heaven must love the earth. Finding God in Everyday Life, Brunnen , Gießen 2002. ISBN 978-3-765-51818-8
• Run with the horses. Temptations to a passionate life, Brunnen, Gießen 2003. ISBN 978-3-765-51827-0
• The soul goes on foot. Faith in an accelerated world, Brunnen, Gießen 2006. ISBN 978-3-765-51361-9
• Take and eat ... The Bible as food, Neufeld , Schwarzenfeld 2014. ISBN 978-3-862-56045-5

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Eugene Peterson Has Died at the Age of 85. relevantmagazine.com, October 22, 2018, accessed October 22, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Eugene H. Peterson on the cathleenfalsani.com home page  
3. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from April 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Eugene H. Peterson at www.ag.org 
4. ^ [1] Eugene Peterson on the homepage www.pbs.org
5. ↑ Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove: Eugene Peterson: A Pastor's Journey. The memoirist reads the text of his life, and addresses the parlous state of the pastoral calling . CT March 18, 2011
6. ↑ Thomas Härry : Ich und Eugene Peterson, AufAtmen 1, Witten 2017, pages 64-67
7. ↑ Why I love The Message so much. Fascination with the Bible. Witten 2/2015, pages 38-41
8. ^ [2] Author details at www.newreleasetuesday.com
9. ↑ Thomas Härry : Wendell Berry and me. Cultivating life: How an American farmer and activist awakened buried primal sounds in me. AufAtmen, Bundes-Verlag Witten 2/2014