Eugene H. Peterson Books In Order

Publication Order of A Year of Daily Prayers Books

Publication Order of The Pastoral Books

Publication Order of Spiritual Theology Books

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of My First Message Books

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Eugene H. Peterson Coloring Books

Publication Order of Christian Basics Bible Studies Books

Publication Order of Design for Discipleship Books

Publication Order of Growing Deeper Books

Publication Order of Growing in Christ Books

Publication Order of Lifechange Books

Publication Order of Redefining Life Books

Publication Order of Studies in Christian Living Books

Publication Order of Westminster Bible Companion Books

Publication Order of Poiema Poetry Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Recommendations

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Eugene H. Peterson was an American religion and spirituality author with over 30 books under his name. He was born in Stanwood, Washington, and raised in Kalispell, Montana. He attended Seattle Pacific University, where he graduated with a degree in philosophy, a degree in theology from New York Theological Seminary, and Semitic languages master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. Peterson is famously known for his book The Message, in which he claimed the initial goal was to make the story’s original meaning understandable and accessible to the 21st-century reader. He retired from public life in 2017, immediately after publishing his last book, As Kingfishers Catch Fire. It was the same time when the same-sex controversy about him was brought into the limelight. Peterson died in October 2018 from congestive heart failure-related complications.

There have been many controversies regarding Eugene Peterson’s remarks on homosexuality in relation to his book, The Message. However, it’s important to note that The Message isn’t a translation and should never be used as your primary Bible at any given time. But as a free paraphrase, the book is powerful and brilliant. The readers get a glimpse of The Message’s pros and cons by examining how Dr. Peterson treated several key verses related to homosexual practice. This is a great place to start, given the controversy surrounding the author.
For example, the ESV states, “you shall not have a male as a woman as it’s an abomination.” The Message states, “Do not have sex with a man as one does with a woman. That’s despicable.” Examining clearly, it’s evident that Peterson made sure that the paraphrase was close to the original. Eugene Peterson’s books aimed to use a modern language to help people better understand the message of the bible. The book uses the fact that the New Testament was initially written using the common language of the day and not in the ordinary language of historical documents and government decrees. The book is intended to be expressive without patronizing, condescending, or being biased. As mentioned earlier, this is not a full bible. However, grab an original ESV copy if you’re looking for a complete bible in the contemporary language.

Published in 1983, Run with the Horses is a book that examines Jeremiah’s book and how to live a life that has meaning. The author requests the readers to be people who are conscious of participating in God’s doing and saying, and to be people who are most human and alive. It’s quite refreshing for a book to set such a positive goal in the first pages. The author gives the readers a clear path of Christ’s disciple by encouraging people to live selflessly, grow in excellence, lose themselves, and find the self. Peterson further highlights the life of faith along the lines of the prophet Jeremiah. He presents faith as tangible and emphasizes God’s love for each and every one of us.

As a seasoned pastor and Biblical student, Peterson guides us back to the identity issue. Who is prophet Jeremiah? The name captures the essence of the individual’s life. We should not let our responsibilities or accomplishments define us. Before understanding how we might achieve, we must first become familiar with our names. Peterson says that Jeremiah’s name is closely associated with God. In other words, the call of Jeremiah is to the LORD. The closer Jeremiah gets to God, the more he realizes his potential.
There are justifications for this. First, God created man, indicating He is aware of our intended purpose. Second, God is aware of the limits of humans. Learning to view the world from God’s viewpoint entails increasing awareness of one’s limitations. Peterson goes on to assert that our connection to God is not an “add-on” to knowing who we are but rather the fundamental nature of who we are. Jeremiah’s calling and mission are inextricably intertwined with his self-understanding. How could he choose his mission without knowing his identity? How could someone achieve excellence without knowing his purpose? As a skilled wordsmith, Peterson responds simultaneously to all three. In addition, he fluidly transitions between the Old Testament account of Jeremiah and our contemporary cultural circumstances to demonstrate how important Jeremiah’s life is and how much we can gain knowledge to be counter-cultural to our times.

Peterson is unreserved in his criticism of the culture of luxury and arrogance. People are trapped in a tragedy of substandard existence, described in his first chapter. This is the greatest obstacle to our progress toward perfection. Frequently, he uses oneself to convince himself that he is also susceptible to the pitfalls he cautions the readers about. In the chapter on the potter’s house, he contrasts and compares the two views of pottery and portraiture. The world frequently utilizes ceramics and portraiture for their usefulness, ignoring their inherent beauty and nature.

This reminds the reader how the world has become obsessed with the inexpensiveness and practicality. When this occurs, we only perceive items as means to an aim rather than learning to appreciate them for what they are. We are gently reminded that the way we treat objects may have an impact on the way we treat people.

The Contemplative Pastor is a book beneficial for any clergyman who needs and desires a return to basics. Well-known as “a pastor’s pastor,” Eugene Peterson gives words of wisdom and encouragement to pastors busy preaching, instructing, and “running the church.” In The Contemplative Pastor, Peterson first emphasizes the often-overlooked fundamentals of ministry by refining the term “pastor” with three enhancing adjectives: subversive, unbusy, and apocalyptic. The majority of the book is devoted to pastoral ministry and spiritual guidance “between Sundays”; the chapters in this section begin with lyrical reflections on the Beatitudes and go on to cover topics like healing souls, the language of prayer, praying with eyes open, the ministry of small conversation, and sabbatical, all while using interesting, instructive examples from Peterson’s own life. The collection concludes with numerous profound poetry that revolves around the incarnation, the theology most closely associated with pastoral service.