Carol Steam, Ill. — The latest album from U2 entitled Songs of Experience is expected to top the Billboard 200 chart for the week of December 23, 2017. This is no surprise, given the Irish rock band’s history of producing No. 1 albums: already, the group boasts seven No. 1 albums to its credit. What is surprising is the special shout-out in the liner notes to The Message Bible.
Lead singer and activist Bono has been a fan of Eugene Peterson’s Bible paraphrase The Message for nearly twenty years. Now, in the liner notes, Bono shares with his audience how Peterson’s translation of Psalm 100 resonates with him: “In The Message . . . I read Psalm 100: ‘Enter with the password: “Thank You!” Make yourselves at home.’”
Bono has enthusiastically endorsed The Message on many occasions, stating, “It has been a great strength to me. . . . [Eugene Peterson has] brought the text back to the tone in which the books were written.”[1] In his foreword to The Message 100, Bono recalls, “I discovered Eugene Peterson’s The Message through the Psalms. In the dressing room before a show, we would read them as a band.” In 2016, Bono and Peterson met to discuss their love of the Psalms in a short film called, “The Psalms.”
During a videotaped testimonial celebrating The Message’s publication, Bono explained that as a songwriter, it was very clear to him that Peterson is “a poet as well as a scholar.” The singer expressed appreciation to Peterson for the artistry and conversational tone of his translation of Scripture, saying:
“You brought the musicality to God’s Word that I’m sure was there, was always there in intention. There have been some great translations, some very literary translations, but no translations that I’ve read that speaks to me in my own language. So I want to thank you for that.”
For more information about The Message, visit NavPress.com.
The NavPress mission is to advance the calling of The Navigators by bringing biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical products to people who want to know and love Christ more deeply. Through The Message Bible and other insightful resources, NavPress seeks to bring positive spiritual movement to peoples’ lives. In January 2014, NavPress entered into an alliance with Tyndale House Publishers to strengthen and better position NavPress and its rich content for the future. NavPress provides books and other content that bring spiritual impact, life transformation, and help lead in the mission of making disciples.
[1] “Eugene Peterson: U2 Connections,” @U2, https://www.atu2.com/news/connections/peterson/
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