Editor Reviews:

Book Description:
Eugene Peterson is convinced that the way we read the Bible is as important as that we read it. Do we read the Bible for information about God and salvation, for principles and "truths" that we can use to live better? Or do we read it in order to listen to God and respond in prayer and obedience?

The second part of Peterson’s momentous five-volume work on spiritual theology, Eat This Book challenges us to read the Scriptures on their own terms, as God’s revelation, and to live them as we read them. With warmth and wisdom Peterson offers greatly needed, down-to-earth counsel on spiritual reading. In these pages he draws readers into a fascinating conversation on the nature of language, the ancient practice of lectio divina, and the role of Scripture translations; included here is the "inside story" behind Peterson’s own popular Bible translation, The Message.

Countering the widespread practice of using the Bible for self-serving purposes, Peterson here serves readers with a nourishing entrée into the formative, life-changing art of spiritual reading.

Study Guide available.

Rating : - Reading Scripture is much more than you ever imagined!
A fascinating read - very encouraging and challenging. Peterson is the author of The Message, a contemporary translation of God's Word which many have praised for its insight and depth. In this book, Peterson examines the way that Christians approach reading Scripture and basically says that most read God's Word incorrectly. According to the Book of Revelation, Peterson says that we are to eat God's Word, to digest it, to allow it to enter our very being. He claims that even the way that the Bible is written is as important as what is written in the Bible - again, that the comprehensive manner of Scripture lends itself to a comprehensive digestion of the whole, as opposed to reading bits and pieces or taking smaller chucks of the larger whole. Like a novel or a movie, the Bible is written in such a manner to communicate a story that taken in small bites as verses or chapters misses the forest for the trees. Peterson also says that Christians shouldn't just read Scripture, they should assimilate it into their very lives - God's truth should emanate forth from their lives, in their decisions, by their actions and countenance. As Christ has described Himself as the Bread of Life and has declared that men should not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God - Peterson uses this concept to further reinforce his premise that Scripture is the very nutritional sustenance necessary for daily living. Without God's Word we are anemic and frail, with it we are energized and empowered.

Eat This Book is not an easy read - not as easy as Peterson's The Message translation. He dives into some deep issues in this book including the four elements of reading - lectio, meditation, oratio, and comtemplatio. The information is powerful and very challenging and I would suggest this book for any serious, or wanting-to-be-more serious, student of Scripture.