Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
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 a nourishing entree into the formative, life-changing art of spiritual reading.
This is a Logos Reader Edition. Learn more.
- Challenges believers to read the Scriptures on their own terms, and to live them as we read
- Suggests an alternative approach to the trend toward subjective personal interpretation of the Bible
- Offers fascinating insights on the nature of language, the ancient practice of lectio divina, and the role of translations, including The Message
I. Eat This Book
- The Holy Family at Table with Holy Scripture
- Scripture As Text: Learning What God Reveals
- Scripture As Form: Following the Way of Jesus
- Scripture As Script: Playing Our Part in the Spirit
II. Lectio Divina
- Caveat Lector
- "Ears Thou Hast Dug for Me"
III. The Company of Translators
- God's Secretaries
- The Message
Deep, stirring, luminous, even profound — if you are going to read one book about reading Scripture, it should be this one.
Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God and Real Sex
"Eugene Peterson has written a magnificent book about how to read the Bible. As any editor would say, a book must 'show,' not just 'tell.' Peterson's book does exactly that. The book itself has a biblical quality to it. Peterson uses vivid language; he tells and then reflects on wonderful stories; he invites readers to read their own stories in light of the story. This book is the fruit of decades of reading, pondering, conversing about, praying over, and living this story. Peterson encourages us to read the Bible as if we were dogs gnawing on a bone. Eat This Book made me lick my chops.
Gerald Sittser, author of A Grace Disguised
Peterson explores the ancient discipline of lectio divina and how its elements of reading, meditating, praying, and living can help us receive Scripture as 'formative for the way we live our lives, not merely making an impression on our minds or feelings. ' . . . Recommended."
Church & Synagogue Libraries
- Title: Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading
- Author: Eugene H. Peterson
- Publisher: Eerdmans
- Print Publication Date: 2009
- Logos Release Date: 2022
- Pages: 186
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- Subjects: Bible › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Christian life › Biblical teaching
- ISBNs: 9780802864901, 0802864902
- Resource ID: LLS:EATTHISBOOK
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:32:26Z
Eugene H. Peterson (1932–2018) was a pastor, scholar, author, and poet. He wrote more than thirty books, including his widely acclaimed paraphrase of the Bible, The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, his memoir, The Pastor, and numerous works of biblical spiritual formation, including Run with the Horses, also available in a commemorative edition. Peterson was founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland, where he served for twenty-nine years before retiring in 1991. With degrees from Seattle Pacific, New York Theological Seminary, and Johns Hopkins University, he served as professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, until retiring in Lakeside, Montana, in 2006.
Reviews
1 rating
Steve sanders
12/30/2025
Promising Start, Didn't Work for Me (Though Many Love It) Peterson opens with a brilliant linguistic insight: the Hebrew word hagah means both "to meditate" and "to growl" - like a dog possessively devouring a bone. This image of aggressively engaging with Scripture, of being "lost in" the text like Baron von Hügel's "slowly dissolving lozenge," immediately caught my attention. Peterson's critique of modern spirituality - people wanting "revival for the soul" without serious engagement with Scripture - is spot-on and desperately needed. Unfortunately, that's where my enthusiasm ends. Important caveat: This book has outstanding reviews from many thoughtful readers, so my experience may not be typical. Perhaps something just isn't landing well with me that resonates deeply with others. By chapter 3, I had to put this book down. Peterson promises "a conversation in the art of spiritual reading" but delivers something quite different: extended sections on church history, canon development, and trinitarian theology. That wouldn't be problematic except his historical claims troubled me significantly. For example, he states that early Christians were "handed, ready-made, a Bible" (the Old Testament). This oversimplifies a complex reality - the Hebrew canon wasn't fully settled, and physical access to scrolls was extremely limited. He suggests Paul's letters and the Gospels were quickly recognized as Scripture, when canon recognition actually took centuries of debate and church councils. He even speculates that Mark's "slim book" seemed unlikely to achieve scriptural status compared to Moses' "massive five volumes" - as if page count mattered in canonical recognition. I tried giving him the benefit of the doubt - perhaps he's a pastor making rhetorical points rather than a historian making factual claims. But when an author this consistently handles historical evidence in ways that trouble me, I lose confidence in following where they lead. Who should read this: Given the many excellent reviews, there's clearly something here that resonates with readers seeking pastoral reflections on contemplative Scripture reading. If historical precision isn't your concern, you may find great value here. Who should skip this: Anyone looking for historically grounded teaching, or anyone who, like me, finds it hard to trust an author's spiritual guidance when their historical framework feels unreliable. I wanted to love this book. Many others have. It just didn't work for me.