Lifeway Ready to Drop Eugene Peterson Titles After Same-Sex Marriage Comments

LifeWay Christian Stores is ready to stop the sale of Eugene Peterson’s works as soon as the nation’s largest Christian retailer can confirm his position on same-sex marriage.

“LifeWay only carries resources in our stores by authors who hold to the biblical view of marriage,” a spokesperson for LifeWay, a Southern Baptist affiliate, said in a statement to Christianity Today.

Peterson is the man behind The Message translation of the Bible as well as dozens of other titles including A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society, The Pastor: A Memoir and Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best.

“We are attempting to confirm with Eugene Peterson or his representatives that his recent interview on same-sex marriage accurately reflects his views. If he confirms he does not hold to a biblical view of marriage, LifeWay will no longer sell any resources by him, including The Message.”

The 84-year-old Peterson announced he revised his view on same-sex marriage in an interview with Religion News Service’s Jonathan Merritt.

“I wouldn’t have said this 20 years ago, but now I know a lot of people who are gay and lesbian, and they seem to have as good a spiritual life as I do. I think that kind of debate about lesbians and gays might be over. People who disapprove of it, they’ll probably just go to another church. So we’re in a transition, and I think it’s a transition for the best, for the good. I don’t think it’s something that you can parade, but it’s not a right or wrong thing as far as I’m concerned,” Peterson says.

The Christian resource center also halted sales of evangelical Jen Hatmaker’s books after she made similar statements.

“In a recent interview, [Hatmaker] voiced significant changes in her theology of human sexuality and the meaning and definition of marriage—changes which contradict LifeWay’s doctrinal guidelines,” LifeWay spokesman Marty King said in October 2016. “As a result, LifeWay has discontinued selling her resources.” {eoa}