I really do appreciate your point of view, but I just can't share it with you. I guess it comes down to a basic difference in pedagogy. I don't believe in telling children (whether we're talking about actual children or children in Christ) anything that is not true as it is said. True, a person can't handle the whole truth all at once, but what is given should be true and accurate. The Message is full of personal opinions which are undifferentiated from the translated bits, and this can lead people astray.

I can see that yes, if people are looking for an easy read, or a fresh one, but take the contents with a grain of salt, understanding that what they are reading is not the Word of God, but a person's impression about the Word, then the likelihood of harm is low. But it seems to me that something purporting to be a Bible shouldn't be written so as to ask it's readers not to take it too seriously.

In Christ,