Answer:

The Passion Translation is not really a translation, at least not in the classic sense.  It is more of an interpretation.  It is not done by a university-trained biblical scholar.  It is done by just one person, not by a committee.  It is a paraphrase at best, with hundreds of examples in which the interpreter (I am purposefully using the word interpreter, not translator) adds words to his text which do not correspond to any Greek word in the original.  Depending on how it is billed, this is not necessarily a bad thing.  If the author of the Passion paraphrase had made it plain that this is not really a translation–that it is an interpretation, and the interpretation of one person who has particular biases, then I would not have much of a problem with people using it–as long as they clearly understand it is more of a commentary than a translation.  But, people use it as if it were a translation, when it really is not.

So, if you use this Passion “Translation,” knowing its limitations and trying to glean from it what you can, fine, but that is not how it is being advertised or used, so I have a problem with the way this paraphrase is being marketed and used.  I am not sure it is all that dangerous to Christian faith, to be honest.  Besides, from what I can glean, the person who made this supposed translation is a sincere person, trying to help people to understand the Scriptures. However, I cannot recommend it for general use such as for reading in church or used in order to teach the Bible to people.

By the way, I have very little exposure to this translation, so please take what I say with a grain of salt, but that is the impression I get.

John Oakes