I would strongly advise all to stay away from the message.
It is no translation, but a currupt post-modern interpretation.
I beseach you, find another version of the Bible; the Message is no Bible at all.
There are many good, easy to understand
literal translations of the Bible available. I would reccommend the New American Standard.
A good example of the falsehood of the Message would be in how it rewrites men and womens roles.
Where the Bible says:
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
The Message says:
Wives must not disrupt worship, talking when they should be listening.
Where the Bible says:
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
The Message says:
In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God.Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. Worse, she dishonors herself--an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their "heads" to the Head: God.
Another place to veiw the errors of the Message would be Romans 8.
While the Bible says:
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
The Message says:
God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.
Now I know most of you may agree with the interpretation of the Message, but your own reason must tell you that this is wrong! It is wrong to publish personal interpretation as the Word of God! It is dangerous to read such.
Is this not adding and taking away from Scripture?
True, they may be subtle changes, but remember that Satan is subtle.
By the way, I am not at all a KJV only. I like to use many translations in my study, but I quoted from the KJV because I am most famaliar with it.