Bible Translations and Converts/Reverts

  • Thread starter Thread starter jurist12
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jurist12

Guest
First off let me start by saying that I am a Revert to the Catholic Church to the point that I can also say I am in many ways a Convert also. When I left the Church I really knew little of my Catholic Faith.I became an Evangelical Protestant and in the last 5 years read myself back. I was received back into the Church recently. What I find disappointing in many ways is the lack of good Catholic Bibles. Since I was not really into the King James Version the Douay-Rheims Challoner Version is not for me either. The New American Bible to me is the same as the New International Version which I did not particularly like either. Out of default I have been using the Revised Standard Version and the New Revised Standard Version for lack of anything better in a Catholic Version. When I was an Evangelical the RSV and NRSV were for me a bit better than the NIV and the New Living Translation, but definitely not my 1st choice. As an Evangelical my first choice was the New American Standard Version and the English Standard Version. Neither one of these are available with the Deutero-Canonical books nor do the publishers intend to publish the NASB or ESV in a Catholic Edition. So other Evangelical converts like me are faced with two choices; 1. Use the RSV and/or NRSV as our main Bible for daily use, even though they may be inferior to the NASB and ESV or 2. Continue to use our NASB and ESV translations which are better translations than the RSV and NRSV in spite of the fact that they do not have the Deutero-Canonical books. I feel that this is an important issue for the Catholic Apologetics community. If we mean to bring Evangelical converts to the fullness of truth then we must offer them equal or better Bible Translations to show them that the Catholic Church takes the Scriptures seriously.
I suppose the question I need to ask is; Can I continue to use my NASB and ESV as my main Bibles for serious Bible studies as a Catholic or just be content with the RSV? Thank You all for your answers and advice. In Christ, jurist12
 
Check out Catholic Answer’s Bible Translation Guide

Just about any translation is acceptable, but it helps to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each. Like it says in the article: So, which Bible is the best? Perhaps the best answer is this: The one you’ll read.

Scott
 
Hi, all. I am currently in RCIA and read the NASB. I also have the catholic New American bible and about 12 other versions including the greek and hebrew. I love the NASB and have no plans to give it up. But I do enjoy laying translations side by side just to get the flavor of the verse in another translation. Thanks
 
I use The Catholic Living Bible. It was published in 1971, no inclusive language, and I really like the translation.
 
I think that there is nothing intrinsically wrong with a Catholic using a non-Catholic translation (if one is aware that some translations like the NIV have certain Protestant biases). One would have to allow that there would be certain inconveniences to doing so, like being the only one in your Bible study group having the “odd” translation, or using Catholic resources (studies and devotionals and the like) that use a translation different than yours.

Having said that, I think it is somewhat unrealistic to expect that Catholic publishers would provide Catholic versions and materials of basically Protestant resources when, compared to Protestants, there has been such a dearth of good Catholic Bible materials as it is (although it is getting better). Another thing to remember is that one of the four “marks” of the Catholic Church is that it is ONE, while protestantism, if it can be described as a single entity, thrives on constant mutation–multiplication by division, if you will. The more Bible versions the merrier, whatever one’s preference. The extreme example of this is the “King James Onlyists” who will leave a denomination over it’s use of any other version.
If we mean to bring Evangelical converts to the fullness of truth then we must offer them equal or better Bible Translations to show them that the Catholic Church takes the Scriptures seriously.
Click to expand...
I have spoken to many converts to Catholicism and read untold numbers of conversion stories. I have never seen this cited as an obstruction to conversion. And the whole issue of “better” translations is solidly in the eyes of the beholder. Me, I like the RSV-CE. 🙂
 
jurist12,
I too am a convert from evangelicalism (PCA denomination). My Bible of choice was the New King James Version. I was by no means a hard core “Textus Receptus” but I very much leaned in that direction.

I too have lamented over the state of Catholic Bibles. After about a year of ringing my hands over this I’ve decided I will use the Confraternity Bible (out of print but findable - it was the last update to the DR and the last pre-Vatican II Bible) and the RSV-CE.

I have seven kids (ages 2 - 17) and I want them to get use to having a Catholic Bible in the house. Because of that I decided to stick with Catholic bibles although I have 7-8 translations in the house. I’ve given RSV-CE’s to my two older boys and as the others get older they will get the same.

I still refer to my old NKJV Geneva Study Bible but I’ve adopted the RSV-CE (with it’s flaws). Overall it is a solid translation that has the beauty of the KJV. The Confraternity gives me a Bible that is very close to the Textus-Receptus but the spelling of OT names and places throws me back into my RSV-CE bible.
 
The RSV is the closest to the Greek. Get the Catholic Edition, available through Ignatius Press. Do NOT get the NRSV.
 
I too am aslo a retread/revert. I found that to do Scripture study more then one version is needed. Each version has pro’s and con’s. I mostly study from the NAB but I also have the AKJV, KJV, NIV, Mormon version of the KJV, etc… It helps to see how different versions read and what they say. It also becomes clear that some editors write Scripture to fit theological opinions rather then to be accurate to the true text. Be very leary of some protestant versions due to bias overiding accuracy.

Good sources for Bibles online:

newadvent.org/bible/

biblegateway.com

I hope this helps.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top