Bibles

[March]

I have been reading The Catholic Living Bible, copyrught 1976 by Tyndale Publishers, Inc. It is paraphrased. Nihil Obstat Rev. Lawrence A. Gollner, Censor Librorum. Imprimatur: Leo A. Pursley, Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, January 9, 1976.

Is this bible approved by the Catholic church?

March

 

[GEddie]

If it has Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, then you have answered your own question.

You should be aware however that the Living Bible is not a literal translation but a modern paraphrase. As such, you should use an older version, such as the Jerusalem or New American versions, for comparative reference.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.

 

[Rocks_91]

Since it has a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, that means that it has been reviewed by the bishops named and found to be free from doctrinal and moral error. So, yes, it is perfectly fine to read it!

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

A little ironic that the publisher is Tyndale Publishing.

God bless

 

[Joe_5859]

I would not recommend “The Living Bible” as a translation for Catholics to use. Simply because it bears the nihil obstat and imprimatur doesn’t make it an officially approved Catholic translation. It simply means that the Censor Librorum from the diocese the book was published or written in did not find anything that contradicts the Catholic faith in his estimation, and the bishop at that time trusted him enough to grant the imprimatur.

I would first look to the translations that are approved for liturgical use: the RSV, the NAB, and (I believe) the Jerusalem Bible and Douay-Rheims.

Yes, I am biased against this translation. I don’t like it.

 

[Irish_Polock]

If it has Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, then you have answered your own question.

You should be aware however that the Living Bible is not a literal translation but a modern paraphrase. As such, you should use an older version, such as the Jerusalem or New American versions, for comparative reference.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA.

The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur only address the question in concerns to the local Bishops. The Church - as a whole - might disagree.

 

[Verbum]

Hi there,

That’s about as approved as it gets! It means that the diocesan censor has found nothing in it that goes against faith or morals. It does not mean that this is a good or bad translation. The Church has never approved the quality of a translation . The farthest it got was when the Council of Trent stated that "the old and vulgate edition, which, by the lengthened usage of so many years, has been approved of in the Church, be, in public lectures, disputations, sermons and expositions, held as authentic; and that no one is to dare, or presume to reject it under any pretext whatever. This means that, when it is quoted, you cannot refute it under the pretext, for example, that the translation is wrong. This statement says nothing about the quality of the translation or even of the value of the original manuscripts from which it was done.

Verbum