Catholic Study Bible (Saint Mary's Press)

[allthewhile]

iguana27:

So are you saying that St Francis was a heretic? Or that he had heretical writings? I would say that the Catholic Church does not believe that his writings contain heresy, or he would not have been canonized.

Please Quote to me where St. Francis called the earth his mother, and the sky his father. That’s what I was saying was heretical.

 

[allthewhile]

Raymond Brown was hardly orthodox. Not saying that he was wrong on all accounts, just that he and others belong to a very liberal camp within the world of bilbical interpretation. To claim that they and their ilk are the only ones with “good scholarship” is to by into their pathos completely; that’s what many so called scholars, the Jesus Seminar, and the like, would want you to think. I’m not at all putting Father Brown in that camp necessarily, just saying that we need to be more informed and prudent when tyring to understand scripture, and not just falling back on "well they have p.h.d.'s, they must be right.

And I trust the guidance of the church over modern biblical scholarship anyways, which seems to change with the wind.

 

[parishminister]

Fidelis: so you’ve read the Catholic Youth Bible? What was the most objectionable series of articles/devotions you found? I’m just curious since I don’t see it as feminist or “politically correct” in any way. Given that you don’t hold that the Imprimatur means anything, how do you evaluate what’s faithful to our Tradition and what is not? Someone else inferred that we cannot trust the bishops in these matters? Well, that’s not a very hopeful statement for the Church, but if that is truly the case, whom should we trust in evaluating materials for use in parishes, schools, etc.? Since you seem to have put much time into investigating good Bibles for Catholic youth, what alternatives might you suggest to be used in a Junior/Senior high Scripture study? Please share with us working in the trenches of youth ministry the benefit of your experience…if you have a listing of
Bible studies/Bible translations that are age-appropriate I would really like to use it to order resources to review for our programs,
and possibly even recommend to our diocese as a whole.

Peace…

 

[mjdonnelly]

I’m in the process of reading the Catholic Youth Bible and it does project feminist ideas.

Replacing He with Jesus, letters written to brothers and sisters, replacing brothers with people.

If you want I could go look for specific verses for you, but it does it for itself in the footnotes at the bottom of each page by citing other historical references or documents translate as…

BTW, I’m not flaming here.

It is a very easy Bible to read without needing much explanation. I’m trying to determine how well I can use it for my classes since it has already been bought. (unfortunately the NRSV) The teenagers today seem to want the specific facts why they should believe something without trying to argue a certain viewpoint. Or at least that is the way it seems in my confirmation class.

 

[Hananiah]

Imprimaturs and Nihil Obstats are only as good as the bishop who grants them. If bishops gave Imprimaturs during the Arian heresy (which 80% of the bishops embraced) I do not think that orthodox Catholics would accept anything with this episcopal stamp without first comparing it to the Tradtition of the Church. Likewise today. We shouldn’t swallow everything with an Imprimatur as gospel truth, because it could very well be poison. For example the NAB contains a great number of statements contrary to Catholic teaching.

See my study at Catholic Apologetics International:
New American Bible: Is It Good for Catholics?

 

[parishminister]

I guess we are going to have to leave it at agreeing to disagree. I don’t hold the view that inclusive language is feminist and using it doesn’t do anything to pollute the message of the Gospel. Of course, could be the differences in translations as we use the NAB, not NRSV. Other people here hold other views, and I respect that…I respect the teaching authority of our bishops, as well. Best to all here as you continue the discussion.

Peace…

 

[Fidelis]

parishminister:

Fidelis: so you’ve read the Catholic Youth Bible?

If I hadn’t reveiwed it, I would not have said I did.

What was the most objectionable series of articles/devotions you found? I’m just curious since I don’t see it as feminist or “politically correct” in any way.

The previous posters have answered that as well as I could.

Given that you don’t hold that the Imprimatur means anything, how do you evaluate what’s faithful to our Tradition and what is not? Someone else inferred that we cannot trust the bishops in these matters? Well, that’s not a very hopeful statement for the Church, but if that is truly the case, whom should we trust in evaluating materials for use in parishes, schools, etc.?

I didn’t say the Imprimatur didn’t mean anything, I said it didn’t mean as much as it once did and I gave an example of why I thought so.

We should trust what the Church has always taught about the Scriptures and not be deluded into believeing that just because scholarship is touted as new, that it is necessarily better. Old doesn’t always mean better either. Both should be held up to the constant teaching of the Church as found in papal documents and in the Catechism. The only way to do this is through humble and patient study, not by grabbing the latest and the greatest off the shelf, finding an Imprimatur, and hoping for the best. It take a little more effort, but it is worth it.

Since you seem to have put much time into investigating good Bibles for Catholic youth, what alternatives might you suggest to be used in a Junior/Senior high Scripture study? Please share with us working in the trenches of youth ministry the benefit of your experience…if you have a listing of
Bible studies/Bible translations that are age-appropriate I would really like to use it to order resources to review for our programs,
and possibly even recommend to our diocese as a whole.

Since you asked so nicely, I will tell you what has worked well in my experience. I recommend a two track method: first, students need to know what the Church really teaches about the Bible, what erroneous ideas to be on guard against, and some pitfalls to be aware of when reading it.To this end I recommend Beginning Apologetics 7: How To Read The Bible, by San Juan Seminars, available here:

catholicapologetics.com/ba7.htm

The chapters are short and easily at the Jr High level.

In tandem, for weekly classes, students should read and discuss as a group, the Sunday Mass readings. That way they will appreciate God’s Word within the Liturgy and get a sense of the liturgical seasons, while being exposed to a ride variety of readings. For study and group questions, I recommend The Catholic Serendipity Bible, available here:

zondervanbibles.com/031093737X.htm

It is the NAB translation sans the scholarly footnotes that will confuse young students. It provides study and practical application questions for almost every passage in the Bible, as well as additional directed topical studies for youths and other groups.

Hope that helps.