Catholics who read Protestant Bibles

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I don’t think reading a Protestant translation of the Bible will give you particularly Protestant ideas, even if the Bible is missing some books. I would question why this friend doesn’t have a Catholic one. Any Protestant ideas likely come from family members.
 
I don’t think reading a Protestant translation of the Bible will give you particularly Protestant ideas, even if the Bible is missing some books. I would question why this friend doesn’t have a Catholic one. Any Protestant ideas likely come from family members.
In one sense, yes. But there’s still the fact that translating something is itself an act of interpretation.
 
The real difference is in the editorial footnotes. The Protestant bibles often go out of their way to reject the Catholic view of certain passages…
YES.
I was going to say this if nobody else had. 😉

My old trusty Bible that I’ve had for years is a KJV (complete with footnotes about things like why Jesus didn’t drink wine but juice). :rolleyes: The thing is, it is the best Bible I have as far as quality of paper, binding, etc, and it has all my underlinings and notes from many years. I just do not read the footnotes anymore. 😃
 
YES.
I was going to say this if nobody else had. 😉

My old trusty Bible that I’ve had for years is a KJV (complete with footnotes about things like why Jesus didn’t drink wine but juice). :rolleyes: The thing is, it is the best Bible I have as far as quality of paper, binding, etc, and it has all my underlinings and notes from many years. I just do not read the footnotes anymore. 😃
Now you’ve got me curious. Which KJV is that?
 
…Huh. Apparently there’s a new version. 😉

I looked at certain key verses and got these notes:

(Matthew) 16:18 Peter. The Lord is here making a play on words; in the Greek, “Peter” is petros, meaning a small stone, whereas “rock” is petra, meaning a great rock mass, solid and immovable. Even if Jesus was speaking in Aramaic, in which both meanings are expressed simply by Cephas, He was making a distinction between the two (perhaps by gestures) which Matthew picked up and (under divine inspiration) translated by the two different Greek words.

The massive rock foundation on which Christ would build His Church was Peter’s great confession of Jesus as the Creator and the Son of the living God. Peter (representing the twelve and, indeed, all who would make the same confession) would be living stones in the church built on the foundation of such confession (I Peter 2:5; Ephesians 2:19-22).

26:28 my blood. The next verse makes it clear that the liquid in the cup was not actual blood but “the fruit of the vine.” Nevertheless, it became an unforgettable symbol of His shed blood, just as the bread represented His broken body. This last meal of the Lord has, therefore, been commemorated by His followers ever since (I Corinthians 11:23-26). The regular practice of the Lord’s supper, or the Holy Communion, or whatever it may be called by different churches, has thus itself become a perpetual testimony to the authenticity of the Christian faith. There is no way of accounting for the beginning of this universal and unique practice except that Christ Himself commanded it just before He died. It could have been initiated only when this account was first read by the churches, for it has been observed ever since the last supper of Christ. In fact, if it were not already being observed when the written account was first received, the written account would itself have been rejected as false.

26:29 fruit of the vine. It is interesting that the term “wine” is never used at the Lord’s supper. Three times, “fruit of the vine” is used (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Luke 22:18). The word “cup” is used twelve times (Matthew 26:27; Mark 14:23; Luke 22:17,20,20; I Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:25,25,26,27,28. But it is never called “wine.”

(John) 2:10 the good wine. This “good wine” had been miraculously created by the Creator, and was brand new, with no time to ferment and become old, intoxicating wine. The Greek word oinos was used for the juice of grapes in general, the same word for both unfermented and fermented wine, with the context determining which. The decay process, utilizing leaven (always in Scripture representing corruption) to convert good fresh wine into old intoxicating wine, could not have acted in this case, because Christ Himself had created the wine in its originally intended form before sin and decay entered the world. In this form, it was certainly the best wine, having all the health-giving, joy-inspiring character it was created to exhibit in the beginning. It was probably the same wine which Christ will provide in “that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29), and will certainly not induce drunkenness.

(James) 2:18 faith by my works. Genuine faith in Christ for salvation inevitably produces works that demonstrate its reality (note Ephesians 2:8-10). James never says that works produce salvation, nor even that faith plus works can save, but that good works always accompany true saving faith.

2:20 faith without works is dead. Many people have alleged that James was arguing here against Paul’s doctrine of salvation strictly by grace through faith. This idea is clearly wrong, however, because James wrote his epistle before any of Paul’s were written. Actually, there is no conflict between the two. James certainly taught that the works of the law could not save (note James 2:10; 4:17), and Paul taught clearly that genuine faith would produce good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). It is simply a semantic matter of emphasis. Salvation must be of grace, accepted by faith, since no one can earn it, but only God can know the heart and the reality of a profession of faith. But the reality of that faith can only be demonstrated to others by good works.

If there was a facepalm smilie here I’d have used it. 😃
 
I am familiar with all the translations that have been mentioned on this thread and I know there is no significant difference between the translations. They are basically the same. However, the ESV (English Standard Version) and he NASB (New Americal Standard Bible) stand head and shoulders above the rest. Of course they don’t have the DC books so they could not be said to be complete in the Catholic view.

The real difference is in the editorial footnotes. The Protestant bibles often go out of their way to reject the Catholic view of certain passages and this is probably what Catholics mean when they say to stay clear of Protestant bibles.
I think this might be because people’s reading of the Bible can sometimes be colored by the editorial footnotes and other supplementary material. Not that having those are somehow inherently bad, but sometimes these extra materials, since they claim to ‘speak for’ and ‘interpret’ the Text could become, in the readers’ eyes, Scripture in place of the Scriptures. So you have the phenomenon of people saying “The Bible says…” when in reality, they just got said idea via the footnotes or commentaries or something.
Amen on both of these.

In most “standard” bible translations the effort is to be the most accurate from the most ancient manuscripts available and to give a good rendering into a given vernacular.
For that reason I have found little real difference between Bible translations (with certain exceptions as others have noted like the GNB - yuck…)
The real difference is going to be in:
a) The attendant footnotes and
b) Who you are reading and discussing the bible with…

Peace
James
 
…If there was a facepalm smilie here I’d have used it. 😃
Yeah, I know. Nothing like twisting scripture, huh? Hee hee. 😃

Oh, well, reading all that stuff did not prevent me from becoming Catholic. I just kept on keeping on where Jesus led me. Actually, the stuff about the wine (I didn’t know enough to wonder about the Blood) kind of niggled at the back of my mind… maybe it was part of what made me doubt Protestant theology and be open to really seeking the truth.
 
I like the ESV translation. I have not seen a single complaint - Protestant or Catholic - pointing to an inaccurate translation in it.
.
Back to 1 John, twice the word hilasmos is used. All the Catholic bibles I know of translate that word expiation. The ESV translates the word propitiation. There is a difference in meaning.

So now you have seen one complaint. However, reading in parallel, the RSV and ESV are quite similar.
 
Yeah, I know. Nothing like twisting scripture, huh? Hee hee. 😃

Oh, well, reading all that stuff did not prevent me from becoming Catholic. I just kept on keeping on where Jesus led me. Actually, the stuff about the wine (I didn’t know enough to wonder about the Blood) kind of niggled at the back of my mind… maybe it was part of what made me doubt Protestant theology and be open to really seeking the truth.
For some odd reason though there did not seem to be any commentary for John 6. To be honest I was a bit disappointed. 😛
 
I think the question becomes if this is a Protestant Student Bible with footnotes or simply a translation with little else. It could be the OP’s friend has a well-meaning Protestant family member by a basic KJV for him without thinking it really mattered too much. In general, I find if you read a passage in its entirety without footnotes, there is very little difference.
 
Amen on both of these.

In most “standard” bible translations the effort is to be the most accurate from the most ancient manuscripts available and to give a good rendering into a given vernacular.
For that reason I have found little real difference between Bible translations (with certain exceptions as others have noted like the GNB - yuck…)
The real difference is going to be in:
a) The attendant footnotes and
b) Who you are reading and discussing the bible with…

Peace
James
I think the problem here really is because the so-called dynamic equivalence translations/paraphrases are really “meaning driven” translations. While “formal equivalence” translations’ goal is to translate words or phrases into their closest English counterparts (so for example, Leviticus 18:22 when translated literally: “And with a male you must not lie as one lies with a woman; it is [an] abomination”), functional-equivalence translations attempt to consider the meaning of larger units of speech (again, Leviticus 18:22, this time from the GNB and the Living Bible, respectively: “No man is to have sexual relations with another man; God hates that.” / “Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden, for it is an enormous sin”).

While all translations, even word-for-word ones, depend on some degree of functional equivalencies to render things into understandable English - take, for example, Exodus 32:10: “And now leave me and my nose will burn/flare up in them;” the Hebrew expression of the burning nose is almost always rendered in an abstract way in English as: “Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them” (KJV) - dynamic equivalence translations really go further to the point that they lose any nuances and wordplay or some such thing present in the original. In effect, translators of said versions are really writing something new that is more or less inspired by the original text: it is more of a transcreation than a strict translation. By rendering things in the way they think the text means, they could even rob the ability of being able to read and interpret the text in many other different ways (which could even go at variance with their chosen interpretation): in other words, they’re forcing one way to read the text onto it.
 
I think the question becomes if this is a Protestant Student Bible with footnotes or simply a translation with little else. It could be the OP’s friend has a well-meaning Protestant family member by a basic KJV for him without thinking it really mattered too much. In general, I find if you read a passage in its entirety without footnotes, there is very little difference.
Amen to this…And a very good point…We are far better off when we keep things in context.

Peace
James
 
I forgot about the GNB. I didn’t realize the CEV & NET had Catholic editions.
You don’t think we need a good Catholic Bible in English. The GNB has been given out in Catholic schools for years. Check out this quote

LUKE 1 GNB
46Mary said,
My heart praises the Lord;
47 my soul is glad because of God my Savior,
48 for he has remembered me, his lowly servant!
From now on all people will call me happy,
 
As I have said many times before, the NASB lead me into the Catholic Church because all the Catholic verses were there to read – I only had to open my eyes and see them. I loved the accurate and strained English of the NASB with its italics for any word that did not appear in the original language text. I wish the NASB would acquire the missing seven books and become approved for Catholics. I miss it as my main Bible…

The text of a good Protestant Bible can lead you into the Church but the notes can lead you in the other direction.
 
As I have said many times before, the NASB lead me into the Catholic Church because all the Catholic verses were there to read – I only had to open my eyes and see them. I loved the accurate and strained English of the NASB with its italics for any word that did not appear in the original language text. I wish the NASB would acquire the missing seven books and become approved for Catholics. I miss it as my main Bible…

The text of a good Protestant Bible can lead you into the Church but the notes can lead you in the other direction.
The NASB is sitting here next to me on my computer desk, along with my JB.
 
Same here, it is always within reach, and I still refer to it all the time because I trust it and know where everything is located. I feel funny about using it as my main Bible since it is not approved and is missing those seven books.

So I’m using the RSV-CE as my main Bible, and it isn’t bad (not as good as the NASB IMO, but not so bad). That version is used (in one form or another) by Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants, but as I admitted in another thread, I never used it until I became a Catholic. 🙂
 
I have a catholic friend who has many influential protestant family members/friends. Also, this same catholic friend reads out of a protestant bible instead of a catholic bible. He believes there is no difference and that the protestant and catholic bible are both one in the same, “the bible”.

Searching the internet, it seems opinions vary from one catholic to the next as to why catholics should only read a catholic bible, and why it is okay/not okay for catholics to read primarily from a protestant bible.

There are many opinions my friend has that are very protestant-esque, and I know some of the influences comes from his protestant family, but I’m curious if it also comes from the protestant bible he reads.

In my opinion, I find protestant bibles dangerous since men interpreted specific scripture to fit their personal belief structure.
:confused:
Can you please shed light on this topic? Is it okay for catholics to own a protestant bible if it is the only bible in their house? Thanks for your help!
There is no “Catholic” and “Protestant” Bible. Some Protestant Churches dropped some books from the Canon (and this was not because of the theological content, but rather to do with historical questions).

It is better to get a Bible which includes the Deuterocanonicals (i.e. the books used by Catholics, but not Prots.) But, if one without this is all that is available, then there is no problem in using it.

It pays to get a decent translation- DR, KJV, and JB are the only well written ones, IMO. The Vulgate is best of all, though.

I would strongle advise against Bibles with introductions, footnotes, etc., or if you have them, don’t look at them. These wreck the purity of the reading experience.
 
You don’t think we need a good Catholic Bible in English. The GNB has been given out in Catholic schools for years. Check out this quote

LUKE 1 GNB
46Mary said,
My heart praises the Lord;
47 my soul is glad because of God my Savior,
48 for he has remembered me, his lowly servant!
From now on all people will call me happy,
How deplorable! 😦
I would strongle advise against Bibles with introductions, footnotes, etc., or if you have them, don’t look at them. These wreck the purity of the reading experience.
Unless one has studied Scripture a lot already, the notes and extra information can help provide understanding. I would say, be careful about Protestant notes, and try to get Catholic ones.

I have the Navarre New Testament. It is Catholic and has helpful notes.
This one: amazon.com/The-Navarre-Bible-Testament-Compact/dp/1889334596
 
I have a catholic friend who has many influential protestant family members/friends. Also, this same catholic friend reads out of a protestant bible instead of a catholic bible. He believes there is no difference and that the protestant and catholic bible are both one in the same, “the bible”.

Searching the internet, it seems opinions vary from one catholic to the next as to why catholics should only read a catholic bible, and why it is okay/not okay for catholics to read primarily from a protestant bible.

There are many opinions my friend has that are very protestant-esque, and I know some of the influences comes from his protestant family, but I’m curious if it also comes from the protestant bible he reads.

In my opinion, I find protestant bibles dangerous since men interpreted specific scripture to fit their personal belief structure.
:confused:
Can you please shed light on this topic? Is it okay for catholics to own a protestant bible if it is the only bible in their house? Thanks for your help!
The Vatican settled the issue almost a hundred years ago, by approving Catholics to read non-Catholic Bibles*. This fact is documented in The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (around 1992). Having said that, the best advice is to NOT read non-Catholic bibles that have an anti-Catholic point of view.

An example of just such a non-Catholic Bible with an anti-Catholic point of view is the Ryrie Study Bible (which was a gift to me from some non-Catholic relatives). I still look at it, but it has some typically anti-Catholic comments in it. For example, when it lists errors in or about the Bible, it lists “romanism” – the Catholic Church’s belief and teaching that the bible came out of the Church.

I believe the Catholic Church is right, that the Bible DID come out of the Church. Nothing else makes sense to me.
  • As I recall, TNJBC lists the NIV and the Jewish Publication Society Tanakh as permitted outside reading.
My reasons for reading non-Catholic Bibles are as follows:
  1. I use Strong’s Concordance once in a while, and it is based on the King James Version.
  2. I like to see how other Bibles translate certain verses.
  3. There are useful notes and study aids in the NIV Study Bible.
  4. The Jewish Publication Society Tanakh is rather anti-Christian, often saying so. I have the plain, paperback version, and a version embedded in The Jewish Study Bible (Oxford Press).
    The Catholic Church, in general, rates Jewish Bible study materials as first class, but must be used “with discretion.” (from The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, Pontifical Biblical Commission)
  5. I like the traditional wording in the KJV, e.g Psalm 90.
  6. Reading older versions like the KJV with “thee” and “thou” does not upset me.
 
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