Resources for getting to know the Bible?

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Dulcie

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Could anyone here recommend some solidly Catholic resources for getting to know the Bible? I have just come away from a conversation with an evangelical friend feeling shamefully ignorant of God’s Word… I have downloaded a “read the entire Catholic Bible and Catechism in a year” plan, and am now looking for resources to help with prayerful reflection upon the daily passages. So far my shopping list consists of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible and Scott Hahn’s Ignatius Press Study Bible: New Testament, which seems to get good reviews. The Ignatius OT study Bible doesn’t seem to be out in full yet. I have the Douai-Rheims and Haydock commentary available via the iPieta app, but a) I am looking for books rather than online resources (Haydock is a bit expensive to buy in book form) and b) Haydock seems from a first look rather more like a series of footnotes than the kind of reflective commentary I am hoping to find, though I might be wrong about that.

The type of resource I am looking for would be “traditional” in the sense of being rooted in Scriptural and Church traditions, avoiding any kind of banality or heterodoxy, but ideally would be something fairly accessible, and intended for the intelligent Christian layperson rather than the specialist scholar - so it might be better to start with something produced within the last hundred years or so rather than going straight for something very demanding. I would be very grateful indeed for any recommendations.
 
A noble intention, but throw out the one year reading plan.

The bible is to be prayerfully read, meditated on, used as a source of prayer, to be contemplated, and to be put into action. Merely reading it doesn’t give it the due it deserves.

Likewise, the fruit of understanding provided by the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be more abundant if used as a reference to you scriptural and theological studies instead of tackling it as one would a novel or other literary work.
 
I know you said you weren’t looking for online resources, but Scott Hahn’s salvationhistory.com is a great place to go for Catholic Scripture materials. There are a half dozen studies you can work your way through and loads of articles.

With regards to books, I recommend Scott Hahn’s A Father Who Keeps His Promises and John Bergsma’s Bible Basics for Catholics as two solid, concise, readable overviews of the “big picture” of the story of the Bible.

I think it is important to get the big picture as it provides you with a mental framework in which to connect everything that you learn later. A lot of Catholics know more from the Bible than they realize from going to Mass and hearing it proclaimed every Sunday. They only lack that conceptual framework that connects the dots in a way that makes sense. That’s where books like Hahn’s and Bergsma’s come in handy.

Going a little bit deeper, Scott Hahn has a great book Understanding the Scriptures. It was written to be a high school textbook, but I think it’s great for anyone to dive a bit deeper into the background of the Bible.

As for commentaries, I think the Ignatius Study Bible is a good one to get. Note that it’s technically a “study Bible”, not a commentary. It has extensive footnotes, but won’t go as in depth on certain things as a full blown commentary. So it would be more akin to Haydock in that respect. Another good resource along those lines is the Didache Bible. The footnotes are keyed to the Catechism, which is unique to it (as far as I know). The notes aren’t as extensive as the Ignatius Study Bible, but are still pretty extensive. Unlike the Ignatius, they have the full Bible already available (Ignatius will complete the Old Testament eventually).

For larger commentary sets, the Navarre Bible Commentary series is a good one and is complete (both Old and New Testaments). The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture is good, too. They have 11 volumes out so far (all from the New Testament) with more in the works. By the end, they should have the whole New Testament covered. I guess then we will see if they turn to the Old Testament or not. 🙂

There are other Catholic commentary sets out there, but none that are as “traditional” as the above.
 
Neofight said:
A noble intention, but throw out the one year reading plan.

The bible is to be prayerfully read, meditated on, used as a source of prayer, to be contemplated, and to be put into action. Merely reading it doesn’t give it the due it deserves.

Likewise, the fruit of understanding provided by the Catechism of the Catholic Church will be more abundant if used as a reference to you scriptural and theological studies instead of tackling it as one would a novel or other literary work.
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This post is as beautiful as it is true.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
The best thing a Catholic could ever do is to take The Bible Timeline Bible study by Jeff Cavins/Great Adventure.

biblestudyforcatholics.com/

ascensionpress.com/t/category/study-programs/catholic-bible-study/adult-bible-study/timeline

-Tim-
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👍👍. There is an online version which starts in January - each day there is a reading with a question and people share their answers and observations (or simply read what others offer). Our Cathedral ran a short and the full Great Adventure Bible Course which was fantastic. Scott Hahn’s Catholic Bible Dictionary is a handy study aid and he has written some short Bible courses (available from Amazon). Personally, I am too ill-disciplined to study alone, so I jump at any courses or Church activities where we can learn. Oh, and don’t forget the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is rooted in the Bible.
 
Avila123 said:
👍👍. There is an online version which starts in January - each day there is a reading with a question and people share their answers and observations (or simply read what others offer). Our Cathedral ran a short and the full Great Adventure Bible Course which was fantastic. Scott Hahn’s Catholic Bible Dictionary is a handy study aid and he has written some short Bible courses (available from Amazon). Personally, I am too ill-disciplined to study alone, so I jump at any courses or Church activities where we can learn. Oh, and don’t forget the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is rooted in the Bible.
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Thank you for letting us know about the online version.

Do you have a link?
 
TimothyH said:
Thank you for letting us know about the online version.

Do you have a link?
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It might be unique to Avila’s parish. Ascension Press launched evangelization.com where parishes can pay a low monthly fee to access online via streaming the programs of which they have purchased DVDs (such as the Great Adventure Bible Timeline set). But those are generally closed groups open only to members who register with a participating parish.
 
Thank you all very much for your responses and recommendations!
Neofight said:
A noble intention, but throw out the one year reading plan.

The bible is to be prayerfully read, meditated on, used as a source of prayer, to be contemplated, and to be put into action. Merely reading it doesn’t give it the due it deserves.
Click to expand...
Of course, and I did specifically mention reading “prayerfully” in my OP. But I don’t see this as a reason not to read the whole Bible. Scott Hahn remarks that the Bible is to be understood as a unified whole, rather than only as a series of entirely discrete books, and so it seems to me that meditation and contemplation of particular passages can only be helped, not hindered, by much greater familiarity with the Bible as a whole. I have (intermittently) followed the daily Scripture passages for a while now, but I feel it’s time for something more.
 
Joe_5859 said:
I know you said you weren’t looking for online resources, but Scott Hahn’s salvationhistory.com is a great place to go for Catholic Scripture materials. There are a half dozen studies you can work your way through and loads of articles.

With regards to books, I recommend Scott Hahn’s A Father Who Keeps His Promises and John Bergsma’s Bible Basics for Catholics as two solid, concise, readable overviews of the “big picture” of the story of the Bible.

I think it is important to get the big picture as it provides you with a mental framework in which to connect everything that you learn later. A lot of Catholics know more from the Bible than they realize from going to Mass and hearing it proclaimed every Sunday. They only lack that conceptual framework that connects the dots in a way that makes sense. That’s where books like Hahn’s and Bergsma’s come in handy.

Going a little bit deeper, Scott Hahn has a great book Understanding the Scriptures. It was written to be a high school textbook, but I think it’s great for anyone to dive a bit deeper into the background of the Bible.

As for commentaries, I think the Ignatius Study Bible is a good one to get. Note that it’s technically a “study Bible”, not a commentary. It has extensive footnotes, but won’t go as in depth on certain things as a full blown commentary. So it would be more akin to Haydock in that respect. Another good resource along those lines is the Didache Bible. The footnotes are keyed to the Catechism, which is unique to it (as far as I know). The notes aren’t as extensive as the Ignatius Study Bible, but are still pretty extensive. Unlike the Ignatius, they have the full Bible already available (Ignatius will complete the Old Testament eventually).

For larger commentary sets, the Navarre Bible Commentary series is a good one and is complete (both Old and New Testaments). The Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture is good, too. They have 11 volumes out so far (all from the New Testament) with more in the works. By the end, they should have the whole New Testament covered. I guess then we will see if they turn to the Old Testament or not. 🙂

There are other Catholic commentary sets out there, but none that are as “traditional” as the above.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to write all this down for me - this has been wonderfully helpful. I’ve decided to take some of the online courses from your first link to start me off, and then start the yearly plan in January. I will also be buying the first two books you mention, and have made a note of the others.

One question: do you happen to know whether one is intended to read specific Bible passages (or even whole books) as part of those Salvation History online courses? It’s not clear to me whether they are intended to accompany one’s general reading, or whether it works more like a course where there are set Bible readings you should complete before thinking about the study questions at the end.
 
rben20 said:
Introduction to the Bible by Father Laux is a great start!👍
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This thread is bad for my bookshopping habit. 😃 Going to order this one too as it gets great reviews, though probably on kindle as it’s half the price…at least that means I can start on it tonight!
 
TimothyH said:
Thank you for letting us know about the online version.

Do you have a link?
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Yes. biblestudyforcatholics.com/ten-minute-study/ I am still subscribed to their updates and get some very interesting short readings readings from their blogs, so you might like to consider that as well. The online course is universal (a bit like CAF). It is a great study, more reflection and sharing and less cramming. They even give you a link to the Bible Chapters. 🙂
 
Joe_5859 said:
It might be unique to Avila’s parish. Ascension Press launched evangelization.com where parishes can pay a low monthly fee to access online via streaming the programs of which they have purchased DVDs (such as the Great Adventure Bible Timeline set). But those are generally closed groups open only to members who register with a participating parish.
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They also do a free online Bible Study, which is more reflective but doesn’t have the volume of information or the timeline chart. They give a link to the chapters to read, a brief overview and give a question to consider. People can then chose whether to share their answers and thoughts (everyone gets to read the comments). They also have links to their free articles which people can also post comments and observations. Ascension Press have covered all angles, resources for individuals and parishes (but not duplicated so people who pay are not short-changed). 🙂
 
Etienne Charpentier: How To Read The Old Testament; How To Read The New Testament.
 
Dulcie said:
Thank you so much for taking the time to write all this down for me - this has been wonderfully helpful. I’ve decided to take some of the online courses from your first link to start me off, and then start the yearly plan in January. I will also be buying the first two books you mention, and have made a note of the others.

One question: do you happen to know whether one is intended to read specific Bible passages (or even whole books) as part of those Salvation History online courses? It’s not clear to me whether they are intended to accompany one’s general reading, or whether it works more like a course where there are set Bible readings you should complete before thinking about the study questions at the end.
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The six studies they have are focused on particular themes, but most of them do not have specific reading assignments to correspond to each lesson. For those, the Scripture references are simply present within the lessons.

The “From Genesis to Jesus” study is basically Hahn’s “A Father Who Keeps His Promises” book in outline form. Similarly, “The Lamb’s Supper” corresponds to his book “The Lamb’s Supper” and “Holy Queen” corresponds to his book “Hail, Holy Queen.”
 
Avila123 said:
They also do a free online Bible Study, which is more reflective but doesn’t have the volume of information or the timeline chart. They give a link to the chapters to read, a brief overview and give a question to consider. People can then chose whether to share their answers and thoughts (everyone gets to read the comments). They also have links to their free articles which people can also post comments and observations. Ascension Press have covered all angles, resources for individuals and parishes (but not duplicated so people who pay are not short-changed). 🙂
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I was not aware of that. Good to know! Thanks! 👍
 
Dulcie said:
This looks amazing! But it is very expensive, so unfortunately I can’t afford it just now.
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You can find a parish running the study from the website. The study guide is $40 but the parish typically buys the DVD’s.

Or you could get a group and chip in for the DVD’s.
 
Dulcie said:
Of course, and I did specifically mention reading “prayerfully” in my OP. But I don’t see this as a reason not to read the whole Bible. Scott Hahn remarks that the Bible is to be understood as a unified whole, rather than only as a series of entirely discrete books, and so it seems to me that meditation and contemplation of particular passages can only be helped, not hindered, by much greater familiarity with the Bible as a whole. I have (intermittently) followed the daily Scripture passages for a while now, but I feel it’s time for something more.
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I think what the NeoFight objected to is constraining God’s word to a specific schedule.

I have read the Bible cover to cover five times. NAB, RSV-CE, NRSV and Knox. Some parts are dry and read quite quickly. Other parts might be savored. I once spent six months reading, going back and forth between passages and rereading the Book of Hebrews. It fascinates me.

Some need the discipline of a schedule. I get that, and I encourage you to read the whole Bible. It is wonderful. But don’t put the Holy Spirit on a schedule - that is what NeoFight is saying.
 
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