Study Bible

[Nurse4God]

I have a study Bible called the Quest Study Bible. It has questions and answers printed in the margins (largely dealing with things like the customs of the times or terminology that is difficult to understand). It also has a guide, like a schedule, printed in it that leads you through reading the entire Bible in 3 years.

I have heard that the Pope has called us to read our Bibles. I got a this study Bible mainly because it is rated very highly on Amazon.com as a really good study Bible and is great for someone who wants to read the Bible daily.

I do have a question, though. It is not officially a “Catholic Bible”… is it okay for me to use this Bible as my daily reading Bible? I really didn’t think about it when I bought it, but now I wonder.

Thank you for any information you can give me.

God Bless you…

 

[William1964]

I don’t believe that’s a very good idea.

For one thing if it’s not a Catholic bible you’ll be missing some books wont you. It’ll be incomplete. For another, you wont have Catholic commentary. That’s important for study. And proper Catholic understanding. All in all, it’s not a prudent thing to do. I would encourage you to check out what the some of the Catholic publishers have to offer in this respect.

 

[NHInsider]

I have a study Bible called the Quest Study Bible. It has questions and answers printed in the margins (largely dealing with things like the customs of the times or terminology that is difficult to understand). It also has a guide, like a schedule, printed in it that leads you through reading the entire Bible in 3 years.

I have heard that the Pope has called us to read our Bibles. I got a this study Bible mainly because it is rated very highly on Amazon.com as a really good study Bible and is great for someone who wants to read the Bible daily.

I do have a question, though. It is not officially a “Catholic Bible”… is it okay for me to use this Bible as my daily reading Bible? I really didn’t think about it when I bought it, but now I wonder.

Thank you for any information you can give me.

God Bless you…

Unfortunately, the Quest study Bible is one of many themed “study Bibles” that use the New International Version translation, a particularly weak modern translation with a fairly obvious evangelical slant. In addition the notes are going to reflect the opinions of the editors, and while Zondervan is not a rabidly anti-catholic publisher there will be many interpretations that are not in agreement with the Church. At the same time a lot of the supplementary material is really valuable (explanations of cultural/historical references, for example).

There are some very good Catholic study Bibles - depending on what you’re looking for (scholarly? multi-volume?) I have a Catholic Youth Bible from St. Mary’s Press that has the NRSV translation and assorted notes and devotional suggestions scattered throughout the text - not a bad starter Bible (except that the paper is so thin the print shows through from the other side, which I find distracting). It includes a number of suggested “reading plans.”

 

[Nurse4God]

Thank you for your posts! I was starting to suspect that this Bible wasn’t the most appropriate Bible for a Catholic to read. I appreciate your detailed explanations and suggestions.

Thank you and God Bless you

 

[CalCatholic]

I have a study Bible called the Quest Study Bible. It has questions and answers printed in the margins (largely dealing with things like the customs of the times or terminology that is difficult to understand). It also has a guide, like a schedule, printed in it that leads you through reading the entire Bible in 3 years.

I have heard that the Pope has called us to read our Bibles. I got a this study Bible mainly because it is rated very highly on Amazon.com as a really good study Bible and is great for someone who wants to read the Bible daily.

I do have a question, though. It is not officially a “Catholic Bible”… is it okay for me to use this Bible as my daily reading Bible? I really didn’t think about it when I bought it, but now I wonder.

Thank you for any information you can give me.

God Bless you…

There are a couple of problems, first it is missing 7 books of the Bible that the Catholic Church deems canonical (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1&2 Maccabees), so if you are reading a book and it references a verse from one of these Books, you now have to have another Bible with you. The second problem is the commentary, it is probably for Evangelical Christians, for instance; look up the commentary for John 6:22-59. Does the commentary mention that Jesus is talking about the Eucharist and that you have to eat his body and blood which is true food and drink for us, to have eternal life (Catholic teaching), or does it say something like Jesus was speaking figuratively in these verses, or some other watered down explanation. Another verse to check is Matthew 16:18-19, where Jesus says, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven,…” Catholic teaching of course is that Jesus is bestowing upon Peter the resposibility of leading the Church after his death and resurrection. How does the notes in your study Bible handle this verse? It probably dances around it saying that Jesus meant to give authority to all his apostles and not Peter alone.

These are just two of many examples, but these are two of the more important ones.