"That's a Catholic translation"

  • Thread starter Thread starter ErricFiggy
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
E

ErricFiggy

Guest
Hello. Sometimes when I’m in a discussion with a Protestant, and I share a particular verse with them, they’ll say “Oh but that’s the Catholic translation. It’s worded in favor of your doctrines.” what do I say to that?

Also, I’ve heard that the NIV translation is heavily biased in favor of n-C Christian beliefs. The funny thing is, is that sounds like the exact same thing I get told. Is there any truth to this? Thanks:)
 
Respond with “and your reading the abridged version!” - response taken from some wise forum member awhile ago

Or possibly the “who originally wrote the Bible?” Question. Or “why does your Bible have 66 books insted of the 73 we have had for over 2 thousand years?”
 
Ask to see their Bible and read from it instead.

Unless it is the (Edited) Jehovah’s Witness New World Translation, It probably has exactly the same words.

-Tim-
 
ErricFiggy said:
Hello. Sometimes when I’m in a discussion with a Protestant, and I share a particular verse with them, they’ll say “Oh but that’s the Catholic translation. It’s worded in favor of your doctrines.” what do I say to that?
Click to expand...
Our doctorins were in place 300 years before we compiled the Bible. The Bible is Catholic Teaching.

And since The Bible says that the Catholic Church is the “Pillar and foundation of truth” shouldn’t they be reading the complete Catholic Bible for the truth, and proper interpretation of the scriptures? 1st Timothy 3:15
 
Ask them for examples and to show you where the Catholic translation is wrong and how they know it is wrong.

If they say it is wrong simply because it disagrees with their non-Catholic version, laugh in their face (charitably, of course). :angel1:

If they say it contradicts the original Hebrew or Greek, just don’t accept what they say at face value; make them show you in a concordance or a lexicon. If you get to that point, dollars to donuts you’ll find that both translations are legitimate and it just boils down to the translators preference.

The NIV does have a translational bias (which to some extent you can say about all translations since individual translators make legitimate choices in any translation), but the NIV does seem to be a little slippery in this regard, as Catholic apologist Steve Ray explains in this article:

Bible Translations: All Created Equal? Protestant Bias of the NIV; Study of the Word Tradition
 
sowinskija said:
Respond with “and your reading the abridged version!” - response taken from some wise forum member awhile ago

Or possibly the “who originally wrote the Bible?” Question. Or “why does your Bible have 66 books insted of the 73 we have had for over 2 thousand years?”
Click to expand...
Regina_Love said:
Our doctorins were in place 300 years before we compiled the Bible. The Bible is Catholic Teaching.

And since The Bible says that the Catholic Church is the “Pillar and foundation of truth” shouldn’t they be reading the complete Catholic Bible for the truth, and proper interpretation of the scriptures? 1st Timothy 3:15
Click to expand...
While these things are true, it’s not going to get you very far in talking with most Protestants. If someone said those sorts of things to me 5 years ago, I would have scoffed and told them to take a hike.

My recommendation is to take a look through a Protestant translation, and find one you can be comfortable with using in discussion with Protestants. My Protestant (NIV) Bible brought me to the Catholic faith - I’m sure God can use them to reach others as well.
 
I thought the only difference between the Catholic and Protestant Bibles was the 7 deuterocanonical/apocryphal books in between the old and new testaments.

Am I wrong? :confused:
 
The “Catholic Bible” is typically the New American Bible. For most mainline (more liberal) Protestants they will use the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Most evangelical (more conservative) Protestants will use the NIV or King James versions. The NAB (Catholic) and the NRSV (mainline Protestant) are almost word for word. NIV and KJV are both more slanted to certain views.
 
followingtheway said:
I thought the only difference between the Catholic and Protestant Bibles was the 7 deuterocanonical/apocryphal books in between the old and new testaments.

Am I wrong? :confused:
Click to expand...
There are some translational differences, mostly minor. There are even differences between Protestant translations and other Protestant translations, and some Catholic translations differ from each other. Again, minor differences in word choice, and rarely affecting the meaning of the text.

It’s actually good to have different translations as no single translation captures the full meaning and nuances of the original biblical languages.
 
I would ask to see the translation their own Bible uses. There is a good chance their “non-Catholic” wording is still compatible with the Catholic interpretation.
 
You can still defend the faith from any Bible translation as long as it is not corrupt like the Jehovah’s Witnesses abridgement and edited bible.
 
This is why I like using the RSV. Since it had both Catholic and Protestant translators on its committee, they can’t say it’s a Catholic Bible biased in favor of Catholic teaching.
 
Are you guys sure I can use his? I read the parable of the prodigal son from his NIV translation, and it threw me off because the wording was significantly different from my RSV - CE 2. It seemed to be missing the word “Again” when the Father was describing his son being dead and alive again.
 
ErricFiggy said:
Are you guys sure I can use his? I read the parable of the prodigal son from his NIV translation, and it threw me off because the wording was significantly different from my RSV - CE 2. It seemed to be missing the word “Again” when the Father was describing his son being dead and alive again.
Click to expand...
I checked the parable in Luke in my NIV and it says alive again. I checked a couple other translations and they all said “again” as well. Unless the NIV has been massively revised since I got mine.
 
Daizies said:
I checked the parable in Luke in my NIV and it says alive again. I checked a couple other translations and they all said “again” as well. Unless the NIV has been massively revised since I got mine.
Click to expand...
Hm, maybe I looked at it too quickly 😊 thanks for checking 🙂
 
NLT is missing “again” from Luke 15:24, and could also be described as “not a Catholic translation” as such, because even the “Catholic version” is as far as I’m aware not considered OK for Catholics to use for bible study.
 
ErricFiggy said:
Are you guys sure I can use his? I read the parable of the prodigal son from his NIV translation, and it threw me off because the wording was significantly different from my RSV - CE 2. It seemed to be missing the word “Again” when the Father was describing his son being dead and alive again.
Click to expand...
If you are using the RSV-CE, you should bring along the RSV that isn’t the Catholic Edition. Show them that it is the same wording for the NT. As someone earlier stated, this translation had both Catholic and Protestant translators. It also might be helpful to meet up at a book store that has multiple translations. Then you can look them up in different translations to show that they are very similar.
 
Cathh(name removed by moderator) said:
If you are using the RSV-CE, you should bring along the RSV that isn’t the Catholic Edition. Show them that it is the same wording for the NT. As someone earlier stated, this translation had both Catholic and Protestant translators. It also might be helpful to meet up at a book store that has multiple translations. Then you can look them up in different translations to show that they are very similar.
Click to expand...
They don’t really make Protestant RSVs anymore; they’ve been usurped by the NRSV and the ESV. It might help to bring along one of those translations, but I wouldn’t recommend it. They’re similar, but the NRSV has a liberal Protestant bias and the ESV has a reformed bias. Just stick with the RSV. It really is the most “unbiased” translation out there.
 
Daizies said:
I checked the parable in Luke in my NIV and it says alive again. I checked a couple other translations and they all said “again” as well. Unless the NIV has been massively revised since I got mine.
Click to expand...
The NIV was massively revised in 2011, but that was not one of the changes they made. Both the 1984 and 2011 version have the word “again” in there, according to Bible Gateway.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top