Which bible do you use?

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sparoh:
What about apocrapha?
My college student has used books not included in the bible in class. This has led her to the conclusion that women should be priests.
I would like to know something about the books left out of the bible and why.
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Let me begin with a disclaimer: I am not a Bible scholar; I am an aerospace engineer who has had a deep interest in the Bible for a few decades. As such, while I think I know my way around the subject somewhat, I invite people with more knowledge of history to correct any errors I may make.

There were a lot of books left out of the Bible, for many reasons. Just like today, if somebody had an agenda to promote he would write a book in its favor. Something that was different back then is that he would then slap an apostle’s name on it and hope to fool people. So it is no wonder that non-canonical books would promote heretical teachings.

When the Church Fathers sat down to figure out what went into the Bible and what did not, they had two criteria. The first was that the book not contain any heretical teachings (surprise, surprise). This removed a lot of books like the gospels according to Peter, Mary, and Thomas. (The Gospel of Thomas was a Gnostic book that is very popular nowadays among people who say “No matter what Church doctrine is, it should be (fill in the blank).”) The other criterion was that the book have apostolic authorship; this definition was extended to include Paul, although he wasn’t one of the original Twelve. This second criterion eliminated a lot of extremely good books like the Epistles of Clement and the Didache. There has been some question about the authorship of II Peter but it was included anyway.

So there are two sets of ancient writings that were left out of the Bible. The first set is heretical and can be safely ignored–unless you are taking a college class in ancient history and your grade depends on it. The second set is the Writings of the Church Fathers; books in this set are generally held in high regard but are not considered the Word of God. I would guess that your daughter read in class some books from the first set and either formed the opinion or was told that really the Church shouldn’t have kept them out of the Bible.
  • Liberian
 
I use the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition.

God bless you.
Rich
 
I primarily use the New American Bible (St. Joseph Giant Print edition), but I also use the RSV-CE (not the hard-bound one sold as the Ignatius Bible; mine is a large family Bible, which I got because the larger print is easier on my eyes).

I also have a King James Version, which I got a long time ago for the language, but it is *ahem missing a few books! I would like to get a Douay-Rheims Bible. At that point, I think I’ll have plenty to keep me busy!
 
The Jerusalem Bible is my favourite translation (pretty rare these days, but I was lucky enough to find a 1966 Doubleday first edition at a local second-hand bookstore for ten bucks), but my main study Bible is the New Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition (NRSV-CE) – Canada’s official lectionary translation. It’s the one Canadian Catholics hear at Mass, so it’s the one I use the most. I also own a Douay-Rheims (Challoner) Bible, which I like quite a bit, and a Greek-English Septuagint.
 
I use the New American and the sometimes the Jerusalem Bible.
For purposes of just looking something up I use a freeware progam called e-Sword, it’s available at: e-sword.net/
It comes with the KJV, of course and you can download several other Bibles and commentaries for it, incl. the DRB and RSV. They used to offer the NAB but had to stop because it is in copyright.

Diduymus
 
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MBS1:
I forgot to add, the Navarre Series is based on the RSV-CE. That is actually the Bible I read the most when I simply want to read and not necessarily get into deep study of scripture.
MBS1
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“Ditto!” This is the series our family uses for study; we believe it is fantastic with very in depth, historical notes. There is a more condensed study version with the entire NT in one volume, too. Totally Catholic, totally interesting.
 
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BayCityRickL:
I was given a copy of the Ryrie (protestant) study bible, and I think it has an excellent commentary and cross-references for the First Letter to Timothy.The translation, especially, is rather good.
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The Ryrie Study Bible is a dispensational study Bible that comes in many different translations (NIV, NAS, KJV,and NKJV). Dispensational theology is not accepted by all protestant groups, and it is a system of interpretation that is not in line with Catholic teaching in many very important areas of our faith. What is dangerous about using study Bibles from other systems of theology is the often subtle seeds that are planted alongside the truth cause us to drift away from our faith (Dispensational theology is not pro-Catholic), and we also tend to build our own blend of interpretations to suit our personal tastes in areas we aren’t confident in. We end up, quite innocently, spreading error, causing confusion and division.

Here is a weblink telling a little more about Dispensational theology from a Catholic Answers article: catholic.com/thisrock/1999/9904fea1.asp

While the NAS is a good and very conservative translation, we find the RSVCE to be superior to it, as well as having the “other” inspired books protestants reject.
 
I use only the Douay-Rheims and the NAB. I hope to get the Jerusalem Bible though, to round out the number.
 
I read a lot of different versions. I voted NIV, that is the one of those listed that I use on a regular basis.
 
Does anybody have web links to the New Revised Standard Version Catholic edition? I have the NAB on the web link from the Vatican. But I was looking for other online versions. Anybody have one to share?

thanx! God bless!
 
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sweetchuck:
Does anybody have web links to the New Revised Standard Version Catholic edition? I have the NAB on the web link from the Vatican. But I was looking for other online versions. Anybody have one to share?

thanx! God bless!
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This is the one that someone posted on another thread:

etext.lib.virginia.edu/rsv.browse.html
 
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RichT:
I have several versions.


  1. *]NAB Catholic Study Bible
    *]Oxford Annotated NRSV w/ Completer Apochrypha
    *]St. Paul NRSV-CE
    *]NIV Life Application Bible
    *]NIV Study Bible
    *]New King James Version

    Numbers 4, 5, & 6 are leftover’s from my protestant days. My favorite version is the NRSV.
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  1. ** It’s funny because I’ve read extensive commentary regarding which Bible is the truly, inspired word of God and it can get to be a real dog fight when it comes to history. I actually prefer the King James Version as it’s the earliest English translation of which I’m aware. Frankly, I don’t see how anybody can be completely confident that any one Bible is the best to use.

    I noticed that the individual I quoted is an ex-Protestant. I’m always intrigued to know how a Protestant comes to accept Catholicism. I have a KJV, an NKJV as well as an NIV translation, but I don’t rely on them solely. I also have an NASB Bible to review the Apocryphal books. It might sound like a lot of fuss, but I love reading the different versions. I can read Catholic Bibles to get a handle on how the Apocrypha reads and I can also read the KJV to get a feel for the language as it was (…before modernization).

    I agree that one must exercise extreme caution when reading. It’s always wise to pray in earnest to the LORD before opening the Bible. Ask Him to help you in understanding what you read.**

    👍
 
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ChristianWAB:
I actually prefer the King James Version as it’s the earliest English translation of which I’m aware.
Allow me to alter your awareness:

Rhiems New Testament: 1582
Douay Old Testament & Douay-Rhiems Bible: 1609
Authorized Version (AKA KJV): 1611

Of course, there’s still several more translations between Tyndale (1526, the first Bible in Early Modern English) and Douay-Rhiems.
 
ChristianWAB said:
** I noticed that the individual I quoted is an ex-Protestant. I’m always intrigued to know how a Protestant comes to accept Catholicism. I have a KJV, an NKJV as well as an NIV translation, but I don’t rely on them solely. I also have an NASB Bible to review the Apocryphal books. <> It’s always wise to pray in earnest to the LORD before opening the Bible. Ask Him to help you in understanding what you read.**

👍
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as for “how a Protestant comes to accept Catholicism” … I read the Bible. (lots) asked questions. studied to answer them. Read the NIV mostly and the NIV on CD and mp3 as well. (is there any catholic audio bibles???) i I use NAB (st joseph’s edition) as well as my non catholic versions for study. I’d like to boast that I use my Nestle’s and Stutgartensia (hebrew) but… they look scholarly on my shelf… :o
 
Thats just nonsensical for a catholic to use the KJV, it’s nothing more then a truncated man made gospel…
 
I want to get my husband a spiffy new study Bible with all the bells & whistles. He studies the Catechism, he’s a Euchristic Minister, Lector, and teaches religious ed. He is a very, very conservative catholic and I know he doesn’t like Bible translations that say “people” instead of “men.” He is currently using The New American Bible Saint Joseph Edition (ISBN 089942-962-9) with footnotes, cross-references, maps, Historical Survey of Lands, Vatican II Constitution on Divine Revelation, Bible Dictionary, and Doctrinal Bible Index of Sunday Readings. As far as I know he loves his Bible and he has never mentioned getting a new one, but it’s really, really tattered and I want to get him an engraved leather cover for a very special occasion.

I see from the poll that the concensus is pretty well split between 3 or 4 versions. Are there some new editions out there with more or better features? Or should I just get him the same Bible with a leather cover? What about the NASB I see in catalogues? Is it a new and improved version of the NAB, or is it a whole different animal (I noticed it isn’t listed as an option in this poll)?

All advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
THE NASB is the New American Standard Bible is a protestant translation it is fairly literal and pretty good however the notes that accompany this translation are from and evangelical point of view and anti sacramental and anti-catholic in nature. OF course they are missing the catholic duetereocanical books as well.
Oxford makes some nice durable study Bibles in the NAB catholic translation. I think your husband would love these Bibles if he more comfortable with the NAB.
Translations are very subjective as long as they are catholic you are on the right path. Some of the NAB footnotes are problematic but others are pretty good its a mixed bag for me.
I prefer the Navarre Bible which is in the RSVCE but they are in several volumes and when I need to carry a bible I will opt fof the NAB and carefully discern the notes. THe translation itself is pretty good.
 
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