Customer Reviews

The Catholic Study Bible: New American Bible

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

The Catholic Study Bible is one of the best study bibles for students and scholars of biblical criticism. The biggest asset: the extensive Reading Guides, which are very helpful for gaining a historical perspective and general background on all books of the bible. The New American Bible translation and footnotes are understandable enough, but this study bible lacks an important feature: an index or concordance. This study bible is recommended mainly for those in serious critical bible study, not those in mainstream Christianity.

This is, overall, a good study bible, but difficult for me to rate. I give it 4 stars, but really I would prefer to give it 3.5 stars. In addition to extensive notes and good introductions to the biblical books, it includes a lengthy reading guide which can serve as an introductory textbook to the bible. Really, this is a bible and bible commentary built into one handy volume. The addition of the Latin Rite 3 year lectionary is also a nice touch.

Weaknesses: The New American translation is fairly good and it is the official english translation for Latin Rite Roman Catholics in the United States (Eastern Catholics use the Revised Standard Version). But it is at times excessive in its use of inclusive language and is not as literary as the Revised Standard Version. The notes are for the most part good, but tend to rely too much on modern historical criticism with not enough attention to how the Tradition has interpreted passages of scripture. I would recommend that Catholics get the New Jerusalem Bible to use with this study Bible. The notes in the New Jerusalem Bible are more thorough and more explicitly Catholic. The New Oxford Annotated Bible is also recommended (the 1977 Revised Standard Version, not the NRSV). This edition includes the entire Canon of Scripture as accepted by the eastern Churches as well as the Western Canon. The Revised Standard Version is a literal and elegant translation that has not been infected with the "political correctness" of inclusive language. The notes to the Oxford Annotated Bible are fairly good, but relect a liberal protestant bias. However, read with the Catholic Study Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible, the three make for a nice group of texts to use for bible study. Catholics should also consider the Christian Community bible commissioned by the bishops of the Phillipines. This Bible has excellent notes which combine current scholarship, devotional exegesis, and a third world concern for social justice into one package.

The Catholic Study Bible is one of the best study bibles for students and scholars of biblical criticism. The biggest asset is the extensive Reading Guides which are very helpful for gaining a historical perspective and general background on all books of the bible. The New American Bible translation and footnotes are understandable enough, but this study bible lacks an important feature: an index or concordance. This study bible is recommended mainly for those in serious critical bible study, not normally for the mainstream Christian.

This is a pretty substantial Bible--and, by that I mean heavy. There are lots of articles from "big names" in Catholic Biblical scholarship. So, one will get the most up-to-date thinking on authorship, dates, readings, etc. and so forth. The translation is the same reliable NAB for the Old and New Testaments. The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures can be a little too dynamic, rendering perfectly understandable Hebrew idioms into English. But, the literal Hebrew is usually referenced in the notes. The same could be said for the New Testament. For all its girth, it is not a pretty Bible, though, and the pages are thin. My great disappointment is the bowdlerized version of the Psalms which have been "inclusivized" to the point of mistranslation. It's one thing to translate the generic word for "man" as "human being" or whatever (no, I have no problem with that); quite another to change third-person address into second-person (i.e., "He is the LORD" becomes "You are the LORD.") This is not always done consistently, however, which makes the slipshod translation look even more inconsistent and slipshod. The Book of Psalms is where the NAB's translating committee's agenda trumped its duty to translate . . . and, it is a pity.

The beauty of this NAB is that it offers two services in one. First, it is a faithful translation of the ancient and ever-new inspired scriptures. This is the product of the finest Catholic Biblical scholars in the English-speaking world today. Secondly, it provides helpful footnotes and excellent introductory articles which offer readers an orientation to the Bible ingeneral, contemporary study and scholarly conclusions, as well as a sketch of the issues and background that concern each book of the Bible. I differ with the two other reviewers above in regard to this Bible. I believe it is not only for the serious scholar, but indeed can help the new Bible reader and the "average" reader appreciate the Scriptures more deeply. This version of the Bible can help support Catholic Christians, and Christians of any denomination by helping them to appreciate the important place of the Bible in their life of faith, and to incorparate this timeless wisdom into their everyay life more faithfully. I have found it helpful personally in my own study, and I always recommend it to people who ask what Bible they might purchase.

This was my original review:
I am an Orthodox Roman Catholic who has searched and searched for a good study bible that was in-line with the teaching of the church. In this study Bible, I found what I had been looking for for so long! It has over 500 pages of reading guides one every single book that help the reader understand how, when and why each book was written as well as the setting of the time when each book was written. It also comes with the footnotes classic of all New American Bibles as well as colorful maps showing such events as Moses' exodus and Paul's journeys. There are also the readings used in the daily and Sunday masses. This Study Bible shows how the scriptures relate to the teaching in the Catechism of the church. Finally a good Study Bible for us real Catholics!!

Now to present day: Since I have gone through this Bible in much more detail, I find it seriously lacking. The footnotes are very misleading, and the commentary is hardly insightful. Part of the inherent problem is the version of the Bible: New American Bible. The New American Bible is somewhat "inclusive", which is not good for language ina Bible. A good Catholic should ask himself, which Bible was used for the Catechism writing? Not the New American Bible (which this Bible is). Nope. It was the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition. For a much more thorough, insightful and devotional impact, read any of the Navarre commentary on the Bible. Oh yeah, the Navarre uses the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition!

I give this one 1 star.

Believe it or not, this is the bible I use in my everyday life. My copy is underlined, crossed over, and written in. I have lived with the NAB Catholic Study Bible for a long time.

However, I would never recommend that a fellow Catholic do the same. The NAB is great in that it has excellent cross references that really help with comparative scripture study. It is a good and scholarly translation. This edition has a handy mini-concordance in the back as well, which is a huge help.

However, the "scholarship" in this bible's "Readers Guides" is abysmal, biased, and downright schismatic.

First, allow me to address what strengths the various study guides have.

1) Modern historical/critical scholarship in the Roman Catholic "tradition" (I use this word VERY loosely) is presented.

2) The bible is well organized and easily used. The "readers guides" are at the beginning and share the modern historical/critical perspective on the texts.

3) The "readers guides" cover the entire bible, including the apocrypha.

These are the only three strengths I can think of however, and even garnering these was a stretch. This Study Bible's weaknesses are myriad and fatal. A few of the most egregious problems follow:

1) The essays focuses solely on the insights of the historical critical method, and are egregiously liberal and politically correct to the point of being distracting. The scholarship is definitely a notch or two below the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, which is also very modern and biased. I should point out that the historical critical method can and does provide valuable insights. However, it can be problematic in that it takes skepticism as its starting point. Its conclusions therefore can be biased against faith. One example is the dating of texts that include prophesy. The historical critical scholar will postdate the text to after the prophesy had been fulfilled. The assumption is against the idea that a prophet from God could have warned about the future BEFORE the event occurred.

These sorts of biased statements against faith happen ALL OVER this Bible.

2) Historical critical method, by definition, can only address the literal sense of scripture. (Who wrote the text, when was it written, what is the author's agenda, what does he or she want tell us etc. etc.) In Catholic teaching however there are four senses of Sacred Scripture, the texts of which are Holy, inerrant, and inspired by the Holy Spirit. These four senses are: a) the Literal b) the Allegorical c) the Anagogical and d) the Moral. The study helps in this bible, by their very nature, ignore most of the Catholic view of the scriptures because they can really only address one sense of scripture effectively. This bible addresses none of these truths.

Read the totality of the "study helps" in this bible and you will find no reasons for Catholic belief. None at all. For instance, according to this "Catholic" bible, the sin of Onan has nothing to do with coitus interuptus or contraception. When Paul wrote about examining oneself before receiving the Eucharist for example there is no mention of confession (in fact, the idea that this passage may refer to sacramental confession is refuted!!!). In fact, the Catholic view of the scriptures is contradicted more often than supported by this bible's "study helps."

3) The best current scholarship seems to have left the Catholic camp (sadly). NT Wright (an Anglican) is one example. His works on Paul and the historicity of the Resurrection for instance have totally eclipsed Ray Brown, Fitzmeyer, et all. This scholarship would be considered "conservative" by the compilers of this study bible and insights from evangelical and conservative protestant scholars are routinely dismissed by them as biased or unscientific. The opinions of more orthodox scholars don't even warrant a mention by the authors of these "Reader's Guides." This makes the study helps in this bible decidedly myopic in favor of a more liberal and modern view of the dating and authorship of the various NT texts. What is disgusting is that these liberal scholars are trying to pass themselves off as purveyors of Catholic truth. This is repugnant. At least present the Church's viewpoint before contradicting it!

4)Eastern Christian bible scholarship has a long and beautiful history in drawing out the spiritual meaning of biblical texts. This "Catholic" study Bible ignores the East altogether. This is not a joke. Not a single Eastern mystic, saint, or scholar is included in the study helps. It breathes with one lung only (the western one), and the VERY modern and liberal wing of western one at that. The Church offers a HUGE treasury of biblical theology that this "Study Bible" simply dismisses. This is outrageous, and again provides a very narrow view of the scriptures.

5) There are FAR better study Bibles available for the Christian. For instance, the Navarre Catholic Bible (while more expensive than this volume as it also contains lengthy commentaries and footnotes to the biblical texts and is published in many volumes) includes not only the insights of historical critical scholarship, but also the insights of the saints, mystics, and biblical theology. Furthermore, historical scholarship from more than the liberal wing of the academy is included. The Navarre Bible Commentary is far richer than the NAB Catholic Study Bible as result.

If the Navarre bible is too expensive for your blood, Ignatius is putting together a Catholic Study Bible that is solid. So far several inexpensive single books have been published, including Gospel of Matthew: Ignatius Study Bible (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible)

In short, I would avoid this "Catholic" bible until one has a deep and solid grounding in Scripture. The study helps are very liberal and skeptical. They ignore the riches of what the Church has to offer. This Bible is marketed as a Catholic commentary to the laity and this is a misnomer.

Nice quality bible that could have had more room in the margins for my own personal notes but that is just my request to the publishers of study bibles in general.

This bible provides easy to follow crossreferences (links) to related passages and concepts. The Reader Guides to each book of the bible provide historical and other information that is easy to digest with a Modernist bent. So, the Reader Guide material shows what the latest intellectuals are theorizing as to what the Bible is as far as its literary aspects and its histroically correct aspects.

This Study Bible does not present traditional Catholic teaching well but is very popular today. Some of the guides are sound and offer spiritual insights (since there are different authors for each of the books in the bible). Modern interpretations and datings are presented as facts, even on points where there is much debate.

I do like a bible that translates Ecclesiastes 1:2 as "Vanity of Vanities, said the preacher" and not just "All is to no purpose, said the preacher". This bible gives it to me in the more stylish and meaningful "Vanity ..." fashion.

The leather cover could have been slightly thicker and the margins could have been slightly wider but the content will show what the most recent studies on the bible have shown.

I remember the moment well; the moment I took the first step in a virtual renaissance of what had been up to then a very superficial and inaccurate understanding of my Catholic faith and a comfortable Sunday-Catholic existence. Yes, I had read the bible before in a couple of versions but had been left cold as without any kind of guide to inform me of how to approach this great tome, I ended up having more questions than answers and even getting afraid of this quick-tempered Creator who appears to mercilessly slaughter those who didn't follow his ways but who appears to mellow out with age when I got to the New Testament. Not having any kind of guide to inform me about context and the various writing styles of the various books of the bible, I took it literally and naturally totally misunderstood its message.

Then, I remember during my college days, I felt a stirring to get to know my God better and I thought about doing this through reading the bible again but then I remembered my last experience and was almost put off. Thankfully, as if God read my thoughts, I stumbled upon this NAB Study Guide version of the bible and it was as if scales fell from my eyes as I started reading from page one, determined not to skip over anything. What I read shocked me no end and to some extent disappointed me as I realised how little I understood God and how my literal interpretation was the main reason for this.

The brilliant introductions and essays by renowned bible scholars of various Christian denominations made it so much easier to go through and understand each and every book of the bible and I felt as if Christ himself was explaining to me the meaning of what I read in the form of the very good footnotes which I turned to the moment I had problems understanding what I had just read. I remember having to make a special effort to resist diving into the bible right away but instead forced myself to read the reading guides like: General Introduction, The Biblical Texts and their Background, The Catholic Study Bible: How To Use It, The Bible In Catholic Life, An Outline of Biblical History, The Pentateuch, The Deuteronomistic History, etc and followed their recommendations on how to proceed with the bible proper.

That was the best thing I ever did as reading the bible after that became a relative breeze compared to my previous attempts and lo and behold, I actually understood what I was reading! Instead of the frightening inscrutable God of my previous readings, what I now discovered was an immensely loving and forgiving God; I recall crying several times while I was reading the bible and realising just how patient God had been with my total misunderstanding of Him and His motives in my life and I became determined to change after that.

I have since read this version of the bible 3 times and I'm about to begin again but this time with a different version (RSV) but equiped with the knowledge gained from this version, I'm unafraid that I will ever misread the overall message. Each time I've read the bible, I've come up with new insights and new rewards.

This version has nice leather binding with gilt pages to which I added index separators. It also has pages to record events such as births, marriages, deaths, confirmations etc in the family. At the end, it also has an extensive glossary, essays on the lectionary, lists of Sunday and weekday readings, biblical archaeology, geography of the holy land, extensive bible maps in color! and even an index to the maps.

If your story is something like mine and you really want to truly understand the bible and to read it in the right context as was intended by the original writers themselves as they were inspired by God, I'm convinced the only way is to get a good study guide to help you. My life has changed since I've read this version and I hope yours will too. Thank God for The Catholic Study Bible.

Very, very highly recommended.

After a more thorough review, I realize now that I gave this edition of the New American bible a rating which was too high. Really it should get 2 stars, perhaps 3 at best. A much better edition of the New American Bible would be the St. Joseph's Edition, Classic edition. The St. Joseph's Edition and the Catholic Study Bible have the same introductions and notes, except that the additional materials in the St. Joseph's Edition are better. The Catholic Study Bible's reading guides and the guide to the lectionary reflect current trends among some popular theologians, but do not do much to illuminate the Church's teachings. The material in these reading guides one can get out of a decent introduction to the Bible. In addition to the good introductions and decent notes of the New American Bible, the St. Joseph's Edition provides a bible dictionary, a biblical/doctrinal index with citations to key texts supporting Catholic doctrine, and helpful illustrations and maps. The St. Joseph's Edition also contains the text of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation from Vatican II and a helpful guide to reading the Bible. I would say that the St. Joseph's Edition is, for the money, a much better buy and a safer guide to reading the Bible from an orthodox Catholic perspective.