Customer Reviews

The Navarre Bible: Romans and Galatians (The Navarre Bible: New Testament)

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This is a solid and doctrinally sound commentary of an oft misunderstood epistle. As the apostle Peter observed (2 Peter 3:16), Paul's writings are sometimes difficult to grasp and misreading them can lead to our own destruction. The Navarre series can provide a solid foundation on which to build further study.

Of course, it is difficult to review any in this series without thinking also of the Ignatius Study bible series and in particular the volume, The Letter of St. Paul to the Romans: Revised Standard Version/2nd Catholic Edition (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible). The strength of the Ignatius commentary is it's broader overview word studies and outlines in addition to it's clarity. The strength of the Navarre commentary is in the introductory section - and the Navarre volume contains Galations and Romans together which seems to be a good fit as these two epistles overlap in so much of Paul's theology. For the Ignatius commentary, you would need two volumes to get both Romans and Galations studies.

Additionally, the Navarre Bible includes the parallel Latin vulgate for a deeper study in that standard text of the faith. This will be a selling point over the Ignatius Bible to many serious theology students and traditionalists. Even a little exposure to Latin can bring new insights to texts that seem less rich confined to the constraints of the English language.

Having both the Navarre and Ignatius commentaries would be ideal for study and it is highly recommended to use both in preparation for teaching. The Navarre study is of particular value to teachers for the "Introduction to the Theology of Paul" it contains. That introduction provides a broad foundation that will help the teacher direct a study in those difficult passages s/he will encounter in Romans. Paul's writings are easily misunderstood and sometimes very difficult to follow; his epistle to the Romans is perhaps the most difficult of all. In addition, this epistle is a type of systematic theology in itself - understanding the big picture of the theology of Paul is an invaluable resource in teaching/understanding this epistle.