Customer Reviews

The Catholic Youth Bible® Revised

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Let's start with the good: good maps at the end that are easy to follow and are carefully structured throughout the major periods of Israelite history, some good Catholic connections throughout and some very insightful context notes that will help students (I'm thinking of one in particular at the beginning of Tobit that explains why the Catholic Bible has books that Protestant Bibles have taken out), and some good connections made between the text and prayer life.

Now for the bad: a ridiculous amount of political correctness that is so over-the-top in its own sanctimony, that it's sometimes hard to believe that adults are writing this nonsense. Its paternaltistic and patronizing tone towards "African Americans" is an embarrassment. Consider the text accompanying a verse from 1 Kings where Solomon's wisdom is said to be greater than that of the Cedemites. The CYB text box helpfully explains that these Cedemites were "dark-skinned people" and that current African-Americans can take pride in the fact that their ancestors were the "wise, black people from Egypt." Put aside the absurdity of the suggestion that black Americans today might be "inspired" by something so utterly vapid, what is the author suggesting about black Americans today? That they are dumb? Or inclined to think that they are dumb? Would every "African-American" respond to this as the CYB suggests, or only the stereotyped, fictionalized African-American residing in the fantasy world of the poltically correct multicutural forces? I have never read anything so condescending in my life, and in the attempt to be oh-so anti-racist, the author ends up writing something that reads like a self-parody.

But it gets worse unfortunately, as one of the text boxes in Esther, in the course of making a reasonable point about the need to prevent genocides from ever happening again, veers into ahistorical leftist agitprop. The author tells us that we need to remember the Holocaust and how it came about, but we also need to remember the genocide against the Native Americans in this country. Such a point is arguable, but the author goes on to castigate Europeans who spread diseases that wiped out Native Americans in the name of "progress, civilization, and Christianity." This is complete nonsense. The author would have us believe that the European explorers were intentionally practicing a form of biological warfare on the hapless Native Americans. In fact, the Europeans had no knowledge of microbes and there is simply no evidence that they deliberately passed on diseases in the name of "progress, civilization, and Christianity." This is a slur (and a stereotype!) on all those who came here during that era.

But even worse is the following attempt by the author to explain how the us-vs.-them attitude can lead to genocide. First there is the setting aside of a group for blame, followed by the labeling such as "savages" or "communists" (!) Hmmmm, if I were coming up with a list of people who were potential targets for genocide over the last few hundred years, I don't think the Communists would be near the top of my list. Have the authors and editors never read a history book from the 20th century? Communist governments killed between 85 and 100 million people during that era, making Communism the most murderous ideology in world history, yet our CYB authors see them as potential VICTIMS of genocide. Perpetrators would be more likely. There is more, but the point has been made.

If the authors and editors were not bent on overwhelming the readers with leftist politcal messages and treating its non-white readers as little more than infants, then this book would rate higher. The folks at the CYB need to grow up.

This bible is great for bible study even when everyone in the group is an adult. The sidebars add interesting facts that we may not have obtained otherwise.

I am greatly impressed, having saved $35 on a Bible of perfect quality. My daughter needed this one for school. Although she had to wait for about two months for it to arrive, it was worth it.

This is a wonderful Bible. My 11 year old grandson was given one in his religion class and I liked it so much that I bought one for myself. Although ours is Catholic I'm hopeful that it is available in other Bibles as well. What most impressed me was the sections on many pages relating the Biblical story or setting with life today. It helps make the "old" stories alive for the reader by giving them ideas for reflection or concrete examples of how the Bible story relates to our life today. I highly recommend it.

I found this to be a great deal.New as advertised and lower priced than the the local book store.

I bought this book for my fourth child becasue she needed her own bible. It has quickly become the family favorite because of several reasons. One, it is a great size for kids and parents to hold and read. Two, the added stories inside each chapter of the Bible helps give context and understand of the passages. Three, all four of our kids are graviting to this bible, this is what you want in a youth bible---Kids reading it! No regrets.

I originally bought this book for my 9 year old son. I have to admit that I am enjoying it as well. It is very easy to learn from. We enjoy reading it together and discussing, the passages.

This Bible has some great features. But the physical quality of the book is poor. As a new Epsicopalian looking for a " Catholic" Bible, this was very helpful. I appreciated all the extra features which explain Church traditions in relation to Scripture. But it is useless if one wants to mark one's Bible with pen or marker.

This bible is wonderful for teaching teens in religious education class. I like the descriptions and prayers that are part of this bible. I would highly recommend this bible to anyone for teens and younger.

This bible is wonderful. It provides thought provoking sidebars to the readings, suggested bible study programs, and is very easy to work with. A great resource for RCIA classes.