One area of Catholic Bibles that has yet to receive the attention it deserves is the need for a Catholic men's devotional Bible. The Catholic men's movement has been growing each year, with new conferences and fellowships popping up all over the place. Here in the metro Detroit area, where I live, each year the Archdiocese of Detroit holds a men's conference that attracts thousands of attendees. As a matter of fact, this year's conference has expanded and will be the first which will encompass all of the state of Michigan. I am also involved in a men's fellowship group that meets twice a month at a local parish.
This got me to thinking a bit about men's devotional Bibles. I know that there are a number of good, though primarily Protestant men's Bibles out there on the market, most notably in the NLT and NIV translations. Yet, there are, as far as I know, no Catholic Men's Bible available. On the other hand, however, a few Catholic Women's Bibles are available, most notably the Catholic Women's Devotional Bible NRSV from Zondervan. My wife has used it in the past, and when I had a chance to look at it I liked the overall format and additional devotional material included in it. I thought it was a very nicely put together edition. Are there any Catholic women out there who use this edition?
So, I guess we will see if there will ever be a Catholic Men's Bible on the market. One would guess that it is inevitable right? However, one would also assume that there would be at least a few premium leather Catholic Bibles on the market as well as a standard NRSV which comes with cross-references but, of course, we know how that goes!
8 comments:
We have very strong and active Catholic men's groups and men's conferences in both Northern and Southern Calif. I think if THESE groups (nationally) lobbied or even sponsored for a Catholic's Men's Bible one would be readily forthcoming. And since it would be intended for men my guess would be that leather would be the binding of choice.
Actually I am pretty amazed that these men's groups haven't put one together yet...though I know that out here most men's groups seem to be promoted by Ignatius Press so maybe they use the IB by choice.
Women's, men's, teen's, boy's, girl's, mother's, father's, couple's, grandmother's, leader's, women of color, golfer's, etc. ... these niche bibles are just one of the things modern bible publishers do that drive me crazy. I've never understood why people buy these. I find them ridiculous and to me they trivialize holy scripture.
Hi and thanks so much for your blog. Enjoy it and learn so much from everyone. Yes I do have the Catholic Women's Devotional Bible and used it for a couple of years and loved it. Got tired of carrying it to work everyday so started looking for something else for me and for my father. I ended up using the Magnificat magazine and it has worked out well. My father also loved it and used it for several years before his death. It is not a bible but it does have morning, evening and night prayers for each day of the month. It also has the entire daily mass reading for each day and a daily devotional. Before I retired I put a plastic cover on it and could easily carry it and my rosary all day in my lab coat pocket without it being to heavy. I think it works well for anyone who is very busy and out of the home many hours a day. I also found the print easy to read unlike a compact bible.
Hi Timothy,
This is the NRSV we're talking about: it would be called the "Catholic People's Devotional Bible".
:-)
-Francesco
Francesco,
Very good! Or perhaps "the Catholic Mortals Devotional Bible"
I actually wrote Zondervan a few years ago and asked them about publishing a men's Bible comparable to their Women's Devotional Bible. They responded and said that at that time they had no plans to do so.
I really thought the men's version existed a few years back and was surprised that it was never made, my wife enjoys this bible on a daily basis. Hey Tim, ever thought about reviewing the Orthodox Study Bible? Recently a special red leather edition was made available on an order per order basis, my brother recently bought it and what a beauty!! -David
Or perhaps it would be called:
The Catholic Person's* Devotional Bible
Gk has Men's
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