I do have high expectations for the Didache Bible. I think the overall picture will be that it will be a staunchly Catholic Study Bible, heavy laden with apologetic notes. Not only will it be heavy with Church teaching, but it will be as exhaustive in scope as the notes are rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Also, the indexes and helps look promising, as these will be geared towards understanding the faith and looking up verses that are well known to be uplifting and/or beneficial in apologetics. The inclusion of book introductions and maps is also promising, that it will include at least some degree of modern scholarship to aid the reader in getting a historical perspective. I don't think the notes will be as comprehensive throughout as the Ignatius Study Bible, and this will be a more portable edition that one might take to Mass, Adoration, RCIA, retreat, prayer group, etc.
I believe the Didache Bible will fill a much needed void in the realm of Catholic Bibles. Many Catholics today are notoriously un-catechized or under-catechized. Part of this problem is being able to connect Scripture and Tradition together in the context of this multi-denominational Christian world, much of which is ignorant of or misinformed about Catholic Doctrine. Protestants hen-peck a handful of verses out of context, and cradle Catholics stand there dumb and bewildered when they should be the first ones to see the big picture and give a reasonable, rational response! I think every English-speaking Catholic knows at least one Catholic, probably more than one, who could greatly benefit from the Didache Bible. Yes, the Catechism has been available for a long time now, but many Catholics find reading it difficult for study, let alone for devotion. I challenge the readers of this blog who are anticipating this release, to buy at least one other copy for someone who would use it to grow in their faith, BEFORE you spend 4 times that amount to re-cover your copy in the animal skin of your preference!
I also want to mention my continual appreciation for the RSV translation. It is to me the most enjoyable to read of the modern translations. It also seems to be the best middle ground for what is commonly recognized as "the Bible" in the English language. It is not too formal, nor too dynamic, not too archaic, but yet is dignified and majestic in its phrasing. The NOAB RSV remains a personal favorite of mine, and is a wonderful gift in an ecumenical context and for ecumenical study. But for advancing the cause of the New Evangelization, for catechesis and apologetics that lead to genuine conversion, the Didache Bible looks like it could be the sharpest "sword" for the foreseeable future.
Well said (or written) Jonny! I do look forward to this release. I hope it lives up to expectations. May be a perfect Bible for rebinding. I do hope that the apologetics pages aren't printed on glossy paper.
I am anticipating the Catechism of the Catholic Church references, and the inclusion of Church Fathers in the commentary. This could potentially be an excellent resource for in the trenches catechesis and evangelization.
I am also anticipating a good balance in its approach to historical critical methods, sans the prevalent skepticism, or the “hermeneutics of suspicion,” found in some biblical scholarship in the past few decades. Those who put this Bible together seem to be very balanced in their approach, judging by past resources. They don't fall into the skepticism trap, but they also don't tend toward a defensive biblical fundamentalism.
I am hoping that utilizing this resource in addition to others, such as the Catholic Study Bible and the New Oxford Annotated Bibles, will fulfill the need for a more rounded study of the Bible.
And HOPING the bonded leather will be of a quality that will last for awhile.
I will be using this Bible for my RCIA sessions. The theological notes based upon the Catechism will work well in that setting. In Bible study we work more with the NAB/RE and historical criticism based notes and commentary. When I get my copy of the Didache Bible, I will put it in a genuine leather Bible cover and tab it for study and classroom purposes.
I just noticed on the Ignatius website that the listing for the HARDCOVER version no longer mentions the existence of a LEATHER version. Here's the link for the HARDCOVER version: http://www.ignatius.com/IProducts/278385/the-didache-bible-with-commentaries--based-on-the-catechism-of-the-catholic-chur.aspx
And just change the 278385 to 278384 to get the LEATHER link. And when I clicked on the link (which I'd saved previously) for the LEATHER version, it gives an error message. Jeff
The Ignatius website has seemingly eliminated any mention of the LEATHER edition. If you go to the listings for Bibles, you'll find a description of the HARDCOVER edition. But that link no longer mentions the existence of a LEATHER edition.
I placed an order for one copy each of the hardcover and leather back in late August. When going on the Ignatius website earlier this evening and looking at my order, it showed both of my versions as having been ordered but when clicking on the link it showed for my leather version, it came up with an error message on the resulting page. But it does still show my order as having BOTH versions so I'll take that as a good omen. Jeff
Jonny, I have a pre-order with Ignatius for the leather Didache also and I have not heard that it won't be available. It might be as you said; there might be a limited number of leather Bibles available for pre-order and they have sold them out, lets hope!
15 comments:
I do have high expectations for the Didache Bible. I think the overall picture will be that it will be a staunchly Catholic Study Bible, heavy laden with apologetic notes. Not only will it be heavy with Church teaching, but it will be as exhaustive in scope as the notes are rooted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Also, the indexes and helps look promising, as these will be geared towards understanding the faith and looking up verses that are well known to be uplifting and/or beneficial in apologetics. The inclusion of book introductions and maps is also promising, that it will include at least some degree of modern scholarship to aid the reader in getting a historical perspective. I don't think the notes will be as comprehensive throughout as the Ignatius Study Bible, and this will be a more portable edition that one might take to Mass, Adoration, RCIA, retreat, prayer group, etc.
I believe the Didache Bible will fill a much needed void in the realm of Catholic Bibles. Many Catholics today are notoriously un-catechized or under-catechized. Part of this problem is being able to connect Scripture and Tradition together in the context of this multi-denominational Christian world, much of which is ignorant of or misinformed about Catholic Doctrine. Protestants hen-peck a handful of verses out of context, and cradle Catholics stand there dumb and bewildered when they should be the first ones to see the big picture and give a reasonable, rational response! I think every English-speaking Catholic knows at least one Catholic, probably more than one, who could greatly benefit from the Didache Bible. Yes, the Catechism has been available for a long time now, but many Catholics find reading it difficult for study, let alone for devotion. I challenge the readers of this blog who are anticipating this release, to buy at least one other copy for someone who would use it to grow in their faith, BEFORE you spend 4 times that amount to re-cover your copy in the animal skin of your preference!
I also want to mention my continual appreciation for the RSV translation. It is to me the most enjoyable to read of the modern translations. It also seems to be the best middle ground for what is commonly recognized as "the Bible" in the English language. It is not too formal, nor too dynamic, not too archaic, but yet is dignified and majestic in its phrasing. The NOAB RSV remains a personal favorite of mine, and is a wonderful gift in an ecumenical context and for ecumenical study. But for advancing the cause of the New Evangelization, for catechesis and apologetics that lead to genuine conversion, the Didache Bible looks like it could be the sharpest "sword" for the foreseeable future.
Well said (or written) Jonny! I do look forward to this release. I hope it lives up to expectations. May be a perfect Bible for rebinding. I do hope that the apologetics pages aren't printed on glossy paper.
I am anticipating the Catechism of the Catholic Church references, and the inclusion of Church Fathers in the commentary. This could potentially be an excellent resource for in the trenches catechesis and evangelization.
I am also anticipating a good balance in its approach to historical critical methods, sans the prevalent skepticism, or the “hermeneutics of suspicion,” found in some biblical scholarship in the past few decades. Those who put this Bible together seem to be very balanced in their approach, judging by past resources. They don't fall into the skepticism trap, but they also don't tend toward a defensive biblical fundamentalism.
I am hoping that utilizing this resource in addition to others, such as the Catholic Study Bible and the New Oxford Annotated Bibles, will fulfill the need for a more rounded study of the Bible.
And HOPING the bonded leather will be of a quality that will last for awhile.
What Jonny said!
I will be using this Bible for my RCIA sessions. The theological notes based upon the Catechism will work well in that setting.
In Bible study we work more with the NAB/RE and historical criticism based notes and commentary.
When I get my copy of the Didache Bible, I will put it in a genuine leather Bible cover and tab it for study and classroom purposes.
I hope it's published on time - on Oct. 1st. Oh, wait...
vladimir998
I just noticed on the Ignatius website that
the listing for the HARDCOVER version no longer
mentions the existence of a LEATHER version.
Here's the link for the HARDCOVER version:
http://www.ignatius.com/IProducts/278385/the-didache-bible-with-commentaries--based-on-the-catechism-of-the-catholic-chur.aspx
And just change the 278385 to
278384
to get the LEATHER link.
And when I clicked on the link (which I'd saved previously)
for the LEATHER version, it gives an error message.
Jeff
The Ignatius website has seemingly
eliminated any mention of the
LEATHER edition. If you go to
the listings for Bibles, you'll
find a description of the HARDCOVER
edition. But that link no longer
mentions the existence of a LEATHER
edition.
I bet the leather is sold out. I preordered 2 from Ignatius after they went off of Amazon. Better order one soon if you want one!
Or maybe it won't be published in leather immediately.
I haven't got any notifications from Ignatius indicating my order is cancelled. I will let you know if I hear anything, Tim!
I placed an order for one copy each of the hardcover and leather back in
late August. When going on the
Ignatius website earlier this evening and looking at my order, it
showed both of my versions as having been ordered but when clicking on the link it showed for my leather version, it came up with an error message on the resulting page. But it does still show my order as having BOTH versions so I'll take that
as a good omen.
Jeff
Jonny, I have a pre-order with Ignatius for the leather Didache also and I have not heard that it won't be available. It might be as you said; there might be a limited number of leather Bibles available for pre-order and they have sold them out, lets hope!
I hope it will be a Catholic equivalent to the _Orthodox Study Bible : New Testament and Psalms_. (Or is there already one that I'm forgetting?)
From Marianna at Ignatius Press:
Due to an unforeseen printing issue, the leather edition of The Didache Bible will not be available for several months.
Guess that answers why the leather edition disappeared.
I wonder if Ignatius Press is planning on telling those of us who currently have the leather version of this Bible on pre-order?
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