A Fruit of the Saint John's Bible Visit to My High School

Inspired by a visit of the Saint John's Bible Heritage Edition in October, as well as being an opportunity for extra-credit, one of my students has hand-written the entire First Letter of John.

N.T. Wright: "Paul and the Powerful Word"

Below is the paper given by N.T. Wright on November 18th as part of America's The Living Word initiative in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the publication of Dei Verbum:

What is the word of God, and how do we hear it? That question comes round again and again in many Christian circles. Five years ago I was privileged to be the Anglican observer at the Synod of Bishops in Rome, where the subject was “The Word of God.” It quickly became clear that some people were using the phrase “the word of God” to refer to the Bible, while others used it to mean “the Bible and the tradition,” and still others wanted it to mean “the Bible, the tradition, and the magisterium.” Clearly we all have some work still to do in clarifying the question, never mind answering it. But my task tonight is to go back to our earliest Christian writer, St. Paul, who uses the idea of God’s powerful word in various ways in his writings. This investigation ought to help us both in understanding how this key element works within his theology, and also perhaps to give us a fresh angle on our contemporary questions..........continue here.

Saint John's Bible: Geneaology of Jesus in Matthew

OUP's NRSV w/ Apocrypha (Genuine Leather)

Premium Bibles that a Catholic can utilize remain an endangered species, as you know.  So, from time to time, I like to point out an edition that some of you might enjoy purchasing.  Today, I want to show you an early (mid-90's) edition Oxford University Press NRSV w/ Apocrypha in black genuine leather.  Over at discountbible.com, it is currently available in both black and burgundy genuine leather for only $49.95.

This is a very nice reading Bible, which also has a lovely feel and look to it.  The text is the standard NRSV, not the anglicised edition.  The page-layout is very clean, without any paragraph headings.  For a reading Bible like this, I think that is a good thing.  There is, however, at the bottom of each page a short few words indicating the main event or message of that page.  While the genuine leather is not exceptional, it is truly genuine leather and actually feels like it.  The binding is sewn, which will provide a lifetime of reading, as well as making it a good candidate for having it rebound in a more premium leather if so desired.  Some other highlights of this Bible are the two ribbon markers and gold edges, along with full-color Oxford Maps and generous ninety-six page concise concordance.

As usual, my only complaint with most NRSV editions is the complete lack of cross-references.  This continues here and remains to be a major issue which plagues the NRSV.  Someone will surely correct this at some point right?  Maybe even in a Catholic edition?  (Yes, I am aware of the Cambridge NRSV Reference Bible w/Apocrypha.)

A few weeks back a friend gifted me this same Bible, but in an early edition.  That early edition, which dated to the time of the NRSV's first publication, is almost identical, minus the inclusion of the concise concordance.  So, if this is a Bible you might like, I'd recommend you pick one up soon.  It makes not only a fine reading Bible, but also a gift for Christmas.  It also comes in a really nice box!

Knox vs. The Message: Second Sunday of Advent (Mark 1:1-8)

I am going to continue this series of comparing one of the Sunday readings from the lectionary, using the Knox Bible and The Message.  While done in different ways, I think both Knox and Peterson desired to make the Bible more accessible to the average reader.  Let's see if they were successful. 

Knox:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  It is written in the prophecy of Isaias, Behold, I am sending before thee that angel of mine who is to prepare thy way for thy coming;  there is a voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, straighten out his paths. And so it was that John appeared in the wilderness baptizing, announcing a baptism whereby men repented, to have their sins forgiven.  And all the country of Judaea and all those who dwelt in Jerusalem went out to see him, and he baptized them in the river Jordan, while they confessed their sins.  John was clothed with a garment of camel’s hair, and had a leather girdle about his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  And thus he preached, One is to come after me who is mightier than I, so that I am not worthy to bend down and untie the strap of his shoes.  I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

The Message:

The good news of Jesus Christ—the Message!—begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.

Watch closely: I’m sending my preacher ahead of you;
He’ll make the road smooth for you.
Thunder in the desert!
Prepare for God’s arrival!
Make the road smooth and straight!

John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life. John wore a camel-hair habit, tied at the waist with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild field honey.

As he preached he said, “The real action comes next: The star in this drama, to whom I’m a mere stagehand, will change your life. I’m baptizing you here in the river, turning your old life in for a kingdom life. His baptism—a holy baptism by the Holy Spirit—will change you from the inside out.”

All is Calm. All is Bright.

Didache Bible January 2015?

Thanks to Brian for pointing this out, but it appears that the hardback edition of the Didache Bible will be published in January now.  This is according to the the Ignatius site. There is still no listing on the Amazon site, nor is there any indication when the bonded leather edition will be published.