|
Know your Bible! Know Bible choices!
Writing from a biblical perspective begins with knowing what Holy Scripture has to say on your chosen theme or topic. The problem comes in knowing which Bible translation to use for your Bible research and biblical quotations.
Choosing a Bible just wasn’t an issue when only one or two English versions had been translated from Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic languages. Now, however, deciding which Bible you prefer can be confusing, especially since you have a variety of choices among word-for-word, phrase-by-phrase, and thought-by-thought translations. A Catholic edition has more books than you’ll find in other Bibles, too, so look for an identifying phrase such as “Catholic Edition” on the front cover. In the front pages of a reliable study edition, you’ll also find “Nihil Obstat” and “Imprimatur” to assure you the Roman Catholic Church has found footnotes, study notes, and explanatory articles to be free of doctrinal error.
The English translation approved by the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and accepted by most parishes in America is the New American Bible (NAB), available in such excellent editions as The Catholic Study Bible, the Saint Joseph Edition, or The New Catholic Answer Bible. Another favored translation is the poetically quotable classic, the Revised Standard Version. However, every copy of RSV does not include all of the Old Testament books that a Catholic Bible has, so look for The Ignatius Bible or other Catholic edition. For a fresh, lively translation, the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) brings new energy (and, sometimes, different verse numbers!) to familiar Psalms, parables, and Bible stories. If you want an easy-to-read translation with few footnotes, the Catholic edition of the Good News Bible may make you eager to read the Bible from cover to cover as you would any book or saga and, indeed, why not!
If you write biblical helps for Catholic readers or Bible-based curriculum for the Church, you might want to read all of the above translations and their footnotes over and over again! But what if you write Bible aids, articles, or curriculum for other churches? Some publishers require writers from their own denomination, whereas others just ask for a statement of faith, which usually causes no concern since Catholics believe in the Trinity, the Virgin birth, and the saving power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The method of baptism can be an issue, so you might want to know that Catholics do have the choice of immersion. Also, baptism from other Christian denominations will certainly be accepted in the Church if the Sacrament has been performed in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
If you write for Christians in general or for Jewish readers, you may want to avoid quoting from books they consider to be Apocryphal. More specifically, the Jewish Bible and the Protestant Old Testament contain the same books even though they’ve been arranged differently. Each book was originally written in Hebrew, but initially, other books that existed hundreds of years before Christ were accepted by Jewish believers and also by all Christians.
During the dispersion of the Jews in the days between the “old” testament and the “new,” people lost the ability to read and speak Hebrew, so Jewish scholars translated the Law (Torah), the Prophets, and the Writings (wisdom books) into the Greek language commonly used at the time. Also during this time, wisdom books such as Sirach or accounts of Jewish events in such books as I and II Maccabees were written in Greek. Those scrolls apparently became widely accepted by the Jewish community since New Testament Christians referred to them, so the Roman Catholic Church accepts those books as Holy Scripture. Some publishers do not, though, so you might avoid those books in writing for them. It’s also possible that you’ll be asked to use a specific translation such as the classic King James Version (KJV) or a newer translation such as the New International Version (NIV.) Although this seldom presents a problem, you might want to look up each verse in a translation approved by the Catholic Church to be sure. In addition, check the subject index at the back of the Catechism to find the insights and wisdom the Church offers on your topic.
If you join the masses of people in Mass, you will hear the Bible read almost in full within each three-year cycle. To hear every word of The Word, you’d need to attend daily Mass, join a Bible study group, or read Holy Scripture at home with the help of footnotes such as those in the editions previously mentioned. By reading from Genesis straight through Revelation, you will see the full sweep of God’s love and redemption. Undoubtedly, subsequent readings will bring new insight and valuable details to your attention too. No matter how many times you read the Bible, you can always count on God to meet you in those pages with a timely word for yourself and your readers.
|
Need a manuscript evaluation of your Bible-based writing project? If you write Bible poems, Bible stories, devotional material, church curriculum, or other types of biblical nonfiction, hallelujah! You can get a biblical perspective, helpful suggestions, encouraging comments, and objective feedback with a professional Critique.
|
|
