Bible Wars: The Catholics New American Bible

[Sleeping in EQ]

Originally Posted by hyrum

You have this backwards. I was raised Catholic and still keep up with things to some extent. The NAB is what is used in Mass and is the generally accepted version since approx Vatican II (possibly with minor revisions to the NAB, don't know about that, myself). The Candians have gone over to the NRSV, with the "inclusive language". The US were planning to do the same, but somehow there was opposition, presumably from conservatives who don't like replacing the usage of "men" with "humans" type thing. I'm sure there's more to it, but I don't keep up with the gory details, even in the day when I, myself, would read from the pulpit. (BTW, Catholic lay people read from the bible from the pulpit but only Deacons and Priests can editorialize. Oh, and Deacons and Priests are older than 15.)

Perhaps my sources are incorrect. They say that the NAB is not what is used in Mass. What is used is a revision of the NAB, that while based on the NAB, only exists for clerical use. A lay Catholic can't go out and buy and read this version. While Vatican II authorized the NAB, conservatives at high levels have gained influence since then and have monkeyed with it.

Here's a guy writing in First Things: A Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life:

"At present, three translations are approved for Catholic liturgical use: the New Jerusalem, the RSV, and the New American Bible (NAB). The lectionaries and the several publishers of Mass guides, however, use only the NAB.... The bishops had the NAB updated to the Revised New American Bible (RNAB), but Rome had objections to that and hurriedly appointed a committee to fix it up into what might be called the Amended Revised New American Bible (ARNAB), which will soon become mandatory in lectionary use. Technically, the RSV and New Jerusalem are still permitted but, with ARNAB as the mandatory translation of the future, nobody has any interest in printing lectionaries or Mass guides using those versions. There is the additional oddity that you cannot buy an ARNAB Bible, since only the pericopes (liturgical readings) exist in ARNAB-talk. So Catholics do not have a Bible for personal or group reading that uses the same text that they hear at Mass."

[hyrum]

Originally Posted by Sleeping in EQ

Perhaps my sources are incorrect. They say that the NAB is not what is used in Mass. What is used is a revision of the NAB, that while based on the NAB, only exists for clerical use. A lay Catholic can't go out and buy and read this version. While Vatican II authorized the NAB, conservatives at high levels have gained influence since then and have monkeyed with it.

Here's a guy writing in First Things: A Journal of Religion, Culture, and Public Life:

"At present, three translations are approved for Catholic liturgical use: the New Jerusalem, the RSV, and the New American Bible (NAB). The lectionaries and the several publishers of Mass guides, however, use only the NAB.... The bishops had the NAB updated to the Revised New American Bible (RNAB), but Rome had objections to that and hurriedly appointed a committee to fix it up into what might be called the Amended Revised New American Bible (ARNAB), which will soon become mandatory in lectionary use. Technically, the RSV and New Jerusalem are still permitted but, with ARNAB as the mandatory translation of the future, nobody has any interest in printing lectionaries or Mass guides using those versions. There is the additional oddity that you cannot buy an ARNAB Bible, since only the pericopes (liturgical readings) exist in ARNAB-talk. So Catholics do not have a Bible for personal or group reading that uses the same text that they hear at Mass."

I get lost in all the acronyms. Perhaps the RNAB is what I called the NRSV in my post, the concept is the same with the "inclusive language" and a few other changes for smoothing out the English. At the time I was keeping up with things, just a few years ago, the whole thing was in such a state of confusion that the training and study materials they gave to the lay lectors had two translations in them because they were printed in advance for the liturgical year and the publisher didn't know what the decision would be. This happened at least two years in a row.

To me this is about schematics of the readability, inclusive language. Perhaps to serious Biblical scholars its a bigger deal. I wasn't aware of any substantial changes in interpretation among the versions of the NAB nor between the revised version they were planning to use and the NRSV popular in some Protestant churches. And, yes, there is a Lectionary printed with the selected biblical texts to ease readability. The study guide books are provided to ensure what you study at home is exactly what you see on Sunday. I presumed that once the dust settled, you'd be able to buy a complete Bible in the same translation as the Lectionary and study guides.

[Sleeping in EQ]

Originally Posted by hyrum

I get lost in all the acronyms. Perhaps the RNAB is what I called the NRSV in my post, the concept is the same with the "inclusive language" and a few other changes for smoothing out the English. At the time I was keeping up with things, just a few years ago, the whole thing was in such a state of confusion that the training and study materials they gave to the lay lectors had two translations in them because they were printed in advance for the liturgical year and the publisher didn't know what the decision would be. This happened at least two years in a row.

To me this is about schematics of the readability, inclusive language. Perhaps to serious Biblical scholars its a bigger deal. I wasn't aware of any substantial changes in interpretation among the versions of the NAB nor between the revised version they were planning to use and the NRSV popular in some Protestant churches. And, yes, there is a Lectionary printed with the selected biblical texts to ease readability. The study guide books are provided to ensure what you study at home is exactly what you see on Sunday. I presumed that once the dust settled, you'd be able to buy a complete Bible in the same translation as the Lectionary and study guides.

Eveyone's hoping for that Bible to be available, but the politicking seems to never end!