Catholic Scripture Study Bible

The Catholic Scripture Study Bibles is a Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition translation of scripture. The bible is published by Saint Benedict Press in association with the Catholic Scripture Study International group headed by Gail Buckley.
In my never-ending search for the perfect Catholic Bible, this one has come the closest to being my holy grail. And while it only has a few pitfalls, they are rather disappointing in and of themselves. Namely, this is not a study bible. Study bibles have thousands of footnotes, maps, articles, and of course a concordance.

Here is a page out of the NIV Study Bible for a perfect example of what a real study bible should look like.

Above John 1:35 we are pointed to four other scriptures passages that reference what we are about to read. The middle of the page is full of cross-references with the entire bible. A third of the page is full of footnotes about almost every verse. It has a nice little information box about Saint Peter. The entire right page is a chart of the miracles of Jesus. And this is repeated on every page of the Bible.

The Catholic Scripture Study Bible is almost identical in size with the NIV Study Bible, so I don’t want to hear how it would be impossible to include all of that information in the Bible. If Zondervan can do it, any Catholic Bible publisher can do the same.
The Catholic Scripture Study Bible doesn’t have footnotes. Instead, it has these endnotes at the end of each testament, which makes them virtually impossible to use.

The Catholic Scripture Study Bible should actually be titled, “The Catholic Scripture Apologetics Bible.” Four pages in and we’re met with eight pages of Catholic Apologetic verses, compiled by Jim Burnham. Which is very nicely laid out, on colored glossy paper. The Bible also features a handful of articles called Faith Facts. In them, we find articles that feel very apologetic in nature. For example, explaining the misunderstanding of Matthew 23:9.

The Faith Facts are located in three bundles of eight articles. These articles also cover everything from genuflecting at mass to euthanasia to the Eucharist and even to topics like Hell and purgatory. They’re not organized by any index or table of contents which makes it a little hard to find the exact article you want on the spur of the moment. For your convenience I’ve listed all the faith facts found in the Bible here:

Faith Facts List p. 120

The Lord’s Day
Genuflecting at Mass
Biblical Origins of Mass
Christ’s Presence in the Eucharist
Signs and Symbols in the Church
Euthanasia
Why Catholics Abstain
Christ’s Human Knowledge

Faith Facts List p. 632

Catholic Traditions for Advent and Christmas
Lenten Traditions
Hell
Purgatory
Horoscopes
The Church and Evolution
The Church, Millennium, and the Rapture
Overpopulation Myth

Faith Facts List p. 1016

Following our Bishops
“Call No Man Father” – Understanding Matthew 23:9
Why Not Women Priests
The Complete Bible
Making Sense out of Scripture
Sola Scriptura
Confession
Biblical Inerrancy

Like I mentioned above there is no concordance. However, in the back of the bible, they do have 130 topics with their scripture reference, listed in what they call a topical index. This is far from perfect, however it works similar to how a concordance would, just on a much smaller level.

Articles – The 24 listed above as “Faith Facts,” plus a few other miscellaneous articles.
Binding – Nice sturdy binding with imitation leather cover.
Book Introductions – None. Very disappointing for a “Study Bible.”
Charts – Just a two four page color inserts. One in each testament.
Chapter Titles – Yes, and in many cases, story titles within the chapter.
Columns – Two columns, with little to no room to write notes.
Cross References – None.
Glossary – The 130 subjects listed in the topical index do have brief definitions for them. This is not a glossary, but close.
Footnotes – The bible boasts of 1,100 biblical references. But this amounts to maybe one or two per page. No real footnotes as we should expect in a true study bible.
Maps – Two or three colored maps in each testament.
Ribbons – Three different colored ribbons.
Readability – Large print. Very readable.
Word’s of Christ – In red!