ABOUT THE BIBLE: Best translation for WC? Adam and Eve historical?

Which edition of the Bible is best for our Why Catholic Group?


A Catholic edition would be most helpful to preserve the consistency of language and vocabulary used in Catholic theology. You can recognize Catholic editions by their imprimatur (Latin for let it be published) since a Catholic bishop authorized the publication. The nihil obstat (Latin for let nothing stand in the way) means that the text is free from errors concerning faith and morals. Remember that it is the bishop is a primary sign of our unity as Catholics throughout the world. Thus a text that has the backing of the US Bishops’ conference is always a sure bet.

The most common texts offered for Catholics in the US are the New American Bible (commissioned and authorized text by the US Bishops), the Jerusalem Bible (a French undertaking that also has an English translation.), and the Catholic edition of the New Revised Standard Version. It is important to note that the 1990s saw a new lectionary in the US using texts that were specifically translated for liturgical use based on the NAB. . If one is approaching the reading of scripture from a study point of view, as often we will do in the Why Catholic program, all translations can be helpful at getting at a deeper sense of the scripture. I request that R.C.I.A. candidates who are familiar with scripture bring as many bible translations as possible. One can learn a great deal from analyzing the differences.

Every translation makes some compromise and one has to study the context and history of the passage to truly appreciate what is written.  If you are approaching the scripture to understand deeper theological truths, it takes much work and often different translations. I recommend this website www.blueletterbible.org to help you understand the different translations.



Does the church believe there was no real Adam and Eve, that the creation story in Genesis is not literal?


The technical terms are monogenesis and polygenesis. Monogenesis means that humanity sprang from a first set of parents, according to the Bible Adam and Eve. Polygenesis means that there were lots of first human beings that populated the earth. The church has some good teaching on the theory of evolution that has developed through time. But in terms of our origins, The Church teaches monogenesis--- when God created the human race, there was one woman and man who were the first humans and everyone descended from them. If we don’t believe that, then the whole story of original sin gets thrown into question and if there is no original sin, then why do we need Christ to redeem us? That being said, the Church finds no contradiction to divine truth in the scientific theory of evolution in most of its forms. We just don’t teach that evolution is totally random, but is guided by God. After all, science can’t tell us why there is a universe, it can only point and say, “there it is!” The “why” is the domain of religious truth.


The two biblical stories of creation ( creation in seven days and adam and eve) are theological truth more than scientific or historical truth. There are parts of the creation story that we believe are literally true, but not in the scientific sense of truth. They tell us deep theological truths of the goodness of human creatures and all creation; they tell us of the power of God's word; they tell us of human responsibilities for all creation; they tell us of the suffering as a consequence of sin; they tell us of God's intimacy with God's people.  These are rich and deep truths--Catholic Biblical scholarship calls them literal--what the author intended to teach....as well as theological and moral.  
The Church understands that the universe is very ancient (billions of years old, just as scientists say). We don’t believe that dinosaurs walked around with Adam and Eve. This can get quite controversial, and deserves more study.  It would be good to reflect and discuss the difference between literal truth, literary truth, moral truth, theological truth, scientific truth, mathematical truth.