Has anyone done one of those Bible in a Year programs?

[Bernadette]

Which one did you use, and how did you like it? Is there a traditional one?

[Miriam_M]

Is there a traditional one?

That's the key question.  There are N.O. ones (I don't remember if it's "a year," but Jeff Kavins' The Great Bible Adventure was, about 10 years ago, a staple of many N.O. parishes.) 

And obviously your question is not only important for doctrinal reasons, but that's often the key! 

Look, personally, I like Kavins as a Scripture commentator.  His specialty is OT, and what I liked about what I used to hear from him on the radio, late-night in my time zone, is the spirituality he conveyed about the OT readings. So many commentators on the OT miss that but Kavins gets it.

We mostly read Scripture, and the Church mostly values Scripture in an ongoing way, for its spiritual guidance, given that the part of the deposit of faith which is based in Scripture (which is most of that deposit!), is fixed.  So we don't need necessarily to reread Scripture for the purpose of reminding us about doctrine, though there's no harm in that. We read it to deepen our relationship with the Trinity and especially the Second Person. We read it as a form of prayer, whether we're doing lectio divina or not.

However, much of the post-V2 interpretation of the NT is narrowly modern social justice, excluding the existing commentary of the Fathers and Doctors, etc.  One example: the famous Good Samaritan parable (Lk 10:25).  Always, always the modern Church interprets this as man-to-man charity, especially since Our Lord provided the parable in direct reply to the question, "Who is my neighbor?" In addition, the modern Church uses this parable to condemn the supposed (political) evil of those of majority ethnic groups and the supposed superior morality of groups "on the margins." 

But two or three recent trad sermons I've heard about this parable make it clear that the Samaritan is a biblical Type of Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who alone has the power to rescue us, and that the "beaten down" and "robbed" metaphors within the parable relate to the condition of our souls as well as our bodies. Because Biblical Studies was my track in theology school, I also took a course on just Parables.  The parable genre is more complex than most Catholics have been taught, which is that they are simply allegory.

Rather, a parable is a more layered genre, with the Kingdom as the "world" of the parable and Our Lord Jesus Christ as the center of the kingdom, and, of course, the King Himself. In each parable are surprises that cause the listener to consider different and unexpected qualities of the King as well as hidden effects of our sins that we obscure from our sight but that the parable brings to light. (It's possible to use the parables collectively as an examination of conscience, but far more than just on earthly charity. Characteristic of a parable are the "hidden gems" which are also "treasures" of the Kingdom.)

It is not that we cannot and should not extend the metaphor of spiritual rescue to include corporal rescue as well, since the Two Great Commandments are intrinsically interrelated, but it's just to emphasize that N.O. interpretation of the NT is definitely slanted and exclusionary, in my plentiful experience with it; it is highly modernistic and narrow. So far, Jeff Kavins, relative to the OT, does not display those kinds of anachronistic (inaccurate) tendencies. However, I heard an interview with him on the radio, during which he mentioned enthusiastically that he "was formed by JP2."  The context of his remark was that it amounted to a singular formation, and he needn't look any further (earlier) than that.   Sigh.

[Lynne]

Father Mike (associated with Ascension Press) has a Bible in a Year podcast. I wanted to like like it but the first 2 had annoying things like "We don't know why Abel's sacrifice was more pleasing to God". Yes, we do. The passage in the Bible is short but traditional commentaries cover this. I don't want to have to parse everything that a N.O. priest says.

[Bernadette]

Is there a traditional one?

That's the key question.  There are N.O. ones (I don't remember if it's "a year," but Jeff Kavins' The Great Bible Adventure was, about 10 years ago, a staple of many N.O. parishes.) 

That's what I'm considering buying. Though it's a lot of money when I already have a Bible that I love. I might just get the timeline.

[Miriam_M]

Is there a traditional one?

That's the key question.  There are N.O. ones (I don't remember if it's "a year," but Jeff Kavins' The Great Bible Adventure was, about 10 years ago, a staple of many N.O. parishes.) 

That's what I'm considering buying. Though it's a lot of money when I already have a Bible that I love. I might just get the timeline.

I would hope that you would not replace your own Bible, if you do like it.  There's nothing wrong with a timeline; that helps us understand both Testaments better.  For me, I just find the only thing valuable about Jeff Kavins to be his analysis of OT passages and figures -- their relationship with God, their understanding of how fundamental God was in their lives, their inescapable accountability to Him, their intimacy with God, their understanding of their full dependence on Him, the consequences of rejecting or avoiding God, the necessity of worship and the dangers of neglecting that, etc.

[Bernadette]

I've opted to go the traditional route and go with a Haydock Bible. With my gift card it ends up costing the same as the Great Adventure Bible.

[Miriam_M]

I've opted to go the traditional route and go with a Haydock Bible. With my gift card it ends up costing the same as the Great Adventure Bible.

Excellent choice.

[mikemac]

I've opted to go the traditional route and go with a Haydock Bible. With my gift card it ends up costing the same as the Great Adventure Bible.

That's what I started, and stopped, and need to start again.  It's online too Bernadette.

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/hcc/genesis-1.html

[Bernadette]

I've opted to go the traditional route and go with a Haydock Bible. With my gift card it ends up costing the same as the Great Adventure Bible.

That's what I started, and stopped, and need to start again.  It's online too Bernadette.

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/hcc/genesis-1.html

I just found it in five volumes on Kindle. I feel kind of stupid now, for buying the book when I didn't need to.

[Lynne]

I've opted to go the traditional route and go with a Haydock Bible. With my gift card it ends up costing the same as the Great Adventure Bible.

That's what I started, and stopped, and need to start again.  It's online too Bernadette.

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/hcc/genesis-1.html

I just found it in five volumes on Kindle. I feel kind of stupid now, for buying the book when I didn't need to.

Sometimes it's nice to hold an actual book. (could you return it?)