Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament

I love this book and all the catholic explanations it has!!

Great

Beautiful. I expected nothing less from Ignatius Press. Wonderful insights into the text of the New Testament. Very helpful for studying The Word.The font is a size or two bigger than that in the Ignatius Bible. Which is welcomed due to the larger size of the book.There is a wonderful "key" system that utilizes different keys / icons to denote which type of insight is contained in the notes.The paper is very nice. Significantly thicker than other Bibles that I have. Really adding a quality feel.There is no edge gilding which I am okay with since it is a study Bible and I wouldn't want to be worried about it while traveling or general use.Highly recommend the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament. Hopefully I can get a copy of the complete study Bible when it restocks on the Ignatius website.

A must have

This will be a very quick review as I've only had a couple of hours to go over this new study Bible. I have been a Protestant of the Southern Baptist persuasion my entire life, but I am open to a possible change to Catholicism.I got the paperback version and I am very happy with the quality. It is a substantial book that almost has a textbook like feel to it.They use the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV-SCE) for the text. Interestingly, it reads very much like the Protestant English Standard Version (ESV). Both are updates of the Revised Standard Version (RSV). Both removed archaic pronoun references to God, e.g. thee, thy, thou, etc. Both have "corrected" several verses where the original RSV was perceived to have favored a more liberal translation philosophy. The RSV-SCE text is definitely better than the New American Bible so it was a good choice for this study Bible.I was pleasantly surprised by the volume, range, and thoroughness of the notes and articles. There is a substantial amount of information here. I am most interested in the Index of Doctrines in the appendix. For any given doctrine, they provide Biblical references and commentary regarding that doctrine. That alone should make this a must read for Protestants. They generally don't know what they are "protesting" so here's a good way to find out. But, I warn them that they could discover they don't have anything to protest.The text size is another bonus for this Bible. Most Bibles say they are printing readable text at 7 and 8 points--I don't think so. I am young, and I have good eyesight. Seven point text is small no matter your age. This Bible uses at least 10pt text, but it's probably more like 12pt. The text has the same appearance you would expect in any other book rather than the micro-type in most Bibles.While not quite as extensive as the ESV Study Bible, it is very thorough. And for those interested in Catholic doctrine, it is a must-read.Like I said, this is a quick review. So I'll just end by saying that I highly recommend the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament.

Comments on the physical aspect of the book:I have the paperback version of this bible and it's true what other reviewers said about the quality of the binding: top-notch! I expect that the color maps at the end portion will not tear off easily since they are also sewn. Even the glue applied to the spine is neatly applied.The font of the main text can be referred to as "large-print" and thus highly readable. The commentaries are smaller but I can still read them without using my reading glasses. High quality, thicker than the usual bible paper and shows no bleed-through. Beautiful external design and excellent supplementary materials within. Insightful commentaries and commentaries as it relates to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.as an example of the first, consider this excerpt of the commentary on John 4:18 (Samaritan Woman at the well)...4:18 five husbands: The woman has endured multiple marital struggles. The woman's personal life parallels historical experience of the Samaritan people. According to 2 Kings 17:24-31, the five foreign tribes who intermarried with the northern Israelites (Samaritans) introduced five male deities into the region. These idols where individually addressed as Baal, a Hebrew word meaning "lord" or "husband."...So far none of my other study bibles (ESV Study Bible and NLT Study Bible) mentioned this bit of information in relation to the five deceased husbands of the Samaritan woman. From here you can then relate the present state of the woman's affair with a man who is not her husband to the words that Jesus spoke, "...you worship what you do not know." The parallelism is striking: 5 dead husbands = 5 former pagan deities and her living at present with a man who's not her husband = her worshiping at present a god who she do not know.And for the second, here is something unique to this study bible alone: a moral application as espoused by the Living Tradition of the Church. For example, in John 7:45-11, in the story of the woman who was caught in adultery, the Bible mentions that Jesus bent down twice to write something in the sand, saying in between these actions, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."Part of the commentary on that passage reads: Morally (St. Bede, Hom. in Evan.): Christ, who twice bends down to write on the ground, teaches us to bend low in humility to examine ourselves both before and after addressing the faults of our neighbor. If his example becomes our practice, we will avoid as he did the extremes of being unjust and unmerciful toward others.God willing, the publishers will be able to release the Old Testament version before too long.5 stars for workmanship, quality of materials and excellence of study tools.additional note as of December 6, 2010:I also bought the hardbound version in late November. The book is so good I had to give one to my mother!Update as of September 20, 2011:I am now on my second round of reading the bible. Slowly this time. I discovered that having a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Vatican II) adds a lot to the usability of this bible! I have also ordered my third copy: the leatherbound one which I can take with me in my car wherever I go.