Tuesday Tech Talk:Electronic Versions of the RSV-CE

Image by Eduardo Miranda

Too Many Translations
We recently had a Joe Catholic Workshop on the Catholic approach to reading Sacred Scripture and interpreting it in a way that follows the Church Magisterium. One of the challenges in conducting such a session is that people don't always show up with the same Bible translation.

Joe Catholic Bible
To eliminate that challenge, we have decided that the "official" Joe Catholic Bible will be the Revised Standard Version - Catholic Edition (RSV-CE), also known as the Ignatius Bible. Unless we indicate differently any passage quoted from Sacred Scripture on this site should be from the RSV-CE. This is also the Bible we will be referencing in all of our workshops and conferences.

Is it Available Electronically?
One of the questions that came up as a result of my recommendation that we all use the RSV-CE for all future Joe Catholic Workshops, was how to locate it electronically. I have a couple of app recommendations and a few online options, too. I am not going to do an in depth reviews of these apps, but instead will just share a little bit about them and where you can find them.

Truth and Life
You may be familiar with the Truth and Life (TL) audio version of the New Testament. You can find the CD's at Half Price Books regularly for $10. The audio Bible is also available from Audible, iTunes and GooglePlay. TL also has an app available on iTunes, GooglePlay and Kindle Fire. They have recently cooperated with Ignatius Press, Lighthouse Catholic Media and the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology (Scott Hahn) to make the audio Bible and the Ignatius Press New Testament Study Bible available as in-app purchases. As far as I can tell all of these features are also available on the Lighthouse Catholic Media app, too. Both apps operate about the same.

Online Options
There a few places where you can find the RSV-CE online. Truth and Life has an online version that mimics the operation of its app. You can find that HERE. EWTN has a searchable version of the RSV-CE on its Devotionals page. Bible Gateway, not a Catholic entity, but nevertheless searchable and well laid out, is also available online.

Verbum Bible Software
One final way to access the RSV-CE is the Verbum Bible software system. The RSV-CE is one of the free Bibles available with the free app, which is available in iTunes and GooglePlay. Right now Verbum also has a sale for the Catechism and the Ignatius Study Bible. That bundle alone would be a great set of tools for your Spiritual Toolbox. I use Verbum daily in preparing materials for this blog and used it extensively in my graduate theology studies. Please mention Joe Catholic if you decide to make a purchase. We don't get a referral fee, but I would like them to know we are supporting their efforts. They came out to our Men's Conference last year and we hope to have them back.

Video: Joe Catholic Workshop Q & A
We included some additional resources on the board or during the discussion. Also note that we do NOT recommend the Kindle version of Ignatius Bible because it is not user friendly.