Preview: A review of The Great Adventure Catholic Bible. A color coded walk through salvation history makes this Bible perfect for Catechists, Catholic school teachers or anyone who wants to understand the history and overarching story in the Bible.
This post may contain affiliate links for your shopping convenience. View our full disclosure policy HERE. I was given a copy of this Bible for review & giveaway purposes. All opinions are my own.
When I was asked to review The Great Adventure Catholic Bible, I was excited to see what it had to offer. I have never done The Great Adventure Bible studies, but knew this Bible had so many great features whether you were using it with the Bible study resources or not.
Over the past few years I've used our Catholic Study Bible and even gotten into using a Catholic journaling Bible, but this was my first experience with a Bible that focuses on the narrative to give the big picture of salvation history to make reading and understanding the Bible easier.
After spending some time with The Great Adventure Bible, I really like it and think it would be a great tool for Catechists and Catholic school teachers. It will arm you with a better understanding of the Bible, how the books of the Bible all connect and what was happening historically during each of the books of the Bible. That is knowledge that all of us can use, whether we teach or not, but it just struck me as I was exploring the features of this Bible, how helpful it would be to teachers.
Features of The Great Adventure Bible
There are so many features that make this Bible like no other Catholic Bible out there. Some of the features include:- Twelve Timeline charts that provide a visual overview of each biblical time period.
- Twelve articles that give a summary and explanation of each time period, and seven articles introducing and explaining the major covenants of salvation history, which show how God’s plan for humanity has unfolded throughout the Bible.
- Seventy call-outs provide brief descriptions of the key events in the biblical narrative.
- The words of Jesus are printed in red, and there are sixteen new full-color maps.
- The Great Adventure Catholic Bible uses the Revised Standard Version – Second Catholic Edition.
- The Bible’s reader-friendly font and fresh design, two ribbon markers, and its Alpha Cowhide® Cover make for an elegant and enjoyable reading experience.
What I Love About The Great Adventure Bible
There are so many great features included in this Bible. For me, one of the most helpful features is the index tabs printed on the right side of the page to note what book of the Bible it is. I love putting tabs in my Bibles to help me quickly find the book I'm looking for, but with this Bible, the work has already been done for me.
Not only are there side tabs included for each book of the Bible, but they are color coded to show what time period is covered. This really helps you at a quick glance to have an understanding of where in history all of these events took place.
I am the first to admit that history is not my "thing." This Bible really helps with that by giving summaries of the different time periods and telling where events took place, who was in power, what has happening in the secular world at the time, etc. Through the summary and narrative of each time period, you get a better understanding of what was going on before you start reading each book of the Bible included in that time period. It is perfect for historians and history novices alike.
Another really helpful feature of The Great Adventure Bible, is that the words of Jesus are in red. This makes it really easy to tell the difference in speakers and really focuses your attention on Jesus and His message.
Something I am really curious to try out is the Bible Timeline reading plan. It lays out how in just 3 months you can read the fourteen narrative books that tell the story from beginning to end. These tell the overarching story and help you to get the big picture. Then from there you can see how the remaining books fit into the story once you have that foundational understanding.
The Great Adventure Bible Study
This Bible is designed similarly to The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study program. Both have the color-coded Bible Timeline learning system that helps readers to learn the different time periods and how all of the books fit into salvation history. If you have used the Bible study program before, this Bible will pair nicely with what you have learned and the organization and color coding that you are used to seeing.
If you haven't used The Great Adventure Catholic Bible Study Program, don't worry, this Bible is still for you. It is very easy to read and follow all of the additional features and color coding even if you do not have prior experience with it. Everything is described for you in the introduction.
Comparing The Great Adventures Bible to a Study Bible
In comparing The Great Adventure Catholic Bible to our Catholic Study Bible, the big difference that I noticed is that you do not have the large footnotes at the bottom of each page that help explain parts of the text. I think to include this, plus all of the summaries/timelines/explanations in this new version would make this Bible so thick. There is just no way to include all of that. The explanations in The Great Adventure Bible are definitely focused more on the historical aspects of each book, but there is plenty of explanation and also references to The Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Also, a physical difference that stands out is how much more sturdy this Bible seems to be compared to our study Bible. The pages are thicker and have color. The soft cover is flexible yet more durable than the cover of our other Bible. For us, The Great Adventures Bible will still be a study Bible, because aren't we always studying the Bible in one way or another? This is just another great tool to help us understand not only the Bible but salvation history in a way we have never studied it before.
Ready to grab your copy? At the time I'm writing this blog post, it is available for Pre-Order from Ascension Press.