African American Catholic Youth Bible

With February designated each year as Black History Month, what better history can we find to honor than that of God’s peoples and places in Africa as revealed throughout the Bible?

Last year, I reviewed the African Heritage Study Bible published by Judson Press, which evangelical Christians and lovers of the KJV (King James Version) will especially welcome. This time I gladly received a review copy of The African American Catholic Youth Bible recently released by Saint Mary’s Press and the National Black Catholic Congress, who collaborated on this excellent project for several years.

Besides presenting readers with the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE) known for its accuracy, the book includes numerous features designed to appeal to young readers and draw them to God’s word. For instance, you’ll find book introductions, “Know Your Faith” articles, info on people who remained faithful to God, background articles on biblical times, and “Take It to God” suggestions for letting the Bible assist your prayers.

This edition also includes a subject index, glossary, maps, and helpful lists of “Events, People, and Teachings” such as the parables of Jesus, miracles, and Bible prayers. A topical index on “Life and Faith Issues” provides a quick reference guide to what the Bible has to say about topics of special importance to young people such as fear, forgiveness, sexuality, and temptation.

Catholic youth will especially welcome the 3-year cyclical for Bible reading and other features that inform readers about the Catholic faith and history. In the back of the book, for example, several pages have been devoted to “A Black History of African American Catholics,” beginning with a brief word on the establishment of Saint Augustine “a town in present-day Florida” where “Spanish settlers included black men and women, both free and slave.” I saw no mention, though, of the birth place of the saint for whom the city was named, who reportedly came from present-day Algeria in northern Africa.

Despite the excellent resources in this highly recommended edition, I wish the study aids had placed more emphasis on the African locales mentioned in the Bible and also on the probable heritage of biblical people who, themselves, placed no emphasis on racial distinctions. A sidebar did mention that the Queen of Sheba was most likely black, but I had difficulty finding other such references. However, the nicely drawn artwork consistently shows dark-skinned people throughout instead of the typical illustrations of Bible people as blue-green-eyed blondes, which I object to, even though I am one.

More important, though, are not our racial differences but our heritage and shared beliefs as brothers and sisters in Christ.

For example, a “Be About It!” sidebar entitled “Leaders with Character” suggest we “Look in Proverbs 6:17-19 at the list of things the Lord hates. It reads like a description of a corrupt politician or business person!” But the mini-article goes on to suggest, “Now take the list and put it in the positive: humble eyes, a truthful tongue, hands that protect the innocent, a heart that plans good, feet that hurry to help, a truthful witness, and someone who brings harmony to families. That’s the kind of leader everyone wants!” Amen. Not only does such a leader have “the unique ability to inspire others,” those of us who aim for those characteristics will find ourselves looking less and less dissimilar and more and more like Christ.

©2015, Mary Harwell Sayler, poet, writer, and reviewer, is a lifelong lover of Christ, the Bible, and the church in all its parts.

The African American Catholic Youth Bible, paperback


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