Yes, it’s true. Those words do appear in the Bible in the same sentence, except it’s not in the way many people think. James writes, "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone." (RSV). I love the Book of James and have always loved it, even when I read it as a hard core Protestant. Of course, my Protestantism (admittedly not always hardcore) was Methodism and Anglicanism, where I don’t think justification by faith alone is really much of an issue except among certain groups.

I recently bought the New Catholic Answer Bible and am highly impressed with it. It features the basic text and notes of the New American Bible (NAB), which is on the sterile side, but otherwise not too bad. It also includes, however, notes by Paul Thigpen and Dave Armstrong that explain the biblical basis for Catholic beliefs. I know Catholic theology quite well, but I want to know more about the biblical basis for many doctrines, especially those we don’t share with our separated brethren. Contrary to popular belief we do (or are supposed to) read and have a love and veneration of the Holy Scriptures.