Apocrypha

[scraparcs]

Anyone read the apocryphal books of the Bible? Anyone interested in reading them? I just realized I've only read Tobit and a few portions of Wisdom and would like to read the apocryphal books of the Bible sometime soon.

 

[Andrew12]

I have read through the apocrypha several times, although not divinely inspired like the Bible, They do provide great historical detail and context for learning more about the Bible.

 

[crishmael]

I've read Tobit and bits of the others. I think they're kinda neat.

 

[SpiritualAntiseptic]

Anyone read the apocryphal books of the Bible? Anyone interested in reading them? I just realized I've only read Tobit and a few portions of Wisdom and would like to read the apocryphal books of the Bible sometime soon.

I have read the Deuterocanonical books of the bible which were removed by the Pharisees and the Reformers.

 

[SpiritualAntiseptic]

I have read through the apocrypha several times, although not divinely inspired like the Bible, They do provide great historical detail and context for learning more about the Bible.

And you are doing their inspiration on what grounds?

 

[Andrew12]

And you are doing their inspiration on what grounds?

Lets not derail the thread trying to debate inspiration....

 

[SpiritualAntiseptic]

Lets not derail the thread trying to debate inspiration....

You made the claim, I questioned it.

We don't need to debate, I am just wondering what your basis is for determining what is and isn't scripture. I have a bunch of bible right behind me on bookshelf that include them. In fact, for most Christians, they are canon. They were considered canon by the Jewish communities when Christ walked the Earth.

In fact, the were used in the bible (Septuagint) that Paul and other writers quoted from when writing the NT.

 

[Apollo Celestio]

Not yet, no. I might get a bible with the apocrypha.

 

[stephanieamber]

i recently acquired a bible with the apocrypha included and have been meaning to read it, but i've been busy reading the Bible in ways i never have before.

 

[scraparcs]

Lets not derail the thread trying to debate inspiration....

What he said. I'm more interested in seeing if anyone is interested in reading one or more of the books commonly considered part of the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical books.

 

[CrusaderKing]

I have. They're included in the Catholic Bible.

 

[Touma]

I've read 1 and 2 Maccabees, which are pretty awesome, if you ask me.

 

[Thunder Peel]

I saw the movie Apocrypha Now. It was awesome.

 

[Ryu2000]

I have the KJV Apocrypha and recently acquired a copy of the ESV with Apocrypha. 1 Macc. and 2 Esdras rock the house haha

 

[benf]

Everything I've ever read about them points out several errors in them.

I don't see the point in reading them, unless it related to deep doctrinal systems historical roles.

 

[Allen1901]

^^ Glad you mentioned the KJV. A lot of people do not know that the first printing included the Apocrypha.

I'm not prepared to say which books are inspired and which are not. Didn't Jesus himself quote from the book of Jasher? I should double check on that.

The book of Enoch is very interesting and should be mentioned here. There are also "lost" books of the New Testament that are interesting too.

 

[Qyöt27]

There are also "lost" books of the New Testament that are interesting too.

They (things like the Gnostic Gospels and such) were never 'lost', they were actively suppressed for being heretical. And some counted amongst that group were actually apocrypha related to the OT (the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan, for example).

One could make a good argument for the Didache to have been an orthodox text that was genuinely 'lost' for centuries.


As for the Deuterocanon, I have a copy of the New Oxford Annotated NRSV that includes it. Haven't gotten around to reading them, though.

 

[MacFall]

I saw the movie Apocrypha Now. It was awesome.

I liked the part where they went looking for that guy in Vietnam.

 

[Allen1901]

They (things like the Gnostic Gospels and such) were never 'lost', they were actively suppressed for being heretical. And some counted amongst that group were actually apocrypha related to the OT (the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan, for example).

One could make a good argument for the Didache to have been an orthodox text that was genuinely 'lost' for centuries.


As for the Deuterocanon, I have a copy of the New Oxford Annotated NRSV that includes it. Haven't gotten around to reading them, though.

I used the word lost in quotation marks because they are often bound together
and sold in such a way. Naturally they were not merely misplaced, but purposefully
excluded for various reasons.

 

[Qyöt27]

I used the word lost in quotation marks because they are often bound together
and sold in such a way. Naturally they were not merely misplaced, but purposefully
excluded for various reasons.

I expounded on it for the benefit of those that don't know about conflicts over the historical canon, I understood the reason you put quotation marks around 'lost'. If it came across as singling you out, that wasn't my intention.

When it comes to the specials on them on the History Channel, the reasons for exclusion are not covered very well, if covered at all. And like most of said Channel's religious or otherwise 'unexplained history' or 'supernatural investigation' offerings, it's sensationalized and conspiratorialized. It wouldn't be odd to see people buy into it like some did with the Da Vinci Code.