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"The " And The Roman Church By Dr. Gary M. Gulan, ©1978 (Rev. 84,92,95,05) Introduction: "The word 'Apocrypha' is from the Greek 'apocrypha,' meaning 'hidden things,' and is used by ecclesiastical writers for matters which are, (1) secret or mysterious; (2) or unknown in origin, forged, or spurious; or, (3) unrecognized, or uncanonical. It is primarily in the sense of spurious or uncanonical that we use the term." 1

1. THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE CHURCH A. Catechism of the "It was by the apostolic Tradition that the Church discerned which writings are to be included in the list of the sacred books. This complete list is called the canon of Scripture. It includes 46 books for the (45 if we count Jeremiah and Lamentations as one) and 27 for the New." 2

B. , (1546AD) The 53 of the Council of Trent, in the year 1546, pronounced 15 Apocryphal books as canonical and deserving 'equal veneration' with the books of the . This added, I , , Tobit, Judith, additions of the , Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus or Wisdom of Jesus the Son of , Baruch, The , Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, , Bell and the Dragon, , I Maccabees, and II Maccabees, the . 3

Summary: The reasons the Roman Catholic Church views the Apocrypha as part of God's Word. (1.) The contained the Apocrypha. (2.) The such as Iraneaus, , and Clement of Alexandria also used the apocryphal books in public worship and accepted them as Scripture. (3.) Augustine viewed them as inspired. (4.) The reflects some of the ideas found in the Apocrypha (compare Hebrews 11:35 with 7:12). (5.) Some of the early Christian catacomb scenes portrayed episodes from the Apocrypha showing that the early Christian community was familiar with and used the Apocrypha. (6.) The Council of (382 A.D.), the Council of Hippo (393 AD), and the Council of Carthage (397 AD) also accepted the Apocrypha. (7.) Some of the books of the Apocrypha were found in Qumran along with Old Testament canonical books. 4

2. THE ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN POSITION A. The Scriptures Orthodox Christians believe God's Word consists only of the 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament. Tradition, teachings of the officials of the church, and the extra biblical books of the Apocrypha, are not a part of God's Word. Orthodox Christians believe that calling (1.) tradition, (2.) the teachings of the officials of the church, and (3.) the extra biblical books of the Apocrypha, God's Word violates John's warning of adding to and taking away from the Scriptures, (Rev. 22:18-19).

B. The Apostles Paul's statement "all Scripture" (2 Tim. 3:16), refers to: (1.) the Old Testament, which was used to train Timothy during his childhood, (2 Tim. 3:15); and (2.) the apostles teaching, of course here Paul's teaching, (2 Tim. 3:10,14). Paul never makes mention of tradition, teachings of the officials of the church, or the extra Biblical Apocryphal books. Orthodox Christians believe Scripture is sufficient for faith and practice, (2 Tim. 3:16). Paul states Scripture is to be used for (1.) doctrine (what is right), (2.) reproof (what is not right), (3.) correction (how to get right), and (4.) instruction (how to stay right). The purpose of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:17) is to help the Christian (1.) to be complete (adaptation for use), and (2.) to be equipped (make ready).

C. Westminster Confession Of Faith "The books commonly called Apocryphal, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the Canon of Scripture; and therefore are of no authority in the Church of God, nor to be otherwise approved, or made use of, than other human writings." 5

Summary: Why Orthodox Christians Cannot Accept The Apocryphal Books as God's Word. 1. During the , the Roman Catholic Church used the Apocrypha to support some of false doctrines, such as: (1.) the Mass, (2 Maccabees 12:42-45); (2.) the world created out of preexistent matter, (Wisdom of Solomon); (3.) giving alms and other works can make an atonement for sin, (Ecclesiasticus or called Sirach 3:3; 3:30; 5:5; 20:28; 35:1-4; 45:16; 45:23); (4.) the invocation and intercession of the , (2 Maccabees 15:14; Baruch 3:4); (5.) worship of angels, (Tobit 12:12); (6.) and redemption of souls after death, (2 Maccabees 12:42,45). 6

2. The Old Testament was completed 400 years before . In the 2nd century BC a Greek translation by the Hebrew scholars was made in Alexandria, Egypt, and was called the Septuagint probably because there were 70 translators involved. The Septuagint contained a dozen or more Apocryphal books, however, not all copies contained the same books, suggesting there was no general agreement among the translators as to which additional Apocryphal books were authoritative.

3. The Jews in Palestine never accepted the Apocryphal books as canonical.

4. "There is no record that Christ or any of the apostles ever quoted from the Apocryphal books or that they made any reference to them."

5. " (90AD), the noted Jewish Historian, gave a list of the books of the Jewish Law and Prophets, but he did not include the Apocryphal books."

6. Melito, the of Sardis (170AD) lists the books of the Old Testament and his list contained no Apocryphal books.

7. Athanasius, a Bishop of Alexandria, the great champion of orthodoxy, wrote a letter containing all the Old Testament books included in the Canon and he doesn't claim any Apocryphal books were in the Canon.

8. "The Apocrypha was rejected by (185-254AD), who is generally acknowledged to have been the most learned man in the church before Augustine, by Tertullian, an outstanding scholar in the early third century, by Athanasius, the champion of orthodoxy at the Council of Nicaea, and by , the translator of the which became the authorized Roman Catholic Bible."

9. Philo makes no quotations from the Apocrypha and does not include any Apocryphal books in his list of the Old Testament Canon.

10. "Jerome declared emphatically that the Apocrypha was no part of the Old Testament Scriptures."

11. None of the writers of the Apocryphal books claimed inspiration for their work and some explicitly disclaim it (Prologue to Ecclesiasticus; 1 Mac. 4:46; 9:27; 2 Mac. 2:23; 15:38). None of the Apocryphal books make the claim of being inspired.

12. The Apocryphal books add nothing of importance to the Old Testament.

13. No Apocryphal book was written by a true prophet or apostle of God and no Apocryphal writer's book was confirmed by divine miracles as were many of the Old Testament writers. And no Apocryphal book contains predictive prophecy which many times served to confirm divine inspiration.

14. I and II Maccabees and Ecclesiasticus give us information about life within Jewish history, but most books are merely religious novels (Tobit), pious fiction (Judith), abounding in repetitions and trivial details.

15. Some Apocryphal books contain unscriptural doctrines (2 Mac. 12:40-45; Tobit 12:9; 4:10; 14:10-11; Judith 9:10,13; Ecc. 7:17; 3:3) and numerous errors (Judith 1:1-7; Tobit 1:15; 14:5; 1 and 2 Mac.). 7

Conclusion: The Scriptures (66 books) also called the Word of God, are very specific. The Word of God is tried to God's character, (John 1:1; 17:14-19). It is wrong to view the Apocrypha and men's words in tradition on the same level as God's Word, (2 Peter 1:19). The Apocrypha and tradition often contradict Scripture (66 books). Perhaps you realize that some churches do not follow God's truth. Maybe you have been trusting in the wrong truths.

Notes: 1Roman Catholicism , Loraine Boettner, Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1983, p. 80 2Catechism of the Catholic Church , Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Ed., promulgated by John Paul II, Libreris Editrice Vaticana: Citta del Vaticano, second edition, 1997, p. 30, Paragraph #120 3Roman Catholicism , Loraine Boettner, Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1983, p. 80, 83; Reasoning From The Scriptures With Catholics , by Ron Rhodes, Eugene: Harvest House, 2000, p. 32 4Reasoning From The Scriptures With Catholics , by Ron Rhodes, Eugene: Harvest House, 2000, Pp. 32-33. 5Westminster Confession of Faith , Ch. 1, Sec. 3 6Reasoning From The Scriptures With Catholics , by Ron Rhodes, Eugene: Harvest House, 2000, p. 38 7These fourteen points were summarized or quoted from these sources, Roman Catholicism, by Loraine Boettner, Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1983, p. 80-84. Reasoning From The Scriptures With Catholics , by Ron Rhodes, Eugene: Harvest House, 2000, Pp. 32-41. The Doctrines That Divide , by Erwin Lutzer, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1998, Pp. 146-149. Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences , by Norman Geisler and Ralph MacKenzie, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995, Pp. 159-162. Athanasius, Letter 39, in Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, Ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978, Vol 4, Pp. 551-552. Protestants and Catholics: Do They Now Agree ? by John Ankerberg and John Weldon, Eugene: Harvest House, 1995, p. 33. Answers To Tough Questions , by Josh McDowell, Wheaton: Tyndale, 1988, p. 48. A General Introduction to , by Norman Geisler and William Nix, Chicago: Moody, 1986, Pp. 170-177.