Saturday, January 5, 2013

Is the Apocrypha Canonical?

The Apocrypha is that part that some (especially Catholics) place in between the old & New Testaments in the Bible. Written during the Greek period, between the Perian & Roman empires(Intertestmental). But the Protestants took it out during the Reformation since it isn't considered "inspired" in the same way as scripture, and some books contradict scripture.
But Christ settles it for us-for he said That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Matthew 23:35
In the Hebrew Old Testament, the books were arranged beginning with Genesis & ending with 2 Chronicles. (Abel in Genesis & Zacharias in 2 Chronicles). It was the Hebrew way of saying "from Genesis to Revelation" today-in other words the complete canon of Scripture.
So No, the Apocrypha in't Scripture, although it can make for interesting reading.
The Catholic, Episcopal & Orthodox Churches use the Apocrypha-but in different ways. Besides, the Catholic Church didn't make it official until the Council of Trent in 1546 because certain things in the Apocrypha supported some of their false doctrines that are not taught in the Scriptures.
For example-the unBiblical doctrine of praying for the dead- It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins. 2 Maccabees 12:46

Official position of the Episcopalian Church on the Apocrypha- "And the other Books (as Hierome [Jerome] saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine;"

Catholic use of the Apocrypha- "Protestants, following the tradition of the Pharisaic Jews, accept the shorter Hebrew Canon, even though the Jews also reject the NT Books. The main problem is that the Bible does not define itself. (Uhm...see Matt. 23:35 please) No where in the Sacred Writings are the divinely inspired Books listed completely.  The Bible needs a visible, external authority guided by the Holy Spirit to define both the OT and NT Canons. This authority is the Magisterium of the Catholic Church." (Huh? Really?)
CatholicNewsAgency

Orhtodox Church on Apocrypha - "The Orthodox Church considers the deutero-canonical writings (called the Apocrypha by the Protestants) to be part of Holy Scripture. We consider Scripture all the books included in the Septuagint. They are not given the same authority as the OT and NT. Our communal worship services quote extensively from the Old and New Testaments but do not quote from the deutero-canonical books. However, the Orthodox consider them edifying and inspired and they are often referenced in teachings and in writings of the Holy Fathers." AllExperts

Books listed in the Apochrypha
1 Esdras
2 Esdras
Additions to Esther
1 Macabees
2 Macabees
Tobias
Judith
Wisdom
Sirach
Baruch
Epistle of Jeremiah
Susanna
Prayer of Azariah
Prayer of Manasseh
Bel and the Dragon
Laodiceans

So is the Apocrypha canonical?-NO