|
|
|
THEOLOGICAL
DICTIONARY |
|
The Apocrypha
-- Part One
by Dr.
Norman Geisler
(from Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics,
Baker Book House, 1999) |
|
Apocrypha
most commonly refers to disputed books that Protestants
reject and Roman Catholics and Orthodox communions accept into the Old
Testament. The word apocrypha means "hidden" or "doubtful." So
those who accept these documents prefer to call them "deuterocanonical,"
or books of "the second canon." The
Roman Catholic View.
Catholics and Protestants agree about the inspiration
of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. They differ over
eleven pieces of literature in the Old Testament (seven books and four
parts of books). These disputed works became an issue in the
Reformation and, in reaction to their rejection by Protestants, were
"infallibly" declared to be part of the inspired canon of Scripture in
1546 at the Council of Trent.
The Roman Catholic Council of Trent stated:
The Synod… receives and venerates... all the books [including the
Apocrypha] both of the Old and the New Testaments—seeing that
one God is the Author of both... as having been dictated, either by
Christ’s own word of mouth or by the Holy Ghost... if anyone
receives not as sacred and canonical the said books entire with all
their parts, as they have been used to be read in the Catholic
Church… let him be anathema (Schaff, 2:81).
Another Trent document read:
If anyone, however, should not accept the said books as sacred
and canonical, entire with all their parts,... and if both knowingly
and deliberately he should condemn the aforesaid tradition let him
be anathema (Denzinger, Sources, no. 784).
The same language affirming the Apocrypha is
repeated by Vatican Council II.
The Apocrypha Rome accepts includes eleven
books or twelve, depending on whether Baruch 1-6 is split into two
pieces, Baruch 1-5 and The Letter of Jeremiah (Baruch 6). The
Deuterocanon includes all the fourteen (or fifteen) books in the
Protestant Apocrypha except the Prayer of Manasseh and 1 and 2
Esdras (called 3 and 4 Esdras by Roman Catholics. Ezra and Nehemiah
are called 1 and 2 Esdras by Catholics).
Although the Roman Catholic canon has eleven more
pieces of literature than does the Protestant Bible, only seven extra
books, or a total forty-six, appear in the table of contents (the
Protestant and Jewish Old Testament has thirty-nine). As noted in the
accompanying table, four other pieces of literature are incorporated
within Esther and Daniel.
The Apocrypha as Scripture.
The larger canon is sometimes referred to as the
"Alexandrian Canon," as opposed to the "Palestinian Canon" which does
not contain the Apocrypha, because it is alleged to have been
part of the Greek translation of the Old Testament (the Septuagint,
or LXX) prepared at Alexandria, Egypt. Reasons generally advanced
in favor of this broader Alexandrian list are:
1. The New Testament reflects the thought of the
Apocrypha, and even refers to events described in it (cf.
Heb. 11:35 with 2 Maccabees 7,12).
2. The New Testament quotes mostly from the Greek
Old Testament, the LXX, which contained the Apocrypha. This
gives tacit approval to the whole text.
3. Some early church fathers quoted and used the
Apocrypha as Scripture in public worship.
4. Such early fathers as Irenaeus, Tertullian, and
Clement of Alexandria accepted all of the Apocrypha as
canonical.
5. Early Christian catacomb scenes depict episodes
from the Apocrypha, showing it was part of early Christian
religious life. This at least reveals a great regard for the
Apocrypha.
6. Important early manuscripts (Aleph, A,
and B) interpose the Apocrypha among the Old Testament
books as part of the Jewish-Greek Old Testament.
7. Early church councils accepted the
Apocrypha: Rome (382), Hippo (393), and Carthage (397).
8. The Eastern Orthodox church accepts the
Apocrypha. Their acceptance shows it to be a common Christian
belief, not one unique to Catholics.
9. The Roman Catholic church proclaimed the
Apocrypha canonical at the Council of Trent (1546) in accord
with the early councils noted and the Council of Florence not long
before the Reformation (1442).
10. The apocryphal books continued to be included
in the Protestant Bible as late as the nineteenth century This
indicates that even Protestants accepted the Apocrypha until
very recently
11. Apocryphal books in Hebrew were among Old
Testament canonical books in the Dead Sea community at Qumran, so
they were part of the Hebrew Canon.
(Next time in Part Two: Answers to the Catholic
Arguments) |
Theological
Dictionary
Authors
Dr.
Randall Price
Dr. Steve Sullivan
Dr. Norm Geisler
|
|
|
|
|
THE JOHN
ANKERBERG SHOW |
|
Make a donation to
The
John Ankerberg Show
If you have
been
ministered to today, please help us minister to others by making
a contribution to the ministry.
Please enter gift amount then press
"Make a Donation"
CLICK HERE
TO WATCH ONLINE
HARRY POTTER
SUPPORT RESOURCES
Confused about Harry Potter?
CLICK
GO
FOR SUPPORT RESOURCES
DR. JOHN ANKERBERG'S RESPONSE TO CREATION QUESTIONS
Dr. John Ankerberg answers your
questions on creation in the following article available both as
a downloadable PDF and broken down into individual questions for
online reading. Click the link below to read:
Does Scientific Evidence Today Show
that God Created the Heavens and the Earth? And What Does the Bible Say
About When He Created?
Facing Financial Facts -
How to Kill the Debt Monster
AUTHOR:
Riser, Dr. Steven C.
For an increasing number of people, debt is becoming a real monster. The fear and dread that comes from debt is just as real as a predator in the home. So how can you dispatch the debt
monster?
The Coalition of Nations
in Daniel 11
AUTHORS:
DeYoung, Dr. Jimmy
One of the major trends for the last days is a coalition of nations that will come against Israel. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung describes those nations and what brings them together.
|
Copyright 2006, Ankerberg Theological Research Institute
|
