Apocrypha
From RationalWiki
In the broad sense, apocrypha are texts or statements whose authorship or historical accuracy is uncertain. The word apocrypha more usually means those parts of the Bible which are not accepted by all churches, or which have been removed over time.
Apocrypha is a relative term. What the Protestant churches call apocrypha, the Catholic Church calls the deuterocanonicals (or "second canon"), but considers three books held as canon by the Eastern Orthodox churches as apocrypha. Judaism holds all the books of the New Testament as well as the deuterocanonicals and anything else found in the Greek translation of the Law and Prophets (the Septuagint) as apocrypha.
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[edit] Apocryphal books
[edit] King James Bible
The King James Bible (1611) contained a section named "Books called Apocrypha" which contained the following:
- 1 Esdras (Vulgate 3 Esdras)
- 2 Esdras (Vulgate 4 Esdras)
- Book of Tobit|Tobit
- Judith
- Rest of Esther (Vulgate Esther 10:4-16:24)
- Wisdom
- Ecclesiasticus (also known as Sirach)
- Book of Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremy (all part of Vulgate Baruch)
- The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children|Song of the Three Children (Vulgate Daniel 3:24-90)
- Susanna (Book of Daniel) (Vulgate Daniel 13)
- Bel and the Dragon (Vulgate Daniel 14)
- Prayer of Manasseh
- 1 Maccabees
- 2 Maccabees
[edit] Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic canon includes all the above books except for 1 and 2 Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh. The Vulgate and Douay-Rheims include the latter three in an "Apocrypha" appendix while more recent Catholic translations exclude them entirely. The other books are incorporated into the Old Testament.
[edit] Canonical only in Eastern Orthodox churches
In addition to the books considered canonical by the Roman Catholic Church:
- 3 Maccabees
- 4 Maccabees
- 1 Esdras
- Odes
[edit] Canonical only in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
In addition to the books considered canonical by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox:
- Enoch
- Jubilees
- 1 Meqabyan
- 2 Meqabyan
- 3 Meqabyan
[edit] Other apocryphal books
A number of apocryphal books dating from the 1st and 2nd centuries exist, often "lost" Gospels like the Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Phillip, and other early Christian writings like the Didache, 2 and 3 Baruch, and the Apocalypse of Peter. They are not part of the canon in any church. They have attracted recent interest though, both in what ways they depart from the theology in the canonical New Testament as well as whether and to what degree the decision to exclude them from the canon was driven by political motivations.
Some books dating from modern times (although claiming to be translated from ancient texts) have also been called apocryphal, including the Book of Mormon, the Essene Gospel of Peace, and two different books claiming to be the "Book of Jasher" referred to in Joshua and 2 Samuel. These are all almost certain modern forgeries.
