Pastor's Corner
10 Reasons Why Bible Believers Reject the Apocryphal Books (writings) of Romanism (Tobit, Judith, I and II Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch)
In 1546, the third session of the Roman Catholic Council of Trent canonized 7 apocryphal books as holy and inspired Scriptures and added them to the Roman Catholic Old Testament Canon. Additionally, the council cursed anyone who did not accept their decision about these spurious apocryphal writings. The Roman Catholic Church did give the world a Bible, but it is a Bible that contains writings and statements of dubious authenticity.
Here are 10 reasons why you should reject Rome’s decision regarding the Apocrypha.
1. The apocryphal books were never acknowledged, referenced, alluded to, or quoted by the Lord Jesus Christ or the Apostles. The Lord Jesus Christ defined the three sections of the Jewish Scriptures and their content making reference to each section and to many individual books but He made no reference to any of the 7 spurious writings endorsed by the Council of Trent (Tobit, Judith, I and II Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch).
2. The apocryphal books were never acknowledged, referenced, alluded to, or quoted by any New Testament author. Not one author of the Bible, Old Testament or New Testament, makes reference to, quotes, acknowledges, or alludes to any of the Council of Trent's spurious writings (see list above).
3. The apocryphal books are rejected and excluded from the Hebrew Masoretic Scriptures by orthodox Jews. If anyone would know what books comprised the Jewish Scriptures, the Jewish people would.
4. The apocryphal books were not written in the Hebrew language. The New Testament Scripture, ironically, the Book of Romans, states emphatically that the oracles of God were entrusted to the Jews (Romans 3:1). The language of the Jewish people and Scriptures was clearly and definitively Hebrew. However, none of these 7 apocryphal books were written in the Hebrew language.
5. The apocryphal books (if they existed at the time) were never accepted or acknowledged as Scripture by the early Jewish believers and church (the Hebrew church). If these books existed when they claim to have existed and were authentic, then surely there would be some acknowledgment by Jewish believers, but this is not the case. Early Jewish believers never made any reference to or acknowledgement of these apocryphal books.
6. None of the apocryphal books were found in any Bible manuscripts before the fourth century (350 AD) Vaticanus (Codex B) Manuscript. These books are called Apocrypha and described as apocryphal because they are of dubious authenticity. Yet, the Roman Catholic Church declared these books Holy Scripture and added them to their Bible cursing everyone who didn't accept them. Bear in mind there is no evidence that the Lord Jesus Christ ever acknowledged or accepted these alleged writings. Could the Roman Catholic Church be the only professing Christian organization that has officially cursed the Lord Jesus Christ?
7. The apocryphal books were first imposed upon the local churches by Emperor Constantine in approximately 350 AD. using the work of Origin (Hexapla) and Eusebius. Vaticanus is believed to be one of the 50 Roman Catholic bibles that Constantine ordered to be kept in churches (approximately 350 AD). The mythological BC Septuagint is accepted by tradition and exists only in Origin’s Hexapla (185-253 AD).
8. The apocryphal books contain the anti-Biblical teachings of prayers for the dead, sinless perfection, and purgatory. If these books were authentic, wouldn't you expect them to harmonize with the teachings of the Old and New Testament Scriptures?
9. The apocryphal books justify the immoral actions of lying and assassination. These are two conducts that from the time of Damasus have been associated with Roman Catholicism and the Roman Bishopric in particular. Could this simply be a coincidence? Might the Roman Catholic system manufacture a source that justified deception and assassination in light of the conduct of Damasus? Note: When investigating Damasus, don't just use pro-Catholic sources. This is a dilemma for Catholics and why many of them will never find the truth; they are forbidden to use sources not approved by their "Magisterium" (ten-dollar word for Rome's teaching hierarchy).
10. The apocryphal books (writings) were officially added to the Roman Catholic Version of the Old Testament Canon in the third session of the Council of Trent in 1546. The Roman hierarchy didn't officially declare these books were Scripture and curse anyone and everyone not accepting their decision until 1546. That's about 2000 years too late. The Hebrew Canon of the Jewish Scriptures, what we New Testament believers call the Old Testament, was completed approximately 500 years before Christ was born.
This is one way that Roman Catholicism perpetuates itself. Rome simply makes unsubstantiated statements and then pronounces a curse on anyone who disagrees with them. While Rome’s curses go unheeded by the average non-Catholic person, Roman Catholic adherents are captured and held hostage by these pronouncements.
Reader, there has always been a Bible version issue. From the time of Paul onward there has been an authentic line of Bible transmission and a counterfeit and corrupted line of Bible transmission (II Corinthians 2:17 and 4:1,2). Rome did give the world a Bible (see Constantine and Damasus), but it was a corrupt Bible (See Vaticanus, Codex B and Jerome’s Latin Vulgate). The version of the Bible and Canon that Rome gave to mankind contains dubious additions that teach doctrines that are not found in the Authorized (King James) Version.
What Bible do you believe? And why do you believe it?
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