It's an unsettled religious debate. Many say that all books that call themselves religious are not equal. Such is the case with the group of books called "The Apocrypha" pronounced (a-pock-ra-fa). The term apocrypha comes from a Greek word which means hidden or secret. Originally the word was used to suggest that these books contained hidden truth that only special people could know. The books are classified as, wisdom literature, historical literature, religious romance, prophetic literature and legendary additions to already existing Bible books Over the years some of these books got included into an ancient Egyptian Greek version of the Bible called the Septuagint and eventually found their way into later versions of the Bible that are popular today.
Historically, the "secret" books and writings were considered to have importance because they helped fill in the information gap between Malachi of the Old Testament and John the Baptist of the New Testament. Indeed they are helpful because they supply information concerning God's people that covers the four and one-half centuries called the Inter-testamental period between the Old and New Testaments. However, their doctrinal content has long been questioned. Originally it was the Catholic scholar, Jerome (died 420 A.D.), who challenged the use of these books for church doctrine and coined the title "Apocrypha" to describe these types of writings.
Later, Dr. Martin Luther (a former Catholic priest and founder of the Lutheran Church) was so concerned about the content of the apocryphal books that he placed them in a group at the end of the German Old Testament. He objected to some of the teachings found in the Apocrypha because they taught, and he opposed, the doctrine of purgatory and the supposed benefit of prayers for the dead (2 Maccabees 12:43-45). Also, Luther took exception to the teachings promoting the merit of good works for salvation. (Tobit 12:9; Ecclesiasticus 3:33; 2 Esdras 8:33; etc).
Today, the Apocrypha still remains in dispute. In 1546 the Catholic church at the Council of Trent, officially overruled the earlier objections of their scholar Jerome and declared these books as part of their Holy Scriptures. Such official Catholic Bibles as the Douay-Rheims(1609) includes the Apocrypha interspersed throughout.
Protestant churches do not accept the books of the Apocrypha as the Inspired Word of God because they do not see the teachings as being in harmony with the rest of the Bible. Protestants maintain that, as they see it, the books of the Bible must be in agreement from Genesis to Revelation. Following are some examples that illustrate why these writings are in dispute.
From Tobit 6:1-8, "The boy and the angel left the house together, and the dog came out with them and accompanied them. They traveled until night overtook them, and then camped by the river Tigris. Tobias went down to bathe his feet in the river, and a huge fish lept out of the water and tried to swallow the boy's foot. He cried out, and the angel said to him, ‘Seize the fish and hold it fast.' So, Tobias seized it and hauled it on the bank. The angel said to him: ‘Split the fish open and take out its gall, heart, and liver; keep them by you, but throw the guts away; the gall, heart, and liver can be used as medicine.' Tobias split the fish open, and put together its gall, heart, and liver. He cooked and ate part of the fish; the rest he salted and kept. They continued the journey together until they came near Media. Then the boy asked the angel: ‘Azarias, my friend, what medicine is there in the fish's heart, liver, and gall?' He said: ‘You can use the heart and liver as a fumigation for any man or woman attacked by a demon or evil spirit; the attack will cease, and it will give no further trouble. . . . .[later on] ‘. . .he took the fish's liver and heart out of the bag in which he kept them, and put them on the smoking incense. The smell from the fish held the demon off. . ." (Some would say this sounds more like witchcraft than Christianity.)
From Tobit 12:9, "Almsgiving preserves a man from death and wipes out all sin." (Some wonder if this means that you can pay money and have all of your sins forgiven?)
From the Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-5, "But the souls of the just are in God's hand, and torment shall not touch them. In the eyes of the foolish men they seemed to be dead; their departure was reckoned as defeat, and their going from us as disaster. But they are at peace, for though in the sight of men they may be punished, they have a sure hope of immortality; and after a little chastisement they will receive great blessings, because God has tested them and found them worthy to be his." (Some wonder if this text is teaching that people are tortured for a while to clean them up and then they are let into heaven?)
From Daniel, Bel, and The Snake 1:33-36, "Now the prophet Habakkuk was in Judaea; he had made a stew and crumbled bread into the bowl, and he was on the way to his field, carrying it to the reapers, when an angel of the Lord said, ‘Habakkuk, carry the meal you have with you to Babylon, for Daniel, who is in the lion-pit. Habakkuk said, ‘My lord, I have never been to Babylon. I do not know where the lion-pit is. Then the angel took the prophet by the crown of his head, and carrying him by his hair, he swept him to Babylon with the blast of his breath and put him down above the pit. . .Then he got up and ate; and God's angel returned Habakkuk at once to his home."
The debate continues. The Apocrypha was dropped in 1827 by the British and Foreign Bible Society and subsequently by the American Bible Society. However, it can be found as supplemental material in The New English Bible and the New Revised Standard Version.
For Further Study
Unger, Merrill. "The Apocrypha of the Old Testament." Introductory Guide to the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Blessings in your study of God's Word!

Marvin Hunt

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