Below are links to a larger number of Apocryphatic Books, many of these I was not even aware, in my Bible History Studies.
Do you consider any use of the Books of the Apocrypha to be of value in your study of the Bible? And why?
http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Apocrypha-Books/
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/apocrypha.html
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01601a.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_apocrypha
Do you Consider the Apocrypha Worth Studying?
Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by righteousdude2, Mar 19, 2015.
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Yes, and I have used some of them (please list in your comments which books you see of value).
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No.
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No, I see these books as not being of value.
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Here is my opinion (see my comments).
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righteousdude2 Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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Sure. Helps understand the expectations of Messiah the Jews had when Jesus comes.
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righteousdude2 Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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I think they are a good read. But I lump them in with "Christian Mythology". It's easy to see Roman Catholic influence in some of them. Or perhaps vice versa.
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righteousdude2 Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
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I do not take this subject to be truth, but find it fascinating. I consider myself to be somewhat of an "Angelologist", and love hearing myths and legends about them. They make for some good (and sometimes inspirational) stories, whether or not they are true (which it is my opinion that most, if not all, of them are not).
In this vein of thought, I lump the Apocrypha in with all the other pseudopigraphal books. They make for a fascinating read. But if you try to build doctrine out of them, it will spawn confusion. In fact, I would warn new Christians to stay away from them, as they read much like scripture, and it would be easy to get confused. Some of the Apocryphal books have content that is directly contrary to the 66 canonical books.
It's actually not unlike reading the Qur'an. If you read the Qur'an, it reads a lot like the Old Testament, and has many of the same historical stories in it. But, again, you have to be able to make a distinction. It would be too easy for someone searching for truth to be led astray by these books.
In the same vein, I have digital copies of the Keys of Solomon that I received from a pagan acquaintance. I made him a deal. I would read them, if he would read the New Testament. I held up my end of the bargain. While interesting to read, I would not let my daughters read them. There are pagan spells of summoning explicitly outlined in them, and I would no sooner let them read that and develop a fascination for magick than I would let them use a Ouija board. -
Baptist Believer Well-Known MemberSite Supporter
Interesting time for this question to be asked...
I'm preparing for this week's Sunday School lesson and we are making the transition from the Old Testament to the New. To bridge the gap, I need to explain many of the historical events preceding the Incarnation, so we are going to use 1 and 2 Maccabees to review the messianic revolts - especially the one with "Judah the Hammer" (Judas Maccabeus) - so we can appreciate the messianic expectations depicted in the Gospels.
In the church I grew up in, we were reacting so hard against Roman Catholicism, even the mention of a non-canonical book would incur severe discipline. -
Some certainly have value; 1 and 2 Maccabees spring to mind. Lots of good info for understanding the world of the New Testament. But as a historical, not doctrinal, source.
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Not a lot of them are of value--but the Maccabean history is important and needs to be understood in the overall context of scripture itself. Some of the 'Pseudepigrapha' is even of value, especially parts (not all) of the books of Enoch. The Dead Sea Scrolls 1QS and 1QH are of great value, not that they are without error, however, they reveal the views of the Jewish nonconformist community prior to Christ on salvation and other issues that we desperately need to understand. Otherwise we're not informed.
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I'm on my phone, and so can't give too much of an in depth answer. But I've heard that, too. I can't say conclusively that it's true or not. We see angels visiting Lot, but whether or not he knew they were angels is uncertain.
The earliest time that we know of for sure that they knew about angels was when the angel visited Daniel, which was of course during the Babylonian captivity (which is the exile I assume you are talking about). -
God bless. -
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Baptist Believer Well-Known MemberSite Supporter