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To: Wyrd bið ful aræd
The books were part of the Hebrew canon at the time of Christ’s earthly life and were considered to be Scripture.

Not even close...

In the early years of the church it drew up various lists of the books it considered to be Old Testament Scripture. The books of the Apocrypha do not appear on any list until late in the fourth century. This demonstrates the acceptance of these writings was not immediate.

The Apocrypha Is Missing From The Earliest List

The earliest existing list of the Old Testament canon comes from a man named Melito, a bishop of Sardis. In approximately A.D. 170 he wrote the following.

When I came to the east and reached the place where these things were preached and done, and learned accurately the books of the Old Testament, I set down the facts and sent them to you. These are their names: the five books of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, four books of the Kingdom, two books of Chronicles, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon and his wisdom, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, Job, the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, The Twelve in a single book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Ezra.

This list of Melito is highly instructive. He includes all the books of the present canon except Esther. The reference to the four books of the kingdom would be 1,2 Samuel and 1,2 Kings. Ezra was the common way to refer to Ezra-Nehemiah. Wisdom was merely a fuller description of the Book of Proverbs - not the Apocryphal book by that name. Among ancient writers Proverbs was often called Wisdom.

While including all of the books of the present Old Testament canon (except Esther) Melito nowhere mentions any of the books of the Apocrypha.

They Were Rejected By Most Church Leaders

While a few of the early leaders of the church accepted some of the books of Apocrypha as Scripture, most of the great church leaders did not-Athanasius, Origen, and Jerome, to name a few. Many great church leaders spoke out against the Apocrypha. Those who do cite the Apocrypha as Scripture were few in number.

It is also worth noting that none of the church fathers that quoted the Apocrypha as Scripture knew any Hebrew.

The Clear Testimony Of Athanasius Toward The Apocrypha

In A.D. 367, the great defender of orthodox belief, Athanasius bishop of Alexandria, wrote a letter. In this letter he affirmed all the books of the present Old Testament canon (except Esther) as well as all the books of the present New Testament canon. He also mentioned some of the books of the Apocrypha. Of those he said.

They are not included in the canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish instruction in the world of godliness.

This is another ancient and powerful testimony that the books of the Apocrypha were not considered to be Holy Scripture.

59 posted on 02/15/2017 3:43:49 PM PST by Iscool
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To: Iscool

Did someone plagiarize your work here and post it elsewhere on the Internet under his own name ?


85 posted on 02/15/2017 8:33:47 PM PST by af_vet_1981 (The bus came by and I got on, That's when it all began.)
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