The Bible – Where Did It Come From? – Part 3
Where did the Bible come from? How did this number one bestseller come to be? How was it determined which books would go into the Bible?
Today, we’re looking at another factor used in determining which books went into the Bible.
Category #3 – Apocryphal
The word means “hidden” or “hard to understand.”
“There were 14 to 15 apocryphal books. The battle continues over these books in that the Roman Catholic Church did not fully recognize them until the middle of the second millennium.
Several apocryphal books were added to the Bible during the time of the Protestant Reformation when individual Christians were questioning specific doctrines of the Catholic Church and objecting to the lack of biblical support for such teaching. These apocryphal books, which do not agree with the originally canonized books, are used to substantiate Catholic teachings such as purgatory and prayers for the dead.”
Until next time
Next time we are together, we will look at category #4, “pseudepigrapha.” I cannot type this word fast; let alone say it with great fluency. But I will not get discouraged because I know how much this topic can confuse people, including myself. I pray it helps everyone get more comfortable with reading God’s Word. After all, if we’re not comfortable reading God’s Word, then I’m afraid we will not invest our precious time reading it to glean what God has for us.
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