by Patrick Rees
The bible is a masterpiece even if it was not the Word of God. We as Catholics have a total of 73 books we accept as divine in origin. What does Apocrypha mean anyway? Why do other Christians only have 66 books in their bible?
I have purposely avoided the major „differences‟ to concentrate on how we are alike, until now. What was taken out five hundred years ago which was considered scripture up until then? Let me first say not only seven books were removed parts of several others were deleted. It may surprise you but Luther eliminated the book of James in the New Testament also. He called it the epistle of „straw‟. Strange words to us today, but it loosely means to a person of five hundred years ago
„it has no value‟.
Let me list the seven books first: Tobit, Judith, I & II Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch. If you read Dare to Dream you may remember I mentioned these seven books were also removed from scripture by a Jewish council in the year 90 AD. Luther depended on the Jews of Jamnia, fourteen hundred years before him to set his version of the Old Testament. He went further and threw out parts of other Old Testament books. You may say, „Wait a minute, my King James version of the bible has the book of James in it‟. You would be correct. People since Luther’s time, quietly put it back.
Before I address these books in detail I want to mention what is known as the Septuagint. The Septuagint was the version of scripture which Alexander the Great had produced when he conquered the Holy Land. The Septuagint was known by the Jews of Jesus‟ time and Christ quoted from it. The seven books were Jewish in origin, not created by the Catholic Church. The window was opened for Luther’s actions by St. Jerome himself. St. Jerome questioned the value of the works since the originals he worked from were in Greek not Hebrew. The Pope ordered St. Jerome to translate them into his great work the Vulgate anyway. However, St. Jerome left those seven books by themselves not part of the Old Testament. Luther had a blue print on what he could remove left him by St. Jerome. Yes, there was debate on their divine nature and it was settled that they were indeed inspired and part of the bible. Case closed, that was until Luther threw them out. How very strange it was to the world when parts of these books were found with the Dead Sea Scrolls, in Hebrew. It was no surprise to the Catholic Church. We had always accepted these books as the Word of God. The proof of the Dead Sea scrolls find was evidence to the rest of the world.
Who was Tobit? He was a pious Jew who had bad luck similar to Job. He needs the services of his son and an Angel, Raphael, to help him. Tobit is struck blind. Tobit’s son (Tobiah) wants to marry a woman who has had several husbands killed by a demon. Raphael also knows how to fix the situation for Tobiah. It is an entertaining story with a happy ending.
Judith was very brave and beautiful woman. Holofernes plots to eliminate the Jews forever. Judith is desired by Holofernes which gives Judith the opportunity to ‘deliver the Jews’. She cuts his head off with his own sword. Israel is saved.
I have mentioned the books of Maccabees before. They include the story of the Jewish resistance to a king who demands everyone submit to his new belief system. It also has the story of the mother and her seven sons who are all killed because they would not worship the king’s idol (II Mac 7). In the end the temple is restored. We have the Maccabean revolt to thank for a Holy Land in the time of Christ which still contained practicing Jews. The Maccabean revolt allowed the stage to be set for Christ’s time. During the time of Christ, Rome ruled the land but the Jewish nation, Israel, was intact.
The book of Wisdom is attributed to Solomon. The experts tell us it was written much later than Solomon’s period. People often attributed their work to someone else more popular or respected than they were. They would „borrow‟ the credibility of that person to get their words heard. The book is full of praise for wisdom, a true gift from God.
Once again I have to confess I have a favorite. One of my favorites of the Old Testament is the book of Sirach. Sirach is also call Ecclesiasticus or „Church Book‟. The early church used the book extensively in teaching the faith. I find it funny when other Christians are trying to „return to the early church‟ and they don’t even have one of the books the early church used the most. If you want advice to almost any situation it can be found in the book of Sirach. I reread it as often as I can and I always get more out of it.
I am sorry to admit I am weak on the book of Baruch. I know it was written for the exiled nation of Israel. It was trying to let them know their time for deliverance was near. They are reminded of God’s promises to them as a people. It is funny to see biblical writers write this way as if they have to remind God like He is some absent-minded father.
Catholics do not dissect scripture. Many other Christians like to quote one or two verses as if they have more meaning than the rest of the bible. The bible is a whole living thing, the Word of God. Yes, there are beautiful verses but the bible must be taken as a whole. When you approach the bible in this way it truly does come alive for you. It has always been a great source of comfort to me.
I admire the Protestant love of scripture. They are devoted to it. I would wish to offer them the whole bible, not something which has been altered to appease someone’s pain five hundred years ago. If they use a little open mindedness, they too might find they love the parts of the bible not permitted to them now. The bible is a great gift and it should be a gift left in its entirety.
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