What is the difference?
The Catholic Bible compared to the ‘Protestant’ Bible
This information is presented so that Catholics and Protestants can acquire a basic understanding of the differences between the two versions.
NOTE: This article recognizes (without endorsing) that the Catholic Church considers itself ‘Authoritative, and Infallible’.
The Catholic Church has decreed from its Authority and Infallibility the Catholic Canon of Scriptures. While this is ‘recognized’ as the state of the Catholic Church, this article is not presented to ‘argue’ the validity of that position.
* This article appears as a ‘Public Service Announcement’. It is NOT, and WILL not be, a venue to debate ‘controversy’. Comments promoting controversy, arguing the validity of either Canon, arguing the authority or infallibility of the Catholic Church or deemed not germane to the explanation of these different versions will be deleted at the sole discretion of the blog administrator.
Introduction:
This is an information article. It is not an argument or apologetic. It is one man’s attempt to put in one place the basics about different versions of The Bible. The author is ‘attempting’ to use the K.I.S.S. principle [Keep It Simple, I’m Stupid]. He is by no means an expert in historiography. A ‘basic glossary’ is included in the introduction to familiarize the reader with terms in use [here]. This article is not an ‘authoritative’ text, but rather a ‘familiarization’ text.
Basic Glossary:
Apocrypha¹: Title given to the group of books included in the Septuagint and Vulgate but excluded from the Jewish and Protestant canons of the Old Testament Canon - Bible or books of the Bible
apocryphal: of questionable authenticity and/or lacking ‘Divine Inspiration’
Canon - Bible or books of a Bible
Catholic Canon²: Approved (by the Catholic Church) Bible consisting of 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament
disputed books: Those books (and parts of books) appearing in the Catholic Canon, not present in the ‘Protestant’ Canon
Jewish Canon: the ‘TaNaKh’39 Books (Commonly called the ‘Protestant’ Old Testament in a different order. Penned in Hebrew.
‘Protestant’ Canon: Commonly accepted (by Protestants) Bible consisting of 39 books of the Jewish Canon as the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament
Septuagint¹: a Greek version of the Jewish Scriptures written in the 3d and 2d centuries B.C. by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt. This version includes ‘books’ not included in the Hebrew [Jewish Canon]
Vulgate³: First Latin translation of the Bible commissioned and completed by the Catholic Church under the supervision of St. Jerome circa 400 A.D. The ‘original’ Vulgate contained 77 books plus one addition to ‘Esther’, one addition to Baruch, and three additions to Daniel.
Version: Different Canon - is different from ‘translation’. Translation refers to various translations of the Bible - contemporary translations like New American Bible (NAB), New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) (both Authorized by the Catholic Church), King James (KJV), New American Standard (NAS) etc. Which ‘Protestant’ Bible is best question will not be addressed here.
---------------------------------------------------------
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
Chapter 1: ‘Identification of Disputed books’
First, there was the Jewish Canon (in Hebrew). Sometime during the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., the Septuagint is redacted in Greek. The Septuagint includes 15¹ books not included in the Jewish Canon.
Around 400 A.D. St. Jerome, under the direction of the Catholic Church, translated the ‘Canon’ into Latin. He completed the Vulgate. St. Jerome included all 15 books from the Septuagint in the Vulgate. St. Jerome, a meticulous scholar, paid special attention in notating books (the Septuagint additions - or Apocrypha) that were not included in the Jewish Canon.
As stated, there were 15 ‘books’ in the Septuagint. The ‘modern’ Catholic Canon contains 73 books, seven more than the Protestant Canon (and four less than the Vulgate).
Here is a list of the 15 ‘books’ of the Apocrypha: And a breakdown:
The first seven are ‘canonized’ (made equal with the other books of) the Catholic Cannon (Council of Trent, 1546).
1. Tobit
2. Judith
3. The Wisdom of Solomon
4. Sirach - Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach
5. Baruch
6. 1 Maccabees
7. 2 Maccabees
5 ‘books’ were ‘canonized’ into other books:
Additions to the Book of Esther
The Letter of Jeremiah (addition to Baruch -chapter 6)
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews (addition to the book of Daniel)
Susanna (addition to the book of Daniel)
Bel and the Dragon (addition to the book of Daniel)
Three books not ‘canonized’ - and deemed apocryphal.
1 Esdras‡
2 Esdras‡
The Prayer of Manasseh
According to the Catholic Catechism², the seven books listed (Tobit - 2 Maccabees) are included in the Catholic Canon, as well as the additions to Esther and Daniel.
When comparing the Catholic Versions of Esther and Daniel to the Protestant Versions of Esther and Daniel, there is a difference. Esther contains 107 additional verses in the Catholic Canon (in the New American Bible (NAB) divided into chapters A - F). The Book of Daniel is different between the Catholic and Protestant Canons. Chapter 3 has 100 verses in the Catholic, compared to 30 in the Protestant (this is the ‘The Prayer of Azariah’). 14 Catholic Chapters compared to 12 in the Protestant; the additional chapters are ‘Susanna’, and ‘Bel and the Dragon’ (the NAB notates the additional chapters, but does not notate the addition verses in chapter 3.).
The ‘disputed books’ between Catholics and Protestants are the seven additional books in the Catholic Canon and the additions to Esther and Daniel (the addition to ‘Baruch’ is secondary because the book of Baruch is itself in dispute).
Chapter 2: ‘Protestant Disagreements with Disputed Books’
Protestant Bible Scholars Give the following reasons for excluding these works from the Protestant Canon. [These are quotes from various sources - it is not a matter to ‘encourage’ controversy - they are here to ‘inform’ the reader as to ‘why’ the Protestant Canon excludes these books - PERIOD.]
1. “Despite the diversities of literary form, most of which are parallel to, or developments from, similar genres in the Old Testament, the attentive reader of the Apocrypha will be struck by the absence of the prophetic element. From first to last, these books bear testimony to the assertion of the Jewish historian Josephus (Against Apion, i. 8), that "the exact succession of the prophets" had been broken after the close of the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament.”[Note - the ‘Old Testament’ in all of the Canons is not in ‘strict’ chronological order.]
2. “The introductory phrase, "Thus says the LORD," which occurs so frequently in the Old Testament, is conspicuous by its absence from the (disputed) books.” [This author for clarity adds the word ‘disputed’. This is a direct reference to the ‘absence of prophetic element’ so could be construed as the same ‘argument’ as 1.]
3. “They were never quoted by Jesus, and it is doubtful if they were alluded to by the apostles” [There is strong disagreement from Catholics regarding ‘alluded to by the apostles’. Additionally, Jesus or the apostles do not quote every other book in the Jewish Canon.*]
4. “Most of the early Fathers regarded them as uninspired.” [Catholics would also debate this.*]
5. “The literary quality of most of the writings, as compared with the canonical books, stamps them as unworthy of a place in the Sacred Scriptures.” [*]
6. “They did not appear in the ancient Hebrew Canon of Jerusalem.” [These books still do not appear in the Jewish Canon. They do not appear in the Masoretic Text (an early A.D. - after the Septuagint - Hebrew Jewish Canon): the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem rejected them as non-canonical *]
*This author reiterates the information is for education NOT controversy - if one wants to ‘argue’ the validity of these statements or other issues like the Authority of the Catholic Church - DO NOT do it in this article’s comments. The blog administrator will delete any comments that intentionally provoke argument. Comments of a clarifying nature or comments asking for clarification are allowed.
Chapter Three: ‘Refute & Refute’
While these comments are the author’s, and may raise ire, they are a recitation of facts. They are a fusion of sorts compiled from many sources. To quote each source would require too much space.
Catholic pundits would be erroneous to claim, “The Catholic Church established the Canon of the Bible 1500 years ago”. This does not match facts. There was dissention in the Catholic Church as to the canonical books from the time St. Jerome redacted the Vulgate until the 1546 decree by the Council of Trent. St. Jerome’s own notes in the original Vulgate show he saw a definite distinction between the ‘disputed books’ and the Canon (St. Jerome wrote additional letters after redacting the Vulgate expressing his concerns). While many of the early Church Fathers quoted most of these books as authoritative Scripture, numerous ‘Church’ ‘Fathers’ addressed concern about them (Sextus Julius Africanus, Melito of Sardis, Eusebius, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nazianzus, Amphilochius, Epiphanius, Gregory the Great, Walafrid Strabo, Hugh of St. Victor, Hugh of St. Cher, and Nicholas of Lyra).
Prima facie evidence of divergent opinion in the Catholic Church is present in the Decree of the Council of Trent (It was not 'just' reformers that had questions about these books).
1. The decree itself ‘canonized’ these books - ending debate on the matter.
2. The books of 1 & 2 Esdras and The Prayer of Manasseh were EXCLUDED after being in the Vulgate, and taught as ‘authoritative Scripture’ for a 1000 years. Additionally see ‘Letter of Paul to Laodicea’ below
Protestant pundits would be erroneous to claim ‘I told you so’. The authority and inspiration of the ‘disputed books’ has been a matter of as much if not more controversy within the ‘Protestant’ church. Records of debates on the matter extend well into the 19th Century. Debates include such notables as Martin Luther, John Wycliff, Andreas Bodenstein (known as Carlstadt), Jacob van Liesveldt, George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury), and Œcolampadius.
Chapter 4 ‘The Other Books’
---
There are a number of other books that 'have a claim’ to canonical status. More aptly, persons claim on their behalf, that they should be included in ‘The Canon’ (Catholic and Protestant). Most are ‘New Testament’ books.
Subject to comment here, are the two books:
~The Letter of Paul to Laodicea: This ‘letter’ is included in the ‘original’ Vulgate [check the numbers above: The Vulgate contains 77 books, the ‘modern’ Catholic Canon contains 73. The Council of Trent excluded three books (77-3=74). The Letter of Paul to Laodicea has been described as a ‘compilation’ of Paul's other letters, however; this author cannot find a specific date when it was ‘excised’ or ‘excluded’ from the Vulgate, only that it is not addressed at the Council of Trent and not included in the Books of the New Testament listed in Canon 120 of the Catechism.
~The Protoevangelion of James [aka. The ‘pre’-Gospel of James or Book of James - (Protestants not familiar with this work - it is not the Letter/Epistle of James found between Hebrews and 1 Peter.)] The Catholic Church does not consider this work part of the Canon. 16 of 24 chapters deal almost exclusively with Mary (the mother of Jesus). It is from these chapters that the Catholic Church derives the foundation for many of the Doctrines concerning Mary. [Her immaculate conception, Her ‘sinless state’, Her marriage to a widower (Joseph) who already had children etc.]
There are MANY other books that ‘could’ be considered, however; the very content of these books marks them as less than apocryphal and more closely heretical (of, relating to, or characterized by an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma) by both Catholics and Protestants.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Jesus Christ commits multiple acts of murder.
The Gospel of Thomas {from The Nag Hammadi Library} Divinity of Christ declaimed.
The Gospel of Philip {from The Nag Hammadi Library} Resurrection of Christ never happened.
Etcetera ad nauseum.
This author has neither the time nor inclination to ‘find’ and address all of these works.
Notes:
*This author reiterates this information is educational NOT to provoke controversy - if one wants to ‘argue’ the validity of these statements or other issues like the Authority of the Catholic Church - DO NOT do it IN this article’s comments. The blog administrator will delete any comments that intentionally provoke argument. Comments of a clarifying nature or comments asking for clarification are allowed.
¹There is some ‘literary’ dispute regarding the number of books ‘added’ to the Jewish Canon in the Septuagint - the 15 presented here are the ‘consensus’ books - various apologists agree on these 15 books. A list (including text) of the ‘Apocrypha’ is here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/apo/chapter.htm
²The complete list of the books of the Old Testament and New Testament according to the Catholic Church is in The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Canon 120: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PR.HTM
³A list of the Books of the Vulgate (including text of each book in multiple languages including Latin) is here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/vul/ [this site does not list the additions to Esther, Baruch and Daniel separately; however, the additions are in the text of the books.]
‡ If one reads the J. Waterworth (London: Dolman, 1848) translation of “The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent” [http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct04.html] one may notice two apparent discrepancies. In the Waterworth translation, the Fourth Session Decree “CONCERNING THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURES” lists 45 five books not 46 in the Old Testament, and “the first book of Esdras, and the second which is entitled Nehemias” which appears would include 1 & 2 Esdras. These are not discrepancies. In some copies of the Vulgate, the Books of Jeremiah and Lamentations are included as one book - this is also stated in the Catechism (see [²] above). The books of Esdras listed in the ‘Decree’ refer to Ezra and Nehemiah, not 1 & 2 Esdras. Comparing the text of 1 & 2 Esdras (see [¹] above) these books are not the books of Ezra and Nehemiah - some translations even refer to these books as 3rd and 4th Esdras to clarify the difference.
It is the author's hope that this information has been educational.
If individuals wish to 'debate' any of the 'points' referenced above - they may leave an address to where such a debate may be engaged. However - links are links - one does not need to inflame to invite. If the invitation to 'debate' is overly inflammatory - it will be deleted.
This information is presented so that Catholics and Protestants can acquire a basic understanding of the differences between the two versions.
NOTE: This article recognizes (without endorsing) that the Catholic Church considers itself ‘Authoritative, and Infallible’.
The Catholic Church has decreed from its Authority and Infallibility the Catholic Canon of Scriptures. While this is ‘recognized’ as the state of the Catholic Church, this article is not presented to ‘argue’ the validity of that position.
* This article appears as a ‘Public Service Announcement’. It is NOT, and WILL not be, a venue to debate ‘controversy’. Comments promoting controversy, arguing the validity of either Canon, arguing the authority or infallibility of the Catholic Church or deemed not germane to the explanation of these different versions will be deleted at the sole discretion of the blog administrator.
Introduction:
This is an information article. It is not an argument or apologetic. It is one man’s attempt to put in one place the basics about different versions of The Bible. The author is ‘attempting’ to use the K.I.S.S. principle [Keep It Simple, I’m Stupid]. He is by no means an expert in historiography. A ‘basic glossary’ is included in the introduction to familiarize the reader with terms in use [here]. This article is not an ‘authoritative’ text, but rather a ‘familiarization’ text.
Basic Glossary:
Apocrypha¹: Title given to the group of books included in the Septuagint and Vulgate but excluded from the Jewish and Protestant canons of the Old Testament Canon - Bible or books of the Bible
apocryphal: of questionable authenticity and/or lacking ‘Divine Inspiration’
Canon - Bible or books of a Bible
Catholic Canon²: Approved (by the Catholic Church) Bible consisting of 46 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament
disputed books: Those books (and parts of books) appearing in the Catholic Canon, not present in the ‘Protestant’ Canon
Jewish Canon: the ‘TaNaKh’39 Books (Commonly called the ‘Protestant’ Old Testament in a different order. Penned in Hebrew.
‘Protestant’ Canon: Commonly accepted (by Protestants) Bible consisting of 39 books of the Jewish Canon as the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament
Septuagint¹: a Greek version of the Jewish Scriptures written in the 3d and 2d centuries B.C. by Jewish scholars in Alexandria, Egypt. This version includes ‘books’ not included in the Hebrew [Jewish Canon]
Vulgate³: First Latin translation of the Bible commissioned and completed by the Catholic Church under the supervision of St. Jerome circa 400 A.D. The ‘original’ Vulgate contained 77 books plus one addition to ‘Esther’, one addition to Baruch, and three additions to Daniel.
Version: Different Canon - is different from ‘translation’. Translation refers to various translations of the Bible - contemporary translations like New American Bible (NAB), New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) (both Authorized by the Catholic Church), King James (KJV), New American Standard (NAS) etc. Which ‘Protestant’ Bible is best question will not be addressed here.
---------------------------------------------------------
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
Chapter 1: ‘Identification of Disputed books’
First, there was the Jewish Canon (in Hebrew). Sometime during the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., the Septuagint is redacted in Greek. The Septuagint includes 15¹ books not included in the Jewish Canon.
Around 400 A.D. St. Jerome, under the direction of the Catholic Church, translated the ‘Canon’ into Latin. He completed the Vulgate. St. Jerome included all 15 books from the Septuagint in the Vulgate. St. Jerome, a meticulous scholar, paid special attention in notating books (the Septuagint additions - or Apocrypha) that were not included in the Jewish Canon.
As stated, there were 15 ‘books’ in the Septuagint. The ‘modern’ Catholic Canon contains 73 books, seven more than the Protestant Canon (and four less than the Vulgate).
Here is a list of the 15 ‘books’ of the Apocrypha: And a breakdown:
The first seven are ‘canonized’ (made equal with the other books of) the Catholic Cannon (Council of Trent, 1546).
1. Tobit
2. Judith
3. The Wisdom of Solomon
4. Sirach - Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach
5. Baruch
6. 1 Maccabees
7. 2 Maccabees
5 ‘books’ were ‘canonized’ into other books:
Additions to the Book of Esther
The Letter of Jeremiah (addition to Baruch -chapter 6)
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews (addition to the book of Daniel)
Susanna (addition to the book of Daniel)
Bel and the Dragon (addition to the book of Daniel)
Three books not ‘canonized’ - and deemed apocryphal.
1 Esdras‡
2 Esdras‡
The Prayer of Manasseh
According to the Catholic Catechism², the seven books listed (Tobit - 2 Maccabees) are included in the Catholic Canon, as well as the additions to Esther and Daniel.
When comparing the Catholic Versions of Esther and Daniel to the Protestant Versions of Esther and Daniel, there is a difference. Esther contains 107 additional verses in the Catholic Canon (in the New American Bible (NAB) divided into chapters A - F). The Book of Daniel is different between the Catholic and Protestant Canons. Chapter 3 has 100 verses in the Catholic, compared to 30 in the Protestant (this is the ‘The Prayer of Azariah’). 14 Catholic Chapters compared to 12 in the Protestant; the additional chapters are ‘Susanna’, and ‘Bel and the Dragon’ (the NAB notates the additional chapters, but does not notate the addition verses in chapter 3.).
The ‘disputed books’ between Catholics and Protestants are the seven additional books in the Catholic Canon and the additions to Esther and Daniel (the addition to ‘Baruch’ is secondary because the book of Baruch is itself in dispute).
Chapter 2: ‘Protestant Disagreements with Disputed Books’
Protestant Bible Scholars Give the following reasons for excluding these works from the Protestant Canon. [These are quotes from various sources - it is not a matter to ‘encourage’ controversy - they are here to ‘inform’ the reader as to ‘why’ the Protestant Canon excludes these books - PERIOD.]
1. “Despite the diversities of literary form, most of which are parallel to, or developments from, similar genres in the Old Testament, the attentive reader of the Apocrypha will be struck by the absence of the prophetic element. From first to last, these books bear testimony to the assertion of the Jewish historian Josephus (Against Apion, i. 8), that "the exact succession of the prophets" had been broken after the close of the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament.”[Note - the ‘Old Testament’ in all of the Canons is not in ‘strict’ chronological order.]
2. “The introductory phrase, "Thus says the LORD," which occurs so frequently in the Old Testament, is conspicuous by its absence from the (disputed) books.” [This author for clarity adds the word ‘disputed’. This is a direct reference to the ‘absence of prophetic element’ so could be construed as the same ‘argument’ as 1.]
3. “They were never quoted by Jesus, and it is doubtful if they were alluded to by the apostles” [There is strong disagreement from Catholics regarding ‘alluded to by the apostles’. Additionally, Jesus or the apostles do not quote every other book in the Jewish Canon.*]
4. “Most of the early Fathers regarded them as uninspired.” [Catholics would also debate this.*]
5. “The literary quality of most of the writings, as compared with the canonical books, stamps them as unworthy of a place in the Sacred Scriptures.” [*]
6. “They did not appear in the ancient Hebrew Canon of Jerusalem.” [These books still do not appear in the Jewish Canon. They do not appear in the Masoretic Text (an early A.D. - after the Septuagint - Hebrew Jewish Canon): the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem rejected them as non-canonical *]
*This author reiterates the information is for education NOT controversy - if one wants to ‘argue’ the validity of these statements or other issues like the Authority of the Catholic Church - DO NOT do it in this article’s comments. The blog administrator will delete any comments that intentionally provoke argument. Comments of a clarifying nature or comments asking for clarification are allowed.
Chapter Three: ‘Refute & Refute’
While these comments are the author’s, and may raise ire, they are a recitation of facts. They are a fusion of sorts compiled from many sources. To quote each source would require too much space.
Catholic pundits would be erroneous to claim, “The Catholic Church established the Canon of the Bible 1500 years ago”. This does not match facts. There was dissention in the Catholic Church as to the canonical books from the time St. Jerome redacted the Vulgate until the 1546 decree by the Council of Trent. St. Jerome’s own notes in the original Vulgate show he saw a definite distinction between the ‘disputed books’ and the Canon (St. Jerome wrote additional letters after redacting the Vulgate expressing his concerns). While many of the early Church Fathers quoted most of these books as authoritative Scripture, numerous ‘Church’ ‘Fathers’ addressed concern about them (Sextus Julius Africanus, Melito of Sardis, Eusebius, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory of Nazianzus, Amphilochius, Epiphanius, Gregory the Great, Walafrid Strabo, Hugh of St. Victor, Hugh of St. Cher, and Nicholas of Lyra).
Prima facie evidence of divergent opinion in the Catholic Church is present in the Decree of the Council of Trent (It was not 'just' reformers that had questions about these books).
1. The decree itself ‘canonized’ these books - ending debate on the matter.
2. The books of 1 & 2 Esdras and The Prayer of Manasseh were EXCLUDED after being in the Vulgate, and taught as ‘authoritative Scripture’ for a 1000 years. Additionally see ‘Letter of Paul to Laodicea’ below
Protestant pundits would be erroneous to claim ‘I told you so’. The authority and inspiration of the ‘disputed books’ has been a matter of as much if not more controversy within the ‘Protestant’ church. Records of debates on the matter extend well into the 19th Century. Debates include such notables as Martin Luther, John Wycliff, Andreas Bodenstein (known as Carlstadt), Jacob van Liesveldt, George Abbot (Archbishop of Canterbury), and Œcolampadius.
Chapter 4 ‘The Other Books’
---
There are a number of other books that 'have a claim’ to canonical status. More aptly, persons claim on their behalf, that they should be included in ‘The Canon’ (Catholic and Protestant). Most are ‘New Testament’ books.
Subject to comment here, are the two books:
~The Letter of Paul to Laodicea: This ‘letter’ is included in the ‘original’ Vulgate [check the numbers above: The Vulgate contains 77 books, the ‘modern’ Catholic Canon contains 73. The Council of Trent excluded three books (77-3=74). The Letter of Paul to Laodicea has been described as a ‘compilation’ of Paul's other letters, however; this author cannot find a specific date when it was ‘excised’ or ‘excluded’ from the Vulgate, only that it is not addressed at the Council of Trent and not included in the Books of the New Testament listed in Canon 120 of the Catechism.
~The Protoevangelion of James [aka. The ‘pre’-Gospel of James or Book of James - (Protestants not familiar with this work - it is not the Letter/Epistle of James found between Hebrews and 1 Peter.)] The Catholic Church does not consider this work part of the Canon. 16 of 24 chapters deal almost exclusively with Mary (the mother of Jesus). It is from these chapters that the Catholic Church derives the foundation for many of the Doctrines concerning Mary. [Her immaculate conception, Her ‘sinless state’, Her marriage to a widower (Joseph) who already had children etc.]
There are MANY other books that ‘could’ be considered, however; the very content of these books marks them as less than apocryphal and more closely heretical (of, relating to, or characterized by an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma) by both Catholics and Protestants.
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas: Jesus Christ commits multiple acts of murder.
The Gospel of Thomas {from The Nag Hammadi Library} Divinity of Christ declaimed.
The Gospel of Philip {from The Nag Hammadi Library} Resurrection of Christ never happened.
Etcetera ad nauseum.
This author has neither the time nor inclination to ‘find’ and address all of these works.
Notes:
*This author reiterates this information is educational NOT to provoke controversy - if one wants to ‘argue’ the validity of these statements or other issues like the Authority of the Catholic Church - DO NOT do it IN this article’s comments. The blog administrator will delete any comments that intentionally provoke argument. Comments of a clarifying nature or comments asking for clarification are allowed.
¹There is some ‘literary’ dispute regarding the number of books ‘added’ to the Jewish Canon in the Septuagint - the 15 presented here are the ‘consensus’ books - various apologists agree on these 15 books. A list (including text) of the ‘Apocrypha’ is here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/apo/chapter.htm
²The complete list of the books of the Old Testament and New Testament according to the Catholic Church is in The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Canon 120: http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PR.HTM
³A list of the Books of the Vulgate (including text of each book in multiple languages including Latin) is here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/vul/ [this site does not list the additions to Esther, Baruch and Daniel separately; however, the additions are in the text of the books.]
‡ If one reads the J. Waterworth (London: Dolman, 1848) translation of “The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent” [http://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct04.html] one may notice two apparent discrepancies. In the Waterworth translation, the Fourth Session Decree “CONCERNING THE CANONICAL SCRIPTURES” lists 45 five books not 46 in the Old Testament, and “the first book of Esdras, and the second which is entitled Nehemias” which appears would include 1 & 2 Esdras. These are not discrepancies. In some copies of the Vulgate, the Books of Jeremiah and Lamentations are included as one book - this is also stated in the Catechism (see [²] above). The books of Esdras listed in the ‘Decree’ refer to Ezra and Nehemiah, not 1 & 2 Esdras. Comparing the text of 1 & 2 Esdras (see [¹] above) these books are not the books of Ezra and Nehemiah - some translations even refer to these books as 3rd and 4th Esdras to clarify the difference.
It is the author's hope that this information has been educational.
If individuals wish to 'debate' any of the 'points' referenced above - they may leave an address to where such a debate may be engaged. However - links are links - one does not need to inflame to invite. If the invitation to 'debate' is overly inflammatory - it will be deleted.
posted by Unchained Slave at 10:49 AM
3 Comments:
Hey Dave! Great stuff!
Not to be debating, but the Church did in fact close the New Testament Canon (excluding Paul's Letter to the Laodicaeans) fairly early on, limiting it to the 27 books we all know and love.
This was formally declared by Pope Innocent 1.
For further information, check out this article in the Catholic Encyclopedia.
God bless.
If I do decide to debate the finer points of this article, I'll provide a link there at a later time.
Thanks for your write-up!
Thanks Gregory,
The linked article is an excellent source about the Catholic Canon. Its veracity as a source for information about the Catholic Canon is an added bonus since it comes from 'The Catholic Encyclopedia'
It is a 'bit' long winded, but, as stated an excellent source for understanding the 'mechanics' of 'definining' the Catholic Canon...
As stated in 'What is the Difference?' The author had no knowledge of 'when' Paul's Letter to Laodicea was 'removed' from the Catholic Canon - only that it appears in 'Vulgate' but is not included in Canon 120 of the Catechism.
Thank you for your contribution.
Hi David,
I sure am impressed with the research that went into this! What a handy resource, and I think you did a marvelous job of presenting it fairly! I'm sureI'll be checking back on it often. Thanks for the hard work!
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