Common English Bible with the Apocrypha

 When I was given the opportunity to review the Common English Bible I had a choice of whether I wanted to have it with or without the Apocrypha. I choose to get it with the Apocrypha. 

First of all let me state that I am not Bible Scholar nor will I even attempt to be one. I am going to try to explain what the Apocrypha is. Then throw in some known history of the Apocrypha. I am also not a part of the Catholic Religion. All my sources vary from bits and pieces of many different sites on the web, and from books, and even of some things I knew for many years about the books.


 Apocrypha-Meaning: Hidden.

The Apocrypha is a collection of what scholars say are uninspired books written by many individuals. The Catholic religion considers these books as scripture like Bible-believer believes that our 66 books are the word of God. The Apocrypha is not accepted as Scripture by Protestants or Jews. Many except the historical value of some of the books.

Why the Apocrypha isn't in the Bible?

• Not one of the apocryphal books is written in the Hebrew. All Apocryphal books are in Greek, except one which is only in Latin. 

• None of the writers of the Apocrypha claimed  inspiration.

• The apocrypha books were never acknowledged as sacred scriptures by the Jews. (We also know that the apocrypha was written before the New Testament). In fact, the Jewish people rejected and destroyed the apocrypha after the overthrow of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. 

• They are not once quoted by the New Testament writers, who frequently quoted from the Old Testament.
  
  
•  Some more interesting facts of the Apocrypha. 

• Written during the “period of silence,” from the time of Malachi, after which direct revelations from God ceased till the book of New Testament era.
  
  
• Wasn't the Apocrypha in the King James? The King James translators didn't considered the Apocrypha the word of God. They considered the  books of some historical value (ie...the Maccabean revolt), the Apocrypha was between the Old and New Testaments as an appendix of reference material. 
  
  
• The Apocrypha began to be omitted from the Authorized Version in 1629. Puritans and Presbyterians lobbied for the removal of the Apocrypha from the Bible. In 1825 the British and Foreign Bible Society removed it also. From that time on, the Apocrypha has been eliminated from just about all English Bibles. Exceptions are the Catholic Bibles and some pulpit Bibles.
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• The Protestant Church rejects the apocrypha as being inspired, as do the Jews, but in 1546 the Roman Catholic Church officially declared some of the apocryphal books to belong to the canon of scripture.
  
  
• At the Council of Trent (1546) the Roman Catholic religion pronounced some of the Apocrypha books sacred.
  
  
  Now you are probably wondering why I wanted the Apocrypha in a bible? I am truly a lover of all things history. There are some interesting things in the Apocrypha concerning history and wise sayings. I don't believe they are inspired. I will leave all the debated up to the scholars. I have no problem reading the Apocrypha. It will never replace God's inspired word. In my not so scholarly mind-It is more of a history book that shows customs of that time period. I like some of the wise saying of the other books.
  
  
  My favorite books are the Maccabees which I am going to touch on in a later post. I think this is one book that is truly worth reading.
  
  
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   This book has been provided to me my by B&B Media Group, Inc Publisher free of charge and in no way was I asked to give a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.