Q&A - Scripture
June 13, 2021 Sunday Evening Study

About 15 years ago, a book came out that made a lot of people mad. It made a lot of people really confused, but it was an instant bestseller and went on to be a major motion picture. There was so much fighting over this book that it pretty much guaranteed I was going to read it - I wanted to see what the fuss was about. The book was called The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. It was a good book - really entertaining, suspenseful, very well written and even better researched. The author did his homework learning about historical beliefs and secret documents and other traditions both in the Catholic and Protestant churches, and he created a piece of fiction that was very compelling and nearly believable.

A piece of fiction - never proclaimed by its creator to be more than that. It claimed that Jesus had a child with Mary Magdalene, and that there was an entire genealogy continuing to present day of Jesus’ descendents, guarded by a secret society called the Priory of Scion. It claimed that the so-called Holy Grail was actually the womb of Mary Magdalene...on an on. The problem with this book of fiction is that many began to believe it was not fiction, and there were conspiracy theories and other weirdness happening everywhere.

Question - Didn’t people just decide what would be in the Bible and what would not?

What do you think? What about those subjects we cannot answer?
How can a book from thousands of years ago address the issues of today?

There are a lot of claims about how the canon of scripture came to be. In a study taken in 2000 2500 people who identified themselves as Christian were asked if they felt that the Bible was complete and totally reliable. Only 58% of professing Christians believed the Bible to be complete and reliable, with 24% saying they did not know, and 18% saying that it is not. Many were quoted as believing that there are other ancient documents which are supposedly more reliable than the books of the Bible but were left out because of politics and petty jealousies. It is from many of these documents and books where stories like The Da Vinci Code and The Gospel of Judas are developed and given such a believable backstory.

Biblical canon was developed over many years, through many leaders and theologians, and through many synods or councils. It was not until the 4th century that the renowned theologian Athanasius of Alexandria was the first to list out the 27 books of the New Testament as we see them today - the first submission of the 66 book biblical canon that was eventually recognized and reaffirmed several times over hundreds of years. In the same way that the books of the Bible were written by man inspired by God, so too were the books of canon selected - following an apostolic succession where facts could be verified and sources identified when possible (with the exception of Hebrews.) So what about the books that didn’t make it?

The Apocrypha

Apocrypha comes from a Greek word meaning hidden - and this refers to a group of books that the Roman Catholic Church even today believes is a part of the Old Testament. Where their assertion comes from is anyone’s guess, since the Roman Catholic church did not exist until after Christ, so they have no historical stake in the canon of the Old Testament. Most Jews reject the Apocrypha as canon, and it tells their own history.

The Apocrypha appeared in some earlier manuscripts of the Septuagint - the first greek translation of the Old Testament. In the first millennium of the church, the Apocrypha was a matter of some debate, but had been considered by most Popes not to be a part of the biblical canon. With the emergence of Protestantism in the reformation, during the Catholic Reformation it was fully embraced by the Catholic church as canon, so that the cChurch of England (Anglican) took an official stance against the apocrypha which remains the doctrinal standpoint of all protestant faiths today. The Anglicans published Thirty Nine ArticlesI in the 4th century and included this statement referring to Jerome - the man who translated the Bible into Latin and created the Vulgate.

“And the other Books (as Jerome saith) the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners; but yet doth it not apply them to establish any doctrine; such are these following: The Third Book of Esdras, the rest of the Book of Esther, The Fourth Book of Esdras, The Book of Wisdom, The Book of Tobias, Jesus the Son of Sirach, The Book of Judith, Baruch the Prophet, The Song of the Three Children, The Prayer of Manasses, The Story of Susanna, The First Book of Maccabees, Of Bel and the Dragon, The Second Book of Maccabees.”

When Jerome did his translation of the Vulgate, instead of using the Septuagint as his source, he went to the original Masoretic Hebrew text, in which none of the apocryphal books existed. The books themselves to not claim to be canonical, or even the Word of God, and no preacher in the New Testament refers to any scripture from the Apocrypha, even though Paul quotes writings from Greek poets in Acts and Jude quotes another extra-biblical book The Book of Enoch. These books are not self-sufficient and do not fit in with the canon of scripture, and are, in fact, the source of the Bible’s “contradictions” that unbelievers love to talk about.

Question: Is there any truth to the stories like Da Vinci Code and others?

The “facts” of these stories - all of them, hinge upon one common theme. There is a group of special “initiates” who know the real truth and have guarded it for generations. It could be the Freemasons or the Knights Templar or the Priory of Scion - or, like from another of Dan Brown’s books - the Illuminati themselves. Basically, someone has to know what really happened - have a secret knowledge that can be proven and will validate whatever claims they make. Yet, they keep this knowledge secret for any variety of reasons. This is a very apt description of the doctrines and practices known as Gnosticism. Even before we look at the way that Gnosticism skews the truth of the Word and is even warned against by Paul, Peter, James, and Jude (ironically), remember that the Bible itself makes the claim it should be understood mostly by plain reading and meditation. Gnostics, on the other hand, operate through the use of secret codes and secret knowledge required to interpret what God is really saying.

If you study Gnosticism, you will find that there are 5 characteristics by which Gnostic writings differ from the Bible:

1. Dualism - Gnostics see a difference between the God that created the world and the God who came to the world.
2. Cosmogony - Gnostics see an eternal battle between good and evel - a battle with no end, and they do not necessarily see God as being stronger than his adversary.
3. Soteriology - their means of salvation is by gaining higher levels of secret knowledge
4. Eschatology - Gnostics to not believe in a bodily resurrection, because they believe that matter is evil.
5. Cult - They perform various rituals which are not outlined biblically.

Besides being opposed by the Apostles, all throughout church history Gnosticism has been almost universally recognized as heresy - unbiblical aberration. I guess when you make Tom Hanks the star it is easy to forget the truth.

Other books known to stem from Gnostic teaching: The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Philip, The Gospel of Mary, The Gospel of Barnabas, The Gospel of Judas.

The Gospel of Mary tells the story of Jesus’ descendents through Mary Magdalene, which include the Merovingian Dynasty in France, Joan of Arc, and Stuart Dynasty in Scotland, among others. This is refuted in the book of Isaiah - Isaiah 53 states the Suffering Servant would have no descendents and none would be left to declare his generation.

The Book of Jasher

This book, like the Book of Enoch quoted in Jude, is an extra-biblical book that is neither apocrypha nor canon, but is mentioned in the Bible twice. It is referred to in Joshua 10:13 and again in 2 Samuel 1:18 and it’s name translates to “the book of the upright one.” This is a lost book, which, being lost, removes its consideration as being divinely inspired. There are several lost books mentioned in the OT - the Book of The kings Of Israel and the Book of the Kings of Judah and the book of Wars - all of these are lost. However, the book of Jasher has special interest because its meaning hints at a book of doctrine and theology, rather than a history. Numerous books have been published claiming to be the Book of Jasher - the most famous of these is The Book of Mormon.

There are many reasons why the Book of Mormon cannot be accepted as scripture. The teenaged prophet Joseph Smith supposedly translated the book from golden plates which then vanished forever and were seen by nobody else, nor is there any other evidence they ever existed. Yet, some passages quote word for word not just from the Bible - but from specific English translation of the Bible - the KJV. The KJV was translated from the Septuagint - itself not an original source of the scripture. It is curious that it would match word for word a copy of a copy - especially when it was translated from a completely different language itself. There are also other books revered as scripture within the Mormon religion - namely the Pearl of Great Price and Doctrines and Covenants which defines much of the ceremony of the LDS church.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (JW) publish magazines (Watchtower, Awake) and many books without which they claim it is impossible to interpret the Bible correctly. Their New World Translation of the Bible has changed not just words, but entire meanings within the scripture to suit their interpretive practices - for example, their version of John 1:1 is “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was a god.”

Question - So is the Bible enough? Why don’t we have more?

What do you think?
Where is the value in understanding extra-biblical writings? 

Question: Where actually are the scriptures about adding to the Bible?

“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6