Extra Biblical Writings Not Canonized
| FULL LIST OF EXTRABIBLICAL WRITINGS |
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To explain simply, the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha are collections of writings which were not included in the Bible for various reasons. There is a lot written on this subject and I encourage you to research the history of the Bible. They key, however, is that the Bible is trustworthy and reliable and if it wasn't (for example, if it contained false information), it would have to be thrown out and would not be the Word of God. The Bible has stood the test of time and archeological discoveries have always proven the Bible to be true. The apocrypha and pseudepigrapha were not included for many reasons but namely because they didn't pass the stringent tests required in the long process of assembling God's Word into one book called the Bible. You will be amazed at the care taken in this process!
Roman Catholics sometimes call some of these writings Deuterocanonical, meaning "Second Canon" and some are often included in a middle section of Catholic Bibles but not considered equal in authority and inspiration as the Canon.
Protestants typically call these writings the Apocrypha. The term “apocrypha” comes from a Greek word meaning “hidden”, or “things hidden away”. In modern jargon, the word is often used to describe things that are spurious, or of questionable authority.
The Pseudepigrapha (sued-a-PIG-ruffa), whose Greek, meaning is "false subscriptions," is a group of Jewish and Jewish-Christian texts primarily written between 250 B.C.E. and 200 C.E. These books are not included in any Bible, Apocrypha, or even rabbinic literature. Of course, some books in the Apocrypha are also written with “false subscriptions” – Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, 2 Esdras, Wisdom of Solomon, etc., adding to some of the confusion surrounding what books are considered to be part of the Apocrypha, and what books are part of the Pseudepigrapha.
It is widely accepted why these books were not included in the Canon, and it is also pretty clear where they are considered inaccurate. With that in mind, they still contain a lot of beneficial information and I have enjoyed studying a lot of these books as a supplement to my regular Bible reading. Keep in mind it is much more important to read the Bible, not false writings.
This is the largest list of it's kind anywhere on the Internet (and has working links!) and includes the apocrypha/deuterocanonical writings, the pseudepigrapha, other extrabiblical writings, and some historical works. |
