apocrypha catholic answers

Their case is usually presented as follows: It is hard to fix either the date or the religious circle in which the work arose. However, the kernel of the narrative is drawn from older sources. In the first, lxxxiii-lxxxiv, is portrayed the dreadful visitation of the flood, about to fall upon the earth. A beautiful penitential prayer put in the mouth of Manasses, King of Juda, who carried idolatrous abominations so far. There exists a puerile correspondence consisting of a pretended Letter of Herod to Pilate and Letter of Pilate to Herod. The remaining section, under the symbolism of cattle, beasts, and birds, sketches the entire history of Israel down to the Messianic reign.—Book III, xci-civ, cviii. The canonical Epistle of St. Jude, in verses 14, 15, explicitly quotes from the Book of Henoch; the citation is found in the Ethiopic version in verses 9 and 4 of the first chapter. All mankind sinned with Adam. After the Resurrection the soldiers whom the governor had placed at the tomb were bribed by the leaders to be silent, but nevertheless divulged the fact. Going further back, the “Encomium” of Modestus, Bishop of Jerusalem, in the seventh century (P.G., LXXXVI, 3311), and the Pseudo-Dionysius of the fifth (De divinis nominibus, iii), probably suppose an acquaintance with apocryphal narratives of the Death and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Many Fathers admitted the inspiration of Fourth Esdras. The original text, iii-xiv, is of one piece and the work of a single author. It is problematic, however, whether this is to be identified with our recast Transitus or not. It professes to be a revelation given to Moses by the “Angel of the Face”. in Matth. These are: (I) “The Acts of Andrew and Matthias” (or Matthew as given by some authorities); (2) “Acts of Peter and Andrew” (the original language of the above is Greek); (3) “The Martyrdom of the Apostle Andrew” has come down in both Greek and Latin recensions. Frequently they give but a tantalizing glimpse of some episode on which we would fain be more fully informed. These are the negative aspects of the modern application of the name; on its positive side it is properly employed only of a well defined class of literature, putting forth scriptural or quasiscriptural pretensions, and which originated in part among the Hebrews during the two centuries preceding Christ and for a space after, and in part among Christians, both orthodox and heterodox, in the early centuries of our era. Naturally, Catholics refuse to admit such a denomination, and we employ “deuterocanonical” to designate this literature, which non-Catholics conventionally and improperly know as the “Apocrypha”. Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, and even St. Augustine suppose the work to be a genuine one of the patriarch. Apocrypha in Catholicism The early Christians, most of whom spoke Greek, used the Septuagint, which included the Apocrypha. A work which was so well accredited in the days of Clement of Alexandria (c. 140-215), and which was known to the Gnostic Heracleon (c. 160-170), must have come from almost Apostolic antiquity. The attribution of a great name of the distant past to a book by its real author, who thus effaced his own personality, was, in some cases at least, a mere literary fiction which deceived no one except the ignorant. Among the lost Jewish apocrypha, the one worthy of special notice here is (b) The Book of Jannes and Mambres, and II Timothy, iii, 8, applies these names to the Egyptian magicians who reproduced some of the wonders wrought by Moses. The author was a Pharisee, but one who, while adopting a distinctly Jewish view, was probably acquainted with the Christian Scriptures and freely laid them under contribution. The quasievangelistic compositions concerning Christ which make no pretensions to be Gospels will be treated elsewhere. It is evident that neither of Herod‘s sons, Philip and Antipas, had yet reigned thirty-four years, since the writer, hazarding a prediction that proved false, says that the sons should enjoy shorter reigns than their father. The Elect One, or Son of Man, existed before the sun and stars were created, and is to execute justice upon all sinners who oppress the good. He places the relation in the mouth of Gamaliel of Acts, v, 34. This is a myth that always comes up but is simple to answer. It has been employed in various ways by early patristic writers, who have sometimes entirely lost sight of the etymology. The term apocryphal in connection with special Gospels must be understood as bearing no more unfavorable an import than “uncanonical”. “Apocrypha” means “hidden things,” and that’s a misnomer, because these books aren’t and never have been hidden. But the Messias will intervene and execute Divine wrath upon the enemies of the nation, and a cataclysm of nature, which is depicted with truly apocalyptic sublimity, will forerun the beginning of the new era. When we would attempt to seize the literary sense attaching to the word, the task is not so easy. It is a tasteless and bombastic effort, and seems to date from about the fourth century. The prayer breathes a Christian spirit, and it is not entirely certain that it is really of Jewish origin. It is also incorporated in the ancient so-called Apostolic Constitutions. The book purports to be a series of predictions delivered in written form to the safekeeping of Josue (Joshua) by Moses when the latter, in view of his approaching death, appointed Josue as his successor. A Gospel of Thomas was known to many Fathers. The Muratorian Fragmentist mentions together with a spurious epistle of Paul to the Laodiceans, one to the Alexandrians, which was forged under the auspices of Marcion. This holds good for the so-called “Wisdom of Solomon“, written in Greek and belonging to the Church‘s sacred canon. The ostensible purpose of these deliverances is to confirm the Mosaic laws and the admonitions in Deuteronomy. They are found in Greek, Syriac, and Ethiopic recensions. One of the few extracanonical passages which may contain an authentic tradition is that which describes Christ as placed in mockery upon a throne by His tormentors. It deals with the adventures of Thecla, a young woman of Iconium, who upon being converted by St. Paul’s preaching, left her bridegroom and lived a life of virginity and missionary activity, becoming a companion of St. Paul, and preaching the Gospel. Here and there throughout the Book of Parables the author gives piecemeal his theory of the origin of sin. The only witness to this work is the treatise “De Rebaptismo” in the pseudo-Cyprian writings. Gospel of St. Thomas.—There are two Greek and two Latin redactions of it, differing much from one another. Titus bribes Dumachus not to molest them; the Infant foretells that thirty years thence the thieves will be crucified with Him, Titus on His right and Dumachus on His left and that the former will accompany Him into paradise. The Pseudo-Clementine homilies contain as a preface two letters, the first of which purports to be from Peter to James the Less, beseeching him to keep his (Peter’s) preaching secret. There is a reply from Ignatius. The motive of the book is the problem lying heavily upon Jewish patriots after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. The two letters are accompanied by an introduction which probably is an excerpt from the same source. Further information about some of them will be found at the end of articles on the above personages. Origen and Eusebius expressly name the prakeis Paulou; Tertullian speaks of writings falsely attributed to Paul: “Quod si Pauli perperam inscripta legunt.” He is cautioning his readers against the tale of Thecla preaching and baptizing herself. What are these additional writings? The preponderant authority represented by Charles and Schtirer assigns it to the latter part of the second century before Christ, but Baldensperger would bring it down to a half century before our Era. Critics accept the period between 399-430. The date of composition is not ascertainable except within very wide limits. Undoubtedly it was the large use heretical circles, especially the Gnostic sects, made of this insinuating literature which first called forth the animadversions of the official guardians of doctrinal purity. So you should change your question and address the Protestants. of the Seleucid era; corresponding to A.D. 28-29. Charles’s analysis and dating are: ixxxvi, the oldest part, composed before 170 B.C. Recent students of the Testaments assign with much probability the Jewish groundwork to the Hasmonean period, within the limits 135-63 B.C. Thus the latest possible date of composition is fixed at A.D. 30. The writer was evidently influenced by the “Acta Pilati”. "Apocrypha" is a Protestant term for the deuterocanonical books. The pseudograph was probably suggested by the text, II Peter, I, 5. These Acts as we have them are of high antiquity, though it is impossible to always discern whether patristic writers are quoting from them or an earlier tradition. The original and proper sense of the term apocryphal as applied to the pretended sacred books was early obscured. The nucleus of this collection was formed by the Latin Passions, or Martyrdoms, of those Apostles who had been neglected by the Gnostic Acts, viz., the two Jameses, Philip (Matthew? Probably with this second class are to be included the “Testaments of Job” and “Zacharias“, the “Adam Books”, the “Book of Creation“, the “Story of Aphikia” (the wife of Jesus Sirach). Some recent students of the “Apocalypse of Baruch” have seen in it a composite work, but the majority of critics hold with better reason to its unity. It is full of legendary but interesting material describing the relations between Jesus and King Abgar of Edessa. After an allusion by an author of the beginning of the ninth century, they disappear from view. The “Protoevangelium” exists in ancient Greek and Syriac recensions. and the time of Christ. Passing to the patristic writers, the Book of Henoch enjoyed a high esteem among them, mainly owing to the quotation in Jude. NAME AND NOTION., Etymologically, the derivation of Apocrypha is very simple, being from the Greek apokruphos, hidden, and corresponding to the neuter plural of the adjective. The date (A.D. 55) of composition is involved in obscurity. The so-called “Decretum de recipiendis et non recipiendis libris” is attributed to Pope Gelasius (495), but in reality is a compilation dating from the beginning of the sixth century, and containing collections made earlier than Gelasius. The aim of the Hellenistic Jewish author was to inculcate devotion to the Law. Iniquity will be banished from the earth and the reign of the Messias will be everlasting. C. Schmidt thinks he has found traces of what is perhaps a second Gospel of Peter in some ancient papyri (Schmidt, Sitzungsberichte der koniglichen preuss. On the other hand, Eusebius classes it as apocryphal. The Messias is to spring from the tribe of Levi (elsewhere, however, from Juda); he is to be the eternal High-Priest—a unique feature of the book—as well as the civil ruler of the nation. As in Fourth Esdras, sin is traced to the disobedience of Adam. A. Baumstark in the Revue Biblique (April, 1906, 253 sqq. A comparison of the Ethiopic text with the Akhmin Greek fragment proves that the former is in general a trustworthy translation. The scanty citations which have been preserved in the Fathers indicate a tendency towards the Encratite condemnation of marriage, and a pantheistic Gnosticism. The authenticity of the alleged letter of Christ has always been strongly suspected when not absolutely denied. The translation of the remains of St. Thomas to Edessa in 232 may have furnished the inspiration for the composition. In the genuine Epistle to the Colossians, Paul, after instructing them to send their Epistle to Laodicea, adds: “read that which is from the Laodiceans”. “Apocrypha” - A neuter plural noun, means “something hidden, secret, or concealed.” It refers to the works which were written for an inner circle of people, sometimes a heretical sect. Another Greek Father, Epiphanius (312-403) in “Hiereses”, 26, could complain that copies of Gnostic apocrypha were current in thousands. Even respecting the fields of the Apostolic missions, they are self-contradictory or confused. By a misunderstanding, the authorship of the whole, under the title “Historia Certaminis Apostolorum”, was ascribed to an Abdias, said to have been the first Bishop of Babylon and a disciple of the Apostles. It speaks in the person of Baruch, the secretary of Jeremias. But a clue to it may be recognized in the so-called Fourth Book of Esdras, which relates that Esdras (Ezra) by divine inspiration composed ninety-four books. For this end there will be a resurrection of all Israel and a judgment in which the Son of Man will render to everyone according to his deeds. The ancient Syrian (Edessene) Church revered as canonical a Third Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, which is accompanied by a letter from the pastors of that Church, to which it is an answer. Recently I was looking at an original 1611 King James and original Geneva Bible and discovered they also contained these apocryphal books (although in a seperate section) I found out it had to do with the Greek Septuagint version of the OT. The latter is beheaded on the Ostian Way, and Peter is crucified at his request head downward. Peter and Paul. Deuteronomy and the Apocrypha | Catholic Answers The book of Deuteronomy is one of the five first books of the Old Testament and part of what is sometimes called the ‘Hebrew canon” of Scripture. Notwithstanding this widespread reverence for it in early times, it is a remarkable fact that the book never got a foothold in the canon or liturgy of the Church. The prototype was evidently expurgated by a Catholic hand, who, however, did not succeed in eradicating all traces of its original taint. Space will permit only an enumeration of unimportant specimens of apocryphal literature, extant in whole or part, and consisting (1) of Jewish originals recast or freely interpolated by Christians, viz., the “Apocalypses of Elias” (Elijah), “Sophonias” (Zephaniah), the “Paralipomenon of Baruch“; and (2) of Christian compositions whose material was supplied by Jewish sources; the so-called “Apocalypse of Moses the “Apocalypse of Esdras“, the “Testament of Abraham“, the “Testament of the Three Patriarchs”, the “Prayer of Joseph“, the “Prayer of Aseneth“, the “Marriage of Aseneth“, (the wife of Joseph). The MSS. 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