many people know that catholic bibles and protestant bibles are not the same. While both contain the same 27 New Testament books, the Catholic Bible has more Old Testament books than the Protestant Bible. did the catholic church add these books or did the protestant churches remove them?
Protestants do not accept certain books of the Old Testament that the Catholic Church accepts. The Jews before Christ rejected the disputed books, but the Septuagint translators included them. In the second century, the first Latin Bibles, translated for the church and from the Septuagint, included the books.
You are reading: Why did protestants remove books from the bible
what are the apocryphal or deuterocanonical books and what do these terms mean? what books are included in the writings and where are they found in the bibles that include them? why do protestants reject these books as inspired and authoritative for christians? keep reading to learn more.
see also protestant vs catholic vs orthodox: what’s the difference? for more.
what are the apocryphal or deuterocanonical books?
“Apocryphal” and “deuterocanonical” are two common ways of describing the disputed books. in certain contexts, the terms are controversial due to their theological implications.
- Apocrypha: The word “Apocrypha” literally refers to “things that are hidden,” but sometimes people use the word to convey unorthodox or fictitious information. In this sense, the word “apocrypha” is controversial when the connotation is that the books are worthless.
- deuterocanonical: The word “deuterocanonical” literally means “secondary canon”. canon, in this context, refers to an officially accepted collection of books. “deuterus” conveys that they do not have the same status as other books of the bible.
Sometimes, people who accept the books in question find the term apocryphal offensive because it implies that their content is false. (Also see Catholic Lord’s Prayer vs Protestant Lord’s Prayer: What’s the Difference?)
sometimes people who do not accept the books in dispute find the term deuterocanonical offensive because they believe there is no secondary canon: there are the officially accepted books of the bible and then there is everything else .
what books comprise the apocryphal or deuterocanonical books?
Some historians and theologians claim there are 13 books in question, while others say there are only seven. A few argue that there are 12. These are simply different ways of describing the same collection of literature. (see also why protestants left the catholic church?)
Seven of the writings in dispute are independent books, while the other six are additions to canonical works (more below). those who claim there are 13 books count the additions, such as an additional chapter, as a “book”.
- tobit (independent)
- judith (independent)
- wisdom of solomon (independent)
- ecclesiastic, also called wisdom of sirac (independent )
- baruch (independent)
- 1-2 Maccabees (independent)
- additions to ester
- li>
- additions to Daniel
Did the Jews of the time of the old testament accept these books? no. the Hebrew Bible never contained these writings.
See Also: How to Read the Bible Chronologically | Books of the Bible in Chronological Order
what is the septuagint? The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament completed in Egypt in the third century BC. the prefix “September” alludes to the legend that 70 scholars worked to complete the translation. the Septuagint contains the disputed books.
Did the early church accept these books? no. the early Christians rejected the books in question.
Who was the first to include the books in the bible? In a sense, it was the Septuagint translators, when they included the books in their Greek translation of the Old Testament.
In the 2nd century, translators of the Latin Bible included the books. Jerome included them in his translation of the Bible, called the Vulgate, at Augustine’s insistence, but assigned them a secondary status. (see also do protestants believe in saints?)
Did the Reformers accept them? The Protestant Reformers rejected the books as being of the same inspired nature as the other 66 books of the Bible. Some, like Martin Luther, believed there was a benefit to reading the books, even though they were not on par with the scriptures. (see also protestant vs lutheran: what’s the difference?)
does the eastern orthodox church accept the writings in question? yes. his extra-biblical literature also includes 1 esdras, psalm 151, the prayer of manasseh and 3 macabees. Jews of the Old Testament era, the Roman Catholic Church, and Protestant churches reject these additional writings.
why do protestants reject the apocryphal or deuterocanonical books?
There are several reasons why Protestants reject the books in question. some reasons are historical in nature and others theological. Not all Protestants agree for all of the reasons outlined below. others would add many other arguments to reject the disputed books. (see also do protestant churches have nuns?)
the theology found in the disputed books is contrary to the theology found in the 66 books of the bible. tobit 12:9 is an example of this because it teaches that a person you can acquire salvation through financial offerings, “because almsgiving saves from death and cleanses from all sin. he who gives alms will enjoy a full life.”
Protestants believe the Bible is very clear that only God’s grace saves sinners.
“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith. and this is not your work; It is a gift of God, not the result of works, so that no one can boast.”
another theological conflict is the doctrine of purgatory. 2 Maccabees teaches the doctrine and the practices associated with it, such as praying for the dead and collecting financial offerings for the church so that the dead can be saved from sin (mac. 12:41-45; bar. 3:4).
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“oh lord almighty, god of israel, hear now the prayer of the dead of israel, and of their children, who sinned before you, and did not listen to the voice of the lord their god, for which evils have been joined us.”
the writers of the new testament never quote the books in question. Jesus, Paul, Peter, John, and other New Testament teachers quote most of the Old Testament books, often from the Septuagint translation.
however, they never cite any of the disputed books. Some argue that Paul alludes to certain passages in the disputed books. but because you don’t use a citation, the source is less secure. (Also see Protestants vs Puritans: What’s the Difference?)
Jews in the Old Testament era rejected the books. This argument is persuasive to many Protestants because the authors and content of these books are clearly Jewish, so their original audience questioned or rejected its authenticity. .
While the Hebrew Bible is organized into 22 books and the Christian Old Testament contains 39, they are the same writings just organized differently. (see also 7 symbols of Protestant Christianity)
It is not certain that the earliest versions of the Septuagint contained disputed books. The earliest editions of the Septuagint date from the fourth century AD. It is possible that people added the books later, which is a suggestion supported by the fact that the New Testament writers did not cite the books.
many in the early church rejected the books. the oldest list of canonical books of the old testament dates from the 2nd century. the disputed books are not listed:
when I came to the east and came to the place where these things were preached and done, and accurately learned the books of the old testament, I wrote down the facts and sent them to you.
these are their names: the five books of moses, genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy, joshua son of a nun, judges, ruth, four books of the kingdom, two books of chronicles, the psalms of david, the proverbs Solomon and his wisdom, ecclesiastes, the song of songs, job, the prophets isaiah, jeremiah, the twelve in one book, daniel, ezequiel, ezra. (Melito, Bishop of Sardis, around 170 AD
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