If Protestants held every book of the Bible to the standards that they hold the books that they reject, they would end up missing a huge number of their books. And conversely, if they approach the Deuterocanon with the same charitable reading with which they approach (say) Judges, there would be no reason not to include it as part of the Scriptures. We can see that clearly by looking at 5 alleged “Biblical contradictions” in the Deuterocanon.
Tag: apocrypha
Did St. Paul Use the Deuterocanon?
The Catholic Deuterocanon – the set of seven books accepted by Catholics and rejected by Protestants – clearly teaches the morality of praying to the Saints and praying for the souls of the deceased. But can we trust that the Deuterocanon is canonical? Evidence from Romans 9 — a favorite passage amongst many Protestants — strongly points to a “yes” answer.
Does Scripture Teach Us to Pray for the Departed, and to Pray to the Saints?
Daniel Chorny, The Bosom of Abraham (15th c.) In regards to prayer and the Saints, Catholics do two things to which Protestants tend to object: Praying to the Saints: Asking the Saints to pray for us, etc. Praying for the Saints: Praying for the dead, commending their souls to God. Yesterday, I talked about some of… Continue reading Does Scripture Teach Us to Pray for the Departed, and to Pray to the Saints?
Reason #1 to Reject the Reformation: The Canon of Scripture
St. Edmund Campion, S.J. Today is the feast day of one of my favorite Saints, St. Edmund Campion (1540-1581). As an Anglican, he was one of Oxford University’s brightest students, personally welcoming Queen Elizabeth during her visit to the University. He went on to become an Anglican deacon, but his seminary formation exposed him to… Continue reading Reason #1 to Reject the Reformation: The Canon of Scripture
Why Should We Trust the Bible?
How do we know the we can trust the Bible? For that matter, how do we know which Books make up “the Bible” in the first place? And how do we know whose interpretation of Scripture is correct? Here’s the talk that I gave on the subject last Wednesday. Here’s the talk (broken up into four… Continue reading Why Should We Trust the Bible?
Four Surprising Facts About John Calvin and the “Apocrypha”
One of the major issues dividing Catholics and Protestants is the Bible. Catholic Bibles have seven Books that Protestants reject: Protestants call these Books “the Apocrypha,” while Catholics call them “the Deuterocanon.” This dispute matters, because it’s hard to agree on what Scripture says if we can’t even agree on what Scripture is, on which Books are… Continue reading Four Surprising Facts About John Calvin and the “Apocrypha”
Does 1 Maccabees Deny Its Own Inspiration?
Wojciech Stattler, Maccabees (1842) In arguing against the Deuterocanon (the so-called “Apocrypha”), Protestant apologists take frequent recourse to the following three verses from 1 Maccabees that allegedly “prove” that no prophets exist at the time that the Deuterocanon was written: “So they tore down the altar, and stored the stones in a convenient place on… Continue reading Does 1 Maccabees Deny Its Own Inspiration?
Was Christ’s Birth Preceded by 400 Years of Divine Silence?
Russian Icon, The Prophet Simeon, (17th c.) Here’s an anti-Biblical myth that many Protestants hold to, without knowing it: a belief in a so-called “intertestamental period” or “400 years of silence,” in which God allegedly (and inexplicably) ceased communicating with His People between roughly 400 or 450 B.C. and the Incarnation of Christ. GotQuestions? describes… Continue reading Was Christ’s Birth Preceded by 400 Years of Divine Silence?
The Caliph’s Catch-22: Protestant Arguments Against the “Apocrypha”
There’s a story (probably legendary) about the destruction of the great Library of Alexandria: John the Grammarian, a Coptic priest living in Alexandria at the time of the Arab conquest in 641 AD, came to know ‘Amr, the Muslim general who conquered the city. The men were each other’s intellectual peers, and John became the… Continue reading The Caliph’s Catch-22: Protestant Arguments Against the “Apocrypha”
Why Not 66: Answering Brian Edwards’ Arguments for the Protestant Canon (Pt. II)
This is the second part of my response to Evangelical theologian Brian Edwards’ case for the 66-Book Protestant canon, “Why 66?” Yesterday, I answered three of Edwards’ major claims: that the Deuterocanon was rejected by the early Jews, by Jesus and the Apostles, and that the Septuagint at the time of Christ probably “did not include” the… Continue reading Why Not 66: Answering Brian Edwards’ Arguments for the Protestant Canon (Pt. II)