In some Bibles in the Old Testament section there is a group of books called the Apocrypha. "Apocrypha" is from the Greek "apokruphos" and this word is from "aop" which is the preposition meaning "away," and "kryptein" which is an infinitive meaning "to hide." "Crypt" the name of an underground or hidden chamber is from "kryptein." Hence, "apocrypha" means what is hidden, doubtful, or spurious.

Many scholars like Archiblad Alexander, formerly of Princeton Theological Seminary have given such reasons as the following why the Apocryphal books should not be accepted as inspired of God, and therefore have no part in the Holy Bible.

1.Just one of the Apocryphal books even claims to be inspired and it has internal evidences that prove it was not inspired of God.

2.The Apocryphal books were not written by prophets and inspired men but by writers who wrote of their labors in a way wholly incompatible with divine inspiration.

3.The Apocrypha abounds in stories that contradict the plain acknowledged doctrines of the Bible and the history of the Jews.

4.Jerome of the 4th century A. D. gave the world the Latin Vulagae translation of the Bible. This translation was acknowledged by the Roman Catholic Council which was held in Trent, Austria in 1546 to be the official Bible of the Catholic Church. The same church added the Apocrypha to the Bible, but Jerome who made the Latin Vulgate translation explained that the apocryphal books were not a part of the inspired canon of scripture.

5.The Apocryphal books were never cited by any New Testament writer, and the New Testament abounds in references to and quotations from the Old Testament.

6.The Apocrypha was not received as a part of God's word by the so-called "church fathers."

7.The Apocrypha has never been accepted by the Jews as being a part of the Old Testament; they are good judges of what belongs in the Old Testament.

THE SEPTUAGINT

The Septuagint is the Greek version of the Old Testament which was made beginning about 270 B. C.

Even though the fourteen apocryphal books were inserted by some into the Septuagint they were not accepted by the Jews as a part of the sacred, inspired Old Testament.

New Testament writers quoted from the Septuagint, but they never quoted anything from the apocryphal books! It is not recorded that Jesus quoted from the apocryphal books, even though he frequently quoted from the Septuagint.

THE PURITANS

The Puritans disapproved of the apocryphal books which are in the Catholic English Old Testament. They rejected these books because they were not a part of the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament.

CATHOLICS AND THE CATHOLIC BIBLE

Catholics sometimes say that they cannot study the Bible with those of other beliefs because they say their Bible is different, so they think there is no common ground form which to proceed in such study. However, the main difference between the Catholic Bible and other Bibles is that in the Catholic Bible there are the fourteen apocryphal books. But these fourteen books do not teach the doctrines of the Catholic Church. So, these books are not any help to Catholics in their efforts to justify their beliefs and practices.

The Catholic Bible, nor any other Bible does not teach people to be Catholics or Protestants. The Catholic Bible like any other Bible teaches people to just be Christians. The Catholic Bible like any other Bible teaches all people to be one in Christ and to all be members of the one church about which we can read in any Bible. (John 17; Col. 1: 18; Eph. 1: 22, 23). The Catholic Bible, like any other Bible teaches people how to be baptized into Christ to reach the saving power of his precious blood which is the same as being baptized into the body of Christ which is his church.

The Catholic Bible, like any other Bible teaches all people how to be brothers and sisters in Christ and his church and to love and esteem each other.

Do not let the uninspired books known as the apocryphal books keep you from knowing the truth about the Bible.

THE NATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND

The Articles of Constitution of the National Bible Society of Scotland state: "The Holy Scriptures shall be circulated without the accompaniment of the books commonly called the "Apocrypha."

AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY

The American Bible Society has for many years published Bibles which included the apocryphal books. However, that society has done so only upon request of some religious group. But that society has made it clear that the apocryphal books are separate from the canonical books of the Bible and have said that the apocryphal books are not a part of the inspired Scriptures.

The Aprocryphal Books are not a part of God's word.