The apocryphal books are interesting. I've only read excerpts that have been included in biblical study books so am largely ignorant of their contents.
Thanks for the links to your research Doug. I'll read those pdfs tomorrow.
some thing to consider for bible believers
by Crazyguy 17 Replies latest watchtower bible
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sowhatnow
i think a lot of people need to read the book misquoting jesus, the story of who changed the bible and why by bart erman
might give you some understanding on that.
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opusdei1972
I think we must include the book of Enoch in the Catholic Bible (as well as other books). The book of Enoch is quoted by Jude and 2 Peter. However, Jehovah's Witnesses follow the Protestant's canon. Note how they argue against the Apocrypha in the Insight Book vol. 1 (it-1 pp. 120-125):
The internal evidence of these Apocryphal writings weighs even more heavily against their canonicity than does the external. They are completely lacking in the prophetic element.
Ohhh, really?, Was not the book of Enoch prophetic? What about the false prophecies of Ezekiel against Tyre and Egypt ?
Their contents and teachings at times contradict those of the canonical books and are also contradictory within themselves. They are rife with historical and geographic inaccuracies and anachronisms.
Ohh, really?....What about the geographic inaccuracies in Mark?, What about the many contradictions found in the entire canonical books of the Bible? see some of them here : http://www.answering-christianity.com/101_bible_contradictions.htm
The writers in some cases are guilty of dishonesty in falsely representing their works as those of earlier inspired writers.
OOOhhh, was the writer of the book of Daniel honest with his identity? How could he tell us that the son of Nabuchadnezzar was Belshazzar? The Jewish Encyclopedia says: "Nor would a contemporary of Nebuchadnezzar and his successors have written the stories of the Book of Daniel in the form in which they exist, since they contain many details that can not be harmonized with the data furnished in other historical sources."
The Watchtower shows its great ignorance.
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objectivetruth
Magnum - Take a look at this book http://biblehub.com/library/unknown/the_clementine_homilies/ - Clement was a Disciple of Barnabas and he spent extensive time with Peter.. The book starts off a bit slow, but when you get to the parts where Peter discusses the Scriptures, and he prepares to debate Simon Magus, things really get interesting.
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objectivetruth
Opusdei - It's difficult to know how much the Book of Enoch has been altered, however I have wondered whether or not much of the Bible was sourced from Enoch.
When you consider Enoch's unique life, and his he was Literally taken from the earth, unlike any other Man, and yo consider the things that he says about who can and cannot write holy scriptures, it really makes you wonder.
Personally I trust the Book of Enoch, more than I do most of the Old Testament.
There is also a book called "The writings of the Holy Twelve" again, its difficult to ascertain how much of it has been altered, but some profess that this book was the source of all of the Gospel Writings.
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objectivetruth
Ablebodied - Take a look at the book I posted above, written about Clement.. It should expand the. Book of Barnabas really nicely.
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objectivetruth
Ablebodied... He may be quoting or referring to Ezekiel 47:1-12
Jeremiah 2:13 is appropriate as well.
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opusdei1972
objectivetruth The Oldest part is the book of the Watchers. It seems that it was written in the third century BCE. Of course, it could have suffered of interpolations. But as you noticed, it could be the source of many doctrines and concepts. For instance, the names of the Archangels, the concept of "son of man". I wonder why the book was totaly rejected, if it was considered as scripture in the second century.