nPeace
Veteran Member
I have found the apocryphal does contradict the early Hebrew and Greek Canons, and promotes unscriptural doctrines later added by apostates - both in the Hebrew and Greek texts.
Here are a few of those findings.
Baruch 7 generations
Baruch 6:2 Catholic Bible: And when you are come into Babylon, you shall be there many years, and for a long time, even to seven generations: and after that I will bring you away from thence with peace.
Hebrew Canon - 70 years
Jeremiah 25:11 And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
Jeremiah 25:12 But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.
Jeremiah 29:10 For this is what the LORD says: "When Babylon's seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
Additions to Esther
The canonical Book of Esther undoubtedly presents the oldest extant form of the Esther story.
...Naturally, the Jews' well-known skill in transforming and enriching traditional narratives was applied especially to those incidents which were touched but lightly in the Biblical Book of Esther. Such variations and additions have been preserved in Greek, but the assumption that they were based on a Hebrew original has been proved erroneous ...
The Dream of Mordecai.
The dream of Mordecai precedes in the Septuagint, as i. 11-17, the canonical story of Esther, and corresponds in the Vulgate to xi. 2-12 and xii. (Swete, "The Old Testament in Greek," ii. 755 et seq.). This version contradicts the account in the canonical book, for, according to the apocryphal version (i. 2), Mordecai is already in the service of King Artaxerxes, and has this dream inthe second year of that king's reign, whereas in the canonical version (ii. 16) Esther was not taken into the royal house until the seventh year of his reign, and Mordecai did not sit "in the king's gate"—that is, enter the king's service—until after that event (ii. 19-20). The author of the apocryphal Esther speaks of two conspiracies against Artaxerxes, and says that Mordecai preceded Esther in coming to court.
Not only do they contradict scripture. They are full of fanciful stories.
Have you read The Acts of Paul and Thecla?
What I read here totally contradicts the Greek Biblical Canon of the 29 books.
For example, Chapter 5, has some really... I'm not sure how to describe those additions.
In Chapter 8, praying to Jesus Christ.
"When Thecla heard this, she immediately prayed to the Lord and said: O Lord God of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High, grant that her daughter Falconilla may live forever."
Nothing of that sort is found anywhere in the Greek canon.
Consider some fanciful stories that also do not harmonize with the Greek Canon.
Acts of Thomas, I understand, teaches that married Christian couples must refrain from sex.
That contradicts Paul's writings in the Greek Canon. (1 Corinthians 7:2-5)
2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
The same is true of Acts of John
The Acts of John
63 And whereas there was great love and joy unsurpassed among the brethren, a certain one, a messenger of Satan, became enamoured of Drusiana, though he saw and knew that she was the wife of Andronicus. To whom many said: It is not possible for thee to obtain that woman, seeing that for a long time she has even separated herself from her husband for godliness' sake. Art thou only ignorant that Andronicus, not being aforetime that which now he is, a God-fearing man, shut her up in a tomb, saying: Either I must have thee as the wife whom I had before, or thou shalt die. And she chose rather to die than to do that foulness. If, then, she would not consent, for godliness' sake, to cohabit with her lord and husband, but even persuaded him to be of the same mind as herself, will she consent to thee desiring to be her seducer? depart from this madness which hath no rest in thee: give up this deed which thou canst not bring to accomplishment.
It seem this was the precursor to celibacy in the apostate church.
1 Timothy 4
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Acts of Paul and Thecla also raised concerns over its negative attitude toward marital sex and its approval of Thecla's performing various acts, such as preaching the Gospel, baptizing herself, and dressing in men's clothing.
In Chapter 1, Paul is claimed to have said, "Blessed are they who have wives, as though they had them not, for they shall be made angels of God."
To the contrary, in the Greek Canon, Paul said, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? (1 Corinthians 6:3) For it is not to angels that he has subjected the inhabited earth to come, about which we are speaking. (Hebrews 2:5)
These stories seem like they are created to entertain. Read Chapters 8 to 11
At least three times Thecla was brought to the amphitheater in the presence of a multitude of spectators.
The first time, the she-lion licked the feet of Thecla.
The next time, Thecla was stripped naked, had cloth put on, and thrown into the arena with the beasts. Lions and the bears were let loose upon her. But a she-lion, which was of all the most fierce, ran to Thecla and fell down at her feet. At that, the multitude of women shouted aloud. Then a she-bear ran fiercely toward her; but the she-lion met the bear and tore it to pieces. Again, a he-lion who had been accustomed to devour men, and which belonged to Alexander, ran toward her; but the she-lion encountered the he-lion, and they killed each other.
Afterwards they brought out many other wild beasts, but Thecla stood with her hands stretched towards heaven and prayed. When she finished praying, she turned about and saw a pit of water and said, Now is a proper time for me to be baptized.
Accordingly she threw herself into the water and said, In your name, O my Lord Jesus Christ, I am this last day baptized. Upon seeing this, the women and the people cried out and said, Do not throw yourself into the water. And the governor himself cried out to think that the sea-calves were likely to devour so much beauty. Notwithstanding all this, Thecla threw herself into the water in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
On the third occasion, bulls were used, and Thecla survived.
Thecla couldn't even be raped. All she had to do was call on God, and God's voice is heard talking to her, and she goes through a door in a rock and is protected.
They make Thecla out to be greater than even Christ himself, who ran from mobs, who wanted to stone him, and throw him off a cliff.
These stories also draw attention away from the early followings of Christ, and the arrangements and organizational structure of the Christian congregation at the time. No one in the Greek canon baptized themselves.
These fanciful stories promote the Trinity doctrine.
...for I love you and long for you, and worship you, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, forevermore. Amen.
Acts of Thomas - New World Encyclopedia
Thomas speaks of the Holy Spirit as feminine: "She that knoweth the mysteries of him that is chosen… she that manifesteth the hidden things and maketh the unspeakable things plain, the holy dove that beareth the twin young; Come, the hidden Mother… Come and communicate with us in this Eucharist which we celebrate in thy name and in the love."
Contradictions are found in Acts of John.
Two of its tales involve couples who become tragically parted by death by are united after John revives one or both of them channeling God's power. However, these "romances" are remarkable in that they downplay the sexual aspect of marriage. In one rendition the couple is committed to celibacy.
The work was rejected as heretical due to a section containing teachings of a Gnostic or docetic nature, in which Jesus is depicted as not having a normal human body and as not truly suffering when he was on the Cross.
Of course I haven't looked at the other book, but I am sure more contradictions can be found.
Here are a few of those findings.
Baruch 7 generations
Baruch 6:2 Catholic Bible: And when you are come into Babylon, you shall be there many years, and for a long time, even to seven generations: and after that I will bring you away from thence with peace.
Hebrew Canon - 70 years
Jeremiah 25:11 And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.
Jeremiah 25:12 But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.
Jeremiah 29:10 For this is what the LORD says: "When Babylon's seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
Additions to Esther
The canonical Book of Esther undoubtedly presents the oldest extant form of the Esther story.
...Naturally, the Jews' well-known skill in transforming and enriching traditional narratives was applied especially to those incidents which were touched but lightly in the Biblical Book of Esther. Such variations and additions have been preserved in Greek, but the assumption that they were based on a Hebrew original has been proved erroneous ...
The Dream of Mordecai.
The dream of Mordecai precedes in the Septuagint, as i. 11-17, the canonical story of Esther, and corresponds in the Vulgate to xi. 2-12 and xii. (Swete, "The Old Testament in Greek," ii. 755 et seq.). This version contradicts the account in the canonical book, for, according to the apocryphal version (i. 2), Mordecai is already in the service of King Artaxerxes, and has this dream inthe second year of that king's reign, whereas in the canonical version (ii. 16) Esther was not taken into the royal house until the seventh year of his reign, and Mordecai did not sit "in the king's gate"—that is, enter the king's service—until after that event (ii. 19-20). The author of the apocryphal Esther speaks of two conspiracies against Artaxerxes, and says that Mordecai preceded Esther in coming to court.
Not only do they contradict scripture. They are full of fanciful stories.
Have you read The Acts of Paul and Thecla?
What I read here totally contradicts the Greek Biblical Canon of the 29 books.
For example, Chapter 5, has some really... I'm not sure how to describe those additions.
In Chapter 8, praying to Jesus Christ.
"When Thecla heard this, she immediately prayed to the Lord and said: O Lord God of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High, grant that her daughter Falconilla may live forever."
Nothing of that sort is found anywhere in the Greek canon.
Consider some fanciful stories that also do not harmonize with the Greek Canon.
Acts of Thomas, I understand, teaches that married Christian couples must refrain from sex.
The text of the Acts of Thomas reads like a novel and is apparently crafted along the lines of Greek romances, complete with tantalizing sexual innuendo, dramatic plot twists, and fantastic tales of travels in foreign lands. It differs from it pagan literary counterparts, however, in that instead of uplifting and conjugal love, it stresses the ideal of chastity, even to the extent that true husbands and wives must abstain from the "corruption" of sexual intercourse and the error of procreation. This attitude was prevalent in some Gnostic circles, but also in some segments of the orthodox churches, which later evolved the tradition of monasticism to accommodate the ascetic tendency while encouraging marriage for the laity.
Glorious martyrdom and the removal of sex from marriage seems to play the same role in this romance as a joyous wedding normally plays at the happy ending of such literature.
Glorious martyrdom and the removal of sex from marriage seems to play the same role in this romance as a joyous wedding normally plays at the happy ending of such literature.
2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
The same is true of Acts of John
The Acts of John
63 And whereas there was great love and joy unsurpassed among the brethren, a certain one, a messenger of Satan, became enamoured of Drusiana, though he saw and knew that she was the wife of Andronicus. To whom many said: It is not possible for thee to obtain that woman, seeing that for a long time she has even separated herself from her husband for godliness' sake. Art thou only ignorant that Andronicus, not being aforetime that which now he is, a God-fearing man, shut her up in a tomb, saying: Either I must have thee as the wife whom I had before, or thou shalt die. And she chose rather to die than to do that foulness. If, then, she would not consent, for godliness' sake, to cohabit with her lord and husband, but even persuaded him to be of the same mind as herself, will she consent to thee desiring to be her seducer? depart from this madness which hath no rest in thee: give up this deed which thou canst not bring to accomplishment.
It seem this was the precursor to celibacy in the apostate church.
1 Timothy 4
1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
Acts of Paul and Thecla also raised concerns over its negative attitude toward marital sex and its approval of Thecla's performing various acts, such as preaching the Gospel, baptizing herself, and dressing in men's clothing.
In Chapter 1, Paul is claimed to have said, "Blessed are they who have wives, as though they had them not, for they shall be made angels of God."
To the contrary, in the Greek Canon, Paul said, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? (1 Corinthians 6:3) For it is not to angels that he has subjected the inhabited earth to come, about which we are speaking. (Hebrews 2:5)
These stories seem like they are created to entertain. Read Chapters 8 to 11
At least three times Thecla was brought to the amphitheater in the presence of a multitude of spectators.
The first time, the she-lion licked the feet of Thecla.
The next time, Thecla was stripped naked, had cloth put on, and thrown into the arena with the beasts. Lions and the bears were let loose upon her. But a she-lion, which was of all the most fierce, ran to Thecla and fell down at her feet. At that, the multitude of women shouted aloud. Then a she-bear ran fiercely toward her; but the she-lion met the bear and tore it to pieces. Again, a he-lion who had been accustomed to devour men, and which belonged to Alexander, ran toward her; but the she-lion encountered the he-lion, and they killed each other.
Afterwards they brought out many other wild beasts, but Thecla stood with her hands stretched towards heaven and prayed. When she finished praying, she turned about and saw a pit of water and said, Now is a proper time for me to be baptized.
Accordingly she threw herself into the water and said, In your name, O my Lord Jesus Christ, I am this last day baptized. Upon seeing this, the women and the people cried out and said, Do not throw yourself into the water. And the governor himself cried out to think that the sea-calves were likely to devour so much beauty. Notwithstanding all this, Thecla threw herself into the water in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
On the third occasion, bulls were used, and Thecla survived.
Thecla couldn't even be raped. All she had to do was call on God, and God's voice is heard talking to her, and she goes through a door in a rock and is protected.
They make Thecla out to be greater than even Christ himself, who ran from mobs, who wanted to stone him, and throw him off a cliff.
These stories also draw attention away from the early followings of Christ, and the arrangements and organizational structure of the Christian congregation at the time. No one in the Greek canon baptized themselves.
These fanciful stories promote the Trinity doctrine.
...for I love you and long for you, and worship you, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, forevermore. Amen.
Acts of Thomas - New World Encyclopedia
Thomas speaks of the Holy Spirit as feminine: "She that knoweth the mysteries of him that is chosen… she that manifesteth the hidden things and maketh the unspeakable things plain, the holy dove that beareth the twin young; Come, the hidden Mother… Come and communicate with us in this Eucharist which we celebrate in thy name and in the love."
Contradictions are found in Acts of John.
Two of its tales involve couples who become tragically parted by death by are united after John revives one or both of them channeling God's power. However, these "romances" are remarkable in that they downplay the sexual aspect of marriage. In one rendition the couple is committed to celibacy.
The work was rejected as heretical due to a section containing teachings of a Gnostic or docetic nature, in which Jesus is depicted as not having a normal human body and as not truly suffering when he was on the Cross.
Of course I haven't looked at the other book, but I am sure more contradictions can be found.