Are Some Books Missing from the Bible

1
Are Some Books Missing from the Bible?

• A review of The History Channels Banned from
  the Bible

2
Bible Warnings

• Jesus once warned,
• Beware of false prophets, who come to you in
  sheeps clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous
  wolves (Matthew 715).
• Peter agreed saying,
• But there were also false prophets among the
  people, even as there will be false teachers
  among you, who will secretly bring in destructive
  heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them,
  and bring on themselves swift destruction. And
  many will follow their destructive ways, because
  of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed (2
  Peter 21-2).

3
Bible Warnings

• Peter continued to write,
• Therefore, belovedconsider that the
  longsuffering of our Lord is salvationas also
  our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom
  given to him, has written to you, as also in all
  his epistles, speaking in them of these things,
  in which are some things hard to understand,
  which untaught and unstable people twist to their
  own destruction, as they do also the rest of the
  Scriptures (2 Peter 314-16).
• Jesus and His apostles clearly warned of the
  coming danger of destructive teachings.
• In The History Channels documentary Banned from
  the Bible we find the teachings warned about by
  our Lord.

4
Frightening Phrases in the History Channels
Description

• Examine major works of Christian theology that
  did not make it into the Scriptures.
• unlock the secrets of over a dozen
  extracanonical works.
• the Bible we know is just one of many
  versions...
• Discoverwhat we can conclude about the early
  Church from their exclusion.
• see the lengths to which ancient editors went
  to hide them
• Among the texts explored areThe Life of Adam
  and Eve as included in the Koran
• http//store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id
  73144

5
Our Goal

• First, it is impossible to give an in-depth
  critique of this documentary in one setting.
• The DVD set is over four hours long.
• It cites over 20 different books plus the entire
  Apocrypha.
• It includes quotations from several different
  scholars.
• So, our goal today is to simply understand
• the basic message of the documentary.
• the teaching of Jesus on inspiration.
• the principles behind canonization.
• the subtle motives behind the History Channels
  work.

6
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Many writings, some from Gnostic groups, were
  considered forbidden, questionable and
  suspicious.
• They claim
• The idea of a list of accepted books began with
  Marcion 150 years after the birth of Jesus.
• He banned the Old Testament because He did not
  like the God of the Jewish Bible.
• He only included Lukes gospel and Pauls
  letters.
• The council of Nicea (325 A.D.) decided upon
  acceptable Scripture after the controversy
  between Arias and Athanasius.
• Yet, when Eusebius later (4th century) published
  his church history he questioned Johns
  Apocalypse, James, 2nd and 3rd John, Jude and 2nd
  Peter.
• Constantine (331 A.D.) ordered an assembly of
  several Bibles with both Old and New Testaments.
• Is it possible that Codex Sinaiticus was one of
  these Bibles??
• If so, it includes two writings excluded from the
  canonical booksThe Shepherd of Hermas and The
  Epistle of Barnabas.

7
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• With these ideas, a seed of doubt and curiosity
  is planted and various works are described as
  banned including
• The Life of Adam and Eve
• A popular book, written somewhere between the 1st
  and 4th centuries and mentioned in the Quran.
• It provides a more detailed story of creation
  where Satan refuses to obey Adam.
• It was allegedly rejected because there was no
  place for it in the chronology of the Bible.
• The Book of Jubilees
• A book written 150 years prior to Christ, studied
  by the Essenes near Qumran and is a part of the
  Ethiopian Christian Bible.
• It answers the question of how Cain got his
  wifeAdam and Eve had nine sons and daughters and
  Cain married his sister, Awan.
• It was allegedly rejected because there was no
  place in the chronology and it contradicts the
  Biblical prohibition of incest (given to Moses
  years later).

8
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Other works mentioned include
• The Book of Enoch
• An expansion of the character mentioned in
  Genesis 522.
• There is a reference to this book in Jude 6,
  14-15
• Dantes Inferno is also influenced by this book.
• Azazel is the lead angel, the book speaks of
  angels leaving their domain and coming to earth
  and mating with humans.
• The video admits this book was never seriously
  considered for inclusion in the canon even though
  it was also found in the Ethiopian Christian
  Bible.
• Thomas Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ
• This book was written in the late 2nd century and
  the earliest existing manuscript is from the 6th
  century.
• It describes Jesus as a boy from ages 5-12He
  blinds a customer in the carpentry shop, creates
  sparrows out of clay and pushes a playmate off
  the roof and raises him from the dead.
• This book was read in Arabia and portions of it
  are found in the Quran.

9
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Other works include
• The Protoevangelion of James
• Written a century before New Testament
  canonization225 A.D.
• It mainly includes information about the earthly
  parents of Jesus.
• Mary born without original sin, validates virgin
  birth.
• Joseph was a widower with children from a
  previous marriage.
• This position is liked by Catholics because it
  supports perpetual virginity and is included in
  the Quran (Al-Quran 1919).
• It includes some Gnostic teaching along with
  other books like Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of
  Truth, Gospel of Philip.
• The Gospel According to Mary
• This book reveals Mary Magdalene as a prostitute,
  yet speaks of her as a vocal church leader who
  reveals things Jesus taught her.
• It includes much Gnostic teaching and, according
  to the video, was rejected due to this as well as
  the sexism of the times.
• Not mentioned in the video Unfortunately, the
  extant manuscript of the Gospel of Mary is
  missing pages 1 to 6 and pages 11 to 14 -- pages
  that included sections of the text up to chapter
  4, and portions of chapter 5 to 8
  (http//www.gnosis.org/library/marygosp.htm).

10
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Other works include
• The Gospel of Nicodemus
• This book was written in the 3rd or 4th century.
• The 1st part claims to be an eyewitness account
  of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
• The 2nd part speaks of Jesus descent into hell
  and refers to hell as being here on earth, mere
  separation.
• It was not included because of its age, it was a
  corroboration and it was not written by
  eyewitnesses.
• The Apocalypse of Peter
• This book was written after 100 A.D. and was
  almost included in the Bible, but Revelation
  was chosen instead.
• The video alleges that Eusebius had more doubts
  about Johns Apocalypse than Peters.
• Yet, notice this quote from Eusebius
  Ecclesiastical History, As to that work The
  Preaching and the Revelations of Peter, we know
  nothing of their being handed down as Catholic
  writings. Since neither among the ancient nor
  the ecclesiastical writers of our own day, has
  there been one that has appealed to testimony
  taken from them (p. 72, Book 3, Chapter 3).

11
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Part II of Banned from the Bible includes
• The Testament of Solomon
• The video alleges that the Law and Prophets were
  established in the time of Christ, but not the
  Writings (Psalms).
• They claim the Writings were established after
  the crucifixion of Christ.
• Even so, the earliest texts of the Testament of
  Solomon are from the 2nd centurymost date to the
  15th and 16th centuries.
• This book refers to Solomon as an sorcerer
  involved in demonology, astrology and magic.
• In it, Solomon uses demons to help build the
  temple.
• This video also claims that Jesus reference to
  Solomon after casting out a demon is a reference
  to this book (Luke 1129-31).
• This book seems to have been common among
  Kabbalists and Gnostics and was found among the
  Dead Sea Scrolls.

12
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Part II of Banned from the Bible includes
• The Alphabet of Ben Sira
• The extant manuscripts of this book only date
  back to the Middle Agesit is considered a 13th
  century creation.
• Yet, the video claims a 2nd-century Babylonian
  bas relief of Lilith is proof of a possibly
  earlier date.
• It seeks to justify Lilith as the first wife of
  Adam (based on Genesis 127).
• Yet, Lilith does not want to be subservient to
  Adam and wishes to return to heaven and is
  allowed to do so with punishment.
• Thus, Eve was actually the 2nd wife of Adam in
  Genesis 2.
• The documentary claims that this book was banned
  because Lilith was associated with seduction and
  equality.
• Joseph and Asenath
• This work has questionable dating and attempts to
  explain the story of Joseph (Genesis 1415) to
  the daughter of an Egyptian priest, Asenath.
• It tells of a conversion for Asenath from
  idolatry to monotheisman idea also found in the
  Quran.

13
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Part II of Banned from the Bible includes
• a brief mention of The Apocrypha (hidden
  writings)
• These were rejected as heretical by the early
  church.
• Yet, the Catholic Church inducted them into their
  canon at the Council of Trent (1546).
• Some are found in the Septuaginta Greek
  translation of the Hebrew Bible for the
  Alexandrian library.
• Yet, most of these books were written too late
  for induction into the canon and were rejected.
• The Acts of Peter
• This book is set after the crucifixion of Jesus
  and was written in the last quarter of the 2nd
  century.
• It tells of Peters conflict with Simon Magus
  (Simon the sorcerer of Acts 818-20).
• Peter and Simon have a duel of miracles in Rome
  (where Peter confronts him) and Simon flies over
  Rome but Peter calls to God and Simon falls.
• Afterwards, the crowd stones him.

14
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Part II of Banned from the Bible includes
• The Acts of Paul
• This was also written at the end of the 2nd
  century.
• One of its major themes is between Paul and
  Thecla.
• According to this book, Paul demands celibacy and
  Thecla is attracted to this doctrine and
  converts.
• Thecla gains popularity among women, but her
  teachings on celibacy also anger men.
• She is to be burned at the stake, but is saved by
  a thunderstorm.
• She is to be eaten by lions at the Colosseum, but
  is protected by a she-lion.
• Paul is depicted as being jealous of Theclas
  popularity and refuses to baptize her because she
  is not ready.
• So, Thecla baptizes herself.
• The video claims this is not included in the
  canon because of its teachings on celibacy and
  because it looks admirably at Thecla.

15
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• Part II of Banned from the Bible includes
• Secret Gospel of Mark
• Again, this book was acquainted with Gnostic
  groups in the 2nd century AD.
• The video argues that Clement of Alexandria once
  wrote a letter to Theodore commending this more
  spiritual book.
• Even though Clement, in other writings, rejected
  the idea of secret gospels and Gnosticism.
• Yet, the letter and evidence of it has been lost,
  the man who claimed to find it has died.
• The portion of the text that was emphasized was a
  part where Jesus spends a night naked with
  another naked man and reveals the secret
  mysteries of the kingdom to him.
• They try to connect this to the naked man
  mentioned in Mark 1451.
• Gospel of Judas
• The earliest known text of this book is from a
  4th century Coptic text.
• It is not considered to be written any earlier
  than the 2nd centuryit again focuses on Gnostic
  teaching.

16
A Synopsis of Banned from the Bible

• A few more texts were alluded to in this series,
  but the prior writings were the major focus.
• This is a condensed review of the 4- hour video
  in a matter of a few minutes.
• With this in mind, we want to, in our next
  lesson, explain the problems with this video
• By noticing the teaching of the Scriptures on
  inspiration.
• By considering the principles behind
  canonization.
• By examining the questionable motives and
  conclusions of the producers of this documentary.

17
Were Some Books Missing?

• Find out in our next lesson as we consider why
  the apocrypha (books accepted by some) and
  pseudapigrapha (books rejected by all) were
  excluded.