How to defend the deuterocanonicals catholic answers. All of the church fathers used the deuterocanonical books in their writings, sermons, examples, and. The value and canonical status of the deuterocanonical books or apocrypha. Cyril of jerusalem called secondary rank, as opposed to the other books which are called protocanonical. Early church fathers on apocrypha deuterocanonical books the early church fathers on various topics. Some of the early church fathers accepted all of the books of the apocrypha as canonical, for example irenaeus, tertullian and clement of alexandria. Proof that christ, the apostles, the church fathers, and other early christians recognised the deuterocanonical books as divinely inspired. The early fathers since 1978 and the release of rogers and mckims massive the authority and interpretation of the bible, it has been a strategy among evangelicals who dislike the doctrine of inerrancy to suggest that the doctrine itself has a recent origin. The church fathers and the deuterocanonical books by joe. I want to be 100% clear, i am not saying the church rejected the deuterocanonical books in the early centuries. I am merely saying the canon of the old testament was very much a matter of debate. Both of the references to tobit are actually references to a single quotation in polycarps epistle to the phillipians 10. Looking at the quotes below from so many respected early church fathers should at least secure that fact.
These books include tobit, judith, wisdom of solomon, sirach, baruch, first and second maccabees, an addition to the book of esther and a series of three additions to the book of daniel. The deuterocanonical books are not found in the hebrew bible. The really ancient fathers did not have the king james bible or any of the newer versions. Some church fathers like ambrose and augustine favored the larger canon of the septuagint.
There were two different versions of the old testament at the time of christ. The early christians were familiar with both the tanakh and the septuagint. Heiser discusses how the bible we hold in our hands today came to be and raises the little known fact that some of the. The apostolic fathers were writers from the first generation of christians after the apostles, and their works do reflect a working knowledge of the old and new testaments. Early church fathers such as polycarp, justin martyr, tertullian, origen, eusebius, athanasius, jerome, and augustine lead in the slow careful acceptance of a book as scripture. The deuterocanonical texts were widely accepted as sacred inspired texts that complimented the tenach.
While its great that so many noncatholics start quoting the early church fathers, its not right to quote them on this and then not on the eucharist, the papacy, or the supremacy of rome, all of which prove that the catholic church was the only church around in those days. It was becoming more and more important to settle which books were canonical for the whole church, and which books were spurious, or forgeries. I love reading about the early church fathers so i love all the works about what they taught and it is important. Why were the books of the old testament apocrypha rejected as. Authority resided in this scripture and in the words of the lord, which long circulated in oral tradition, as is apparent in the letter of clement to the corinthians. Orthodox churches often receive 3 maccabees, 4 maccabees, and 1 esdras as canonical or deuterocanonical books, which are received by the neither roman catholics nor protestants. Jerome appears to have rejected most of the deuterocanonical parts of scripture. Some flatly state that the early church fathers did not accept them, while. The deuterocanonical books christian history for everyman. The books and treatises which among the fathers of old are not reckoned to be of like authority with the other books of the bible, neither are they found in the canon of the hebrew. Church fathers and the deuterocanonical books apologetics. Others like gregory nazianzen also excluded esther from the bible jbc, p.
Early church fathers that wanted enoch included in the bible. The christian acceptance of the deuterocanonical books was logical because the. Deuterocanonical books in the new testament scripture catholic. But he did accept portions and included all seven books in his latin translation of scripture, known as the vulgate. Deutercanonical books in the new testament, the fathers, and. Deuterocanonical books deuterocanon second canonical. Bruce uses extensive quotes from the early church fathers in both chapters five and six of his book the canon of scripture intervarsity press, 1988. Early church fathers that wanted enoch included in the. When we look more closely, that number shrinks further. The orthodox churches accept a varying number of books, and generally would refer to those that are not among the 66 of the protestants as deuterocanonical. Why does the roman catholic church accept the books of the old.
Jul 08, 20 early church fathers on apocrypha deuterocanonical books the early church fathers on various topics. The deuterocanonical books of the bible early church. Numerous church fathers quoted the deuterocanonical books as scripture see the old testament canon, while some did not. He who has commanded us not to lie, shall much more himself not lie. Answering the most common objection to the deuterocanonical books. Reproducing an answer i gave to a similar question.
The new testament authors and early christian writers in the second century cite only books contained in the hebrew canon. Heiser discusses how the bible we hold in our hands today came to be and raises the little known fact that some of the notable early church fathers believed the book of enoch. I compiled 255 pages of quotes showing that the early church was always and completely catholic. May 05, 20 the deuterocanonical books of the bible. Two early church fathers, jerome and rufinus, were particularly skeptical on the authenticity of the deuterocanonical books, and wanted them considered as ecclessastical books edifying, but not the source of doctrine. Below we give patristic quotations from each of the deuterocanonical books. Notice how the fathers quoted these books along with the protocanonicals. All of the church fathers used the deuterocanonical books in their writings, sermons, examples, and they were read in the liturgy. Deuterocanonical referring to those books and passages of the old and new testaments about which there was controversy at one time in early christian history. Jerome who translated the official bible of the catholic church, rejected the deuterocanonical books as scripture, and the catholic church added these books to the canon at the council of trent. Didnt jerome and augustine disagree about the deuterocanonical books. The church fathers do not restrict themselves to the books that now make up the apocrypha. Early church fathers on apocrypha deuterocanonical books. The early churches used books that are not in our 66book protestant bible.
The apocryphal and deuterocanonical books tabletalk. There was an apocalypse of paul, apocalypse of peter, the gospel of the hebrews, gospel of mary, pauls epistle. Schaffs apostolic fathers volume lists 16 references to the deuterocanonical books or sections. When latin fathers of the early church cite quotations from the biblical book of ezra it is overwhelmingly first. That seems silly to say but the way i understand people saying that to only read only the bible. I compiled 255 pages of quotes showing that the early.
Augustine gives the complete catholic canon of scripture, including the socalled deuterocanonicals. Early church fathers christian classics ethereal library. Contrary to popular bestsellers such as da vinci code the church never had a meeting where the scriptures were autocratically decided upon and then forced upon. Chapter five includes church fathers in the east justin martyr, melito of sardis, origen and athanasius, etc, while chapter six looks at the latin west tertullian, jerome and augustine. Early church fathers such as athanasius, melito, origen, and cyril of jerusalem, spoke against the canonicity of much or all of the apocrypha, but the most weighty opposition was the fourth century catholic scholar jerome who preferred the hebrew canon, whereas augustine and others preferred the wider greek canon, with both having followers. Deutercanonical books in the new testament, the fathers. Apr 23, 2015 quotations of the deuterocanonical books can be found in antenicene fathers like polycarp, 1 clement, barnabas, tertullian, hippolytus, clement of alexandria and cyprian.
The church fathers and the deuterocanon ical books by joe gallegos having then this hope, let our souls be bound to him who is faithful in his promises, and just in his judgments. It was protestantism that removed these deuterocanonical books from the bible many centuries later. Jerome even tells us that at the council of nicaea the deuterocanonical work of judith was considered to be a part of the canon of scriptures. Also included are the earliest official canon lists. Dec 21, 2017 schaffs apostolic fathers volume lists 16 references to the deuterocanonical books or sections. A classic resource for the scholar, student, or minister, the thirtyeight volume early church fathers, including the antenicene fathers, nicene and postnicene fathers, first and second series, is now available with a new look and an added annotated index of the authors and works bound with volume 10 of the antenicene fathers and available only in the hendrickson edition. Includes the catholic encyclopedia, church fathers, summa, bible and more all. The early fathers since 1978 and the release of rogers and mckims massive the authority and interpretation of the bible, it has been a strategy among evangelicals who dislike the doctrine of inerrancy to. I discovered that the early church did in fact use the lxx, but they they also considered the deuterocanonical books which are a part of the septuagint to be scripture as well. As i remember from a couple dozen threads on this topic in here, there is a difference in the church fathers between canonical and inspired. And, contrary to the myth, the early church did, indeed, accept those books as scripture.
Jerome initially had some concerns about these books, saying. They were rejected by most church leaders while a few of the early leaders of the church accepted some of the books of apocrypha as scripture, most of the great church leaders did notathanasius, origen, and jerome, to name a few. Though respected an honored for their status in the early church, the early church fathers were not inspired, so their actions and writings must be compared to scripture as opposed to themselves. Here are some reasons for where and why i think they went wrong. The deuterocanonical books from the greek meaning belonging to the second canon are books and passages considered by the catholic church, the eastern orthodox church, the oriental orthodox churches and the assyrian church of the east to be canonical books of the old testament but which are considered noncanonical by protestant denominations. Theodoret, jerome and gennadius, rufinus and jerome. Quotations of the deuterocanonical books can be found in antenicene fathers like polycarp, 1 clement, barnabas, tertullian, hippolytus, clement of alexandria and cyprian.
Jul 26, 2019 the early christians were familiar with both the tanakh and the septuagint. The dead sea scrolls contain portions of the greek deuterocanonical books. These writers are often referred to as the early church fathers, and. Protestants have also pointed out that the roman catholic church. The church fathers and the deuterocanonical books by joe gallegos having then this hope, let our souls be bound to him who is faithful in his promises, and just in his judgments. Why were the books of the old testament apocrypha rejected. It always included, though with varying degrees of recognition, the socalled apocrypha or deuterocanonical books early christian doctrines, 53. Moreover, these fathers cited these books as scripture or holy scripture, and none of the prenicene church fathers ever declares the deuterocanonical books to be uninspired or noncanonical.
The deuterocanonical books of the bible early church fathers. The deuterocanonical books in the early church in the first century the christian bible had simply been the old testament read in the septuagint version. Because these books, referred to above, were collated after ezras death, the early christian church considered them as authentic deuterocanonical books. Mar 26, 2020 moreover, these fathers cited these books as scripture or holy scripture, and none of the prenicene church fathers ever declares the deuterocanonical books to be uninspired or noncanonical. Deuterocanonical is a term used since the sixteenth century by theologian sixtus of sienna 15281569, who had converted to catholicism from judaism, to describe certain books and passages of the old testament. The apostolic fathers and their quotations of the deutero.
Recently i heard someone argue for the use of the septuagint on the basis that the early church, apostles and jesus himself used it. The deuterocanonical books were, though, debated in the early church, and some fathers accorded them higher status than others hence the catholic term for them. Roman catholics call them deuterocanonical books, not because they are. Authors such as justin, tertullian, and clement of alexandria occasionally use books outside the present apocrypha especially the book of enoch and first esdras third esdras. Solomon gave three books to the churches, proverbs, ecclesiastes, canticles. Based on the recognized categorization, the books of the old testament after adding to them the second canonical books deuterocanonia are divided as follows. The church fathers and the deuterocanonical books by joe gallegos. Should we use the septuagint and accept its canonical books. It always included, though with varying degrees of recognition, the socalled apocrypha or deuterocanonical books early christian doctrines, 53, which are rejected by protestants. The books baruch, tobit, maccabees, judith, sirach, wisdom and parts of daniel and esther were all included in the septuagint that jesus and the apostles used. This was a 3700 hour project which included going through 22896 pages of the 38 volume set called ante nicene, nicene, post nicene fathers. The ebionites, who shall be dealt with more fully in later chapters, rejected pauls writings, and received only the gospel of matthew from the new testament.