Books removed from the Bible
Certain books were excluded from the Bible because they lacked historical authenticity, were written by unknown authors well after the apostles, or contained theological teachings that contradicted accepted doctrines. Additionally, many Old Testament books (the Apocrypha) were removed by Protestants to save printing costs and to align with the Hebrew canon.
The removal and exclusion of books come down to a few major factors:
- Doctrinal Inconsistency: Gnostic texts (like the Gospel of Judas or the Gospel of Thomas) were widely rejected by the early church because their teachings clashed with foundational Christian beliefs.
- Disputed Authorship: Many excluded texts were pseudepigrapha—writings falsely claiming to be authored by an apostle or biblical figure to gain legitimacy.
- The Protestant Reformation: During the Reformation in the 1500s, Protestants chose to follow the ancient Hebrew canon, which excluded several Old Testament books (such as Tobit, Judith, and Maccabees). Books like 2 Maccabees were also opposed because they supported Catholic doctrines like purgatory.
- Practical Costs: In the 1800s, groups like the British and Foreign Bible Society dropped the apocryphal books to reduce the cost and size of printing Bibles
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Bible books removed
The debate over whether books were inappropriately "removed" from the Bible often centers on the collection of texts known as the Apocrypha. While Protestants excluded these writings, scholars and historians debate the designation of "removal," as Jewish scholars and early church councils had varying criteria for determining divine inspiration.
Whether removing or excluding these texts qualifies as blasphemy depends largely on one's theological framework regarding the biblical canon:
- The Catholic and Orthodox Perspective: These denominations include the deuterocanonical books (such as Tobit, Judith, and Maccabees) in their Bibles, considering them divinely inspired scripture. They view the removal of these books during the 16th-century Reformation as a human error that altered the completeness of the scriptural record.
- The Protestant Perspective: Protestant Bibles generally contain 66 books. The reasoning is that the Apocrypha were never considered part of the original Hebrew Tanakh and were not accepted as inspired scripture by the early Jewish community or Jesus. Therefore, Protestants believe excluding them is a correction rather than a removal.
- The "Gnostic" Texts: Non-canonical gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas or the Gospel of Judas, are also frequently discussed. Most Christian traditions argue against their inclusion because these texts were written decades or centuries after the apostles, directly contradicted core Christian doctrines, or were tied to Gnostic teachings.
- Biblical Warnings: Passages like Revelation 22:18-19 warn against adding to or taking away from the prophecies of scripture. However, theologians debate whether this applies strictly to the Book of Revelation itself or to the entire biblical canon, which was not yet formally compiled when John wrote the text.