Why Are These Books In The Bible And Not Others Volume Three The Apostolic Fathers And The New Testament Apocrypha

This Volume Three of a three volume set covers books not included in the New Testament. These books include the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, who were Church leaders and writers of the late first to mid-second centuries, along with "apocryphal" books, both orthodox and Gnostic. Among these apocryphal books are some that have received much publicity of late and from which many people derive their ideas of early Christian history.

This Volume Three of a three volume set covers books not included in the New Testament. These books include the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, who were Church leaders and writers of the late first to mid-second centuries, along with "apocryphal" books, both orthodox and Gnostic. Among these apocryphal books are some that have received much publicity of late and from which many people derive their ideas of early Christian history.

Christians claim the Bible is the Word of God, that it is absolutely reliable in all that it teaches. But to put such confidence in the Bible requires that we have the correct books in the Bible. But do we? This subject is very important and complicated, so complicated it took three volumes to fully cover it. Volume One studied the books included in the Old Testament (OT) and considered other books that could have been included but were not. Volume Two covered the books included in the New Testament (NT). This third and final volume will consider other writings which are not in the NT. They are of three types: The first type is the writings of the Apostolic Fathers. These are Church leaders and writers of the late first to mid-second centuries. Most were direct disciples of the apostles, and some of their writings were seriously considered for inclusion in the NT. It will be explained why this was so and why these writings were eventually rejected. The second and third types are "apocryphal" books. This term originally meant "hidden" but now means "extra-canonical," meaning the books are not considered to be inspired by God and thus are outside of the canon (list of authoritative books) of Scripture. These books are divided into two types: ones that are mostly orthodox in their theology and ones that are heretical or Gnostic. Among these apocryphal books are some that have received much publicity of late. The media has been abuzz in recent years about books like the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Judas, and the Gospel of Jesus' Wife. It is said these books present a radical new viewpoint of Christianity and are more reliable than the NT books.In addition, the conception many people have of early Christian history often comes from apocryphal books and not from NT books. For instance, at Christmastime, the manner in which nativity scenes are displayed comes more from apocryphal "infancy gospels" than from the NT Gospels. Thus many people today will find a discussion of these books to be of interest.

In this second volume of a three-volume set, each of the 27 books included in the New Testament will be reviewed in detail. Who wrote them and when, their theology, and other pertinent background information will be discussed to explain why they were included in the New Testament. Arguments against the traditional viewpoints on these books will be addressed.

In this second volume of a three-volume set, each of the 27 books included in the New Testament will be reviewed in detail. Who wrote them and when, their theology, and other pertinent background information will be discussed to explain why they were included in the New Testament. Arguments against the traditional viewpoints on these books will be addressed.

This book is for the person struggling in life and for the person struggling with how God sovereignly works in people's lives. It goes through the Bible more or less in order, from the first verse of Genesis to the last verse of The Revelation. It discusses both general principles and specific issues. Along the way, I relate examples of how I believe the sovereignty of God has been operating in my life, in hopes that my experiences will help the reader to apply the principles to your life. This book also addresses the question of the relationship of God's sovereignty to the human will or volition.

This Volume One of a three volume set will study the books included in the Old Testament (OT) and consider other books that could have been included in it but were not. Each of the 39 books in the OT will be reviewed in detail, and it will be explained why they were included in the OT. Then the debate about the "extra" books found in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles as compared to Protestant and Jewish Bibles will be addressed. Lastly, other books that some wonder why they are not included in the OT will be discussed. It will be explained why these books were rejected.

This Volume One of a three volume set will study the books included in the Old Testament (OT) and consider other books that could have been included in it but were not. Each of the 39 books in the OT will be reviewed in detail, and it will be explained why they were included in the OT. Then the debate about the "extra" books found in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles as compared to Protestant and Jewish Bibles will be addressed. Lastly, other books that some wonder why they are not included in the OT will be discussed. It will be explained why these books were rejected.