In the book, “Why do Catholics do That?”, author Kevin Orlin Johnson references both the Protevangelium and also the Gospel of the Birth of Mary. Are either of these books authentic, or are they false?
The Protoevangelium of James and the Gospel of the Nativity of Mary are apocryphal works. Apocrypha is “a well defined class of literature, putting forth scriptural or quasi-scriptural pretensions, and which originated in part among the Hebrews during the two centuries preceding Christ and for a space after, and in part among Christians, both orthodox and heterodox, in the early centuries of our era” (%between%see Apocrypha). As such, these writings should not be considered inspired but may provide some otherwise useful information.
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