M
mskejj
Guest
Catholic Answers radio just had Dr. Michael Barber on and this was the topic they discussed. Here is the link if you want to listen to the show.The age old controversy,
But I do not know much about the subject. There are countless arguments about why these books should not be canonical, but if the largest Church communion accepts them then there must be something to it…
Anyway, a few questions of my own:
I think that’s all for now, might add more in response to answers. Please keep all answers topical, I am mainly interested in getting the questions answered but you are welcome to throw in your best argument in your opinion for the canonization of these books, unrelated to the questions themselves if may be. I may have used Deuterocanonical and Apocrypha interchangeably at times, or used them incorrectly. Please do not make claims without any backing/evidence, opinions are welcome if stated. I appreciate being corrected if I have made any mistakes or inaccurate claims myself.
- Why did some Church councils decide to include Old Testament books that the Jews never considered canonical? I know there was no defined list, but from what I have read the Jews were confident of what books they considered to be inspired.
- One of the books claim to not be inspired (cannot remember which). The counter-argument to this is that the authors may not know they were inspired. But that would that not mean that the Holy Spirit guided the author to write that he was not inspired by said the Holy Spirit; basically the Holy Spirit lying?
- Why did Martin Luther suddenly declare some of the books that were commonly accepted are not inspired? What was his backing, and was he the first or alone? (might actually ask this question on a Protestant forum)
- Does a deuterocanonical book really need a direct reference to be considered inspired? My memory is really malfunctioning today, but one of the OT books (I would say in the Pentateuch) describes an event, and then says it is also written in another book in order to prove the authenticity of the event; a book that is considered apocryphal by all denominations. And is it really enough to have canonized books allude to deuterocanonical books to prove it is inspired?
- For the Book of Tobit, it is claimed magic was to heal Tobit’s blindness (fish gall on his eyes) and to remove the demon Asmodeus (fumes from the burning liver and heart). Are there any other examples of the like (supernatural acts being performed using animal parts) in the Old Testament that can refute the argument that it is magic?
catholic.com/radio/shows/where-we-got-the-bible-6982