Examining the Seven Extra Books in the Catholic Bible

One of the major claims of the Roman Catholic Church is that they (not God) "gave us the Bible". The claim says that they determined which books belonged in the Bible. This is called the canon. Yet in their canon, they have seven books that are not found in the typical Bible used by almost all other faiths. Those books are: Tobias, Judith, Baruch, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Wisdom, First and Second Maccabees, as well as some additions to Esther and Daniel. In this first section, I will examine the claims of reference in the NT to these books and show that most of them are not references, but mere vague similarities that the Catholics are glomming onto in order to legitimize their inclusion. In the second section, I will examine each of these texts both internally and in light of the common scripture that we all accept to show why they should be rejected.
This will take some time to complete as there are a lot of materials to cover. I will also add to this reference as new material comes to light.
== Alleged Cross References ==
In this section I will examine each of the alleged cross-references given to me by the Catholics for the apocryphal books in the New Testament and show that they are not what they are claimed to be and thus not grounds for including the apocryphal books in the canon.
=== Matthew ===
==== Matthew 4:4 and Wisdom 16:26 ====
Matthew 4:4 - "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Wisdom 16:26 - "so that your beloved children, O Lord, might learn that it is not the various crops of the earth that nourish them, but it is your word that sustains those who trust in you."
Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, not Wisdom 16:26 when He says "it is written". Compare the text: "And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live." Wisdom refers to the crops of the earth, but Deuteronomy is referring to the mana which fell from heaven. The writer of the book of Wisdom may be alluding back to Deuteronomy 8:3 as well when making their statement about crops, but it is not a direct reference that Wisdom is making and it is most certainly not a quote from the book of Wisdom that Jesus is making in Matthew 4:4.
This first example is a great referent for us for the rest of this work. It shows how the Catholics will find these vague similarities and reach for connections that aren't there to legitimize the inclusion of these extra texts. I will refer to such in subsequent examinations simply as "Reaching", but this is what I mean by that term.
==== Matthew 4:15 and 1 Maccabees 5:15 ====
==== Matthew 5:18 and Baruch 4:1 ====
==== Matthew 5:28 and Sirach 9:8 ====
==== Matthew 5:2 and Sirach 25:7-12 ====
==== Matthew 5:4 and Sirach 48:24 ====
==== Matthew 6:7 and Sirach 7:14 ====
==== Matthew 6:9 and Sirach 23:1,4 ====
==== Matthew 6:10 and 1 Maccabees 3:60 ====
==== Matthew 6:12 and Sirach 28:2 ====
==== Matthew 6:13 and Sirach 33:1 ====
==== Matthew 6:20 and Sirach 29:10 ====
==== Matthew 6:23 and Sirach 14:10 ====
==== Matthew 6:33 and Wisdom 7:11 ====
==== Matthew 7:12 and Tobit 4:15 ====
==== Matthew 7:12 and Sirach 31:15 ====
==== Matthew 7:16 and Sirach 27:6 ====
==== Matthew 8:11 and Baruch 4:37 ====
==== Matthew 8:21 and Tobit 4:3 ====
==== Matthew 9:36 and Judith 11:19 ====
==== Matthew 9:38 and 1 Maccabees 12:17 ====
==== Matthew 10:16 and Sirach 13:17 ====
==== Matthew 11:14 and Sirach 48:10 ====
==== Matthew 11:22 and Judith 16:17 ====
==== Matthew 11:25 and Tobit 7:17 ====
==== Matthew 11:25 and Sirach 51:1 ====
==== Matthew 11:28 and Sirach 24:19; 51:23 ====
==== Matthew 11:29 and Sirach 6:24, 28; 51:26 ====
==== Matthew 12:4 and 2 Maccabees 10:3 ====
==== Matthew 12:5 and Sirach 40:15 ====
==== Matthew 13:44 and Sirach 20:30 ====
==== Matthew 16:18 and Wisdom 16:13 ====
==== Matthew 16:22 and 1 Maccabees 2:21 ====
==== Matthew 16:27 and Sirach 35:22 ====
==== Matthew 17:11 and Sirach 48:10 ====
==== Matthew 18:10 and Tobit 12:15 ====
==== Matthew 20:2 and Tobit 5:15 ====
==== Matthew 22:13 and Wisdom 17:2 ====
==== Matthew 23:38 and Tobit 14:4 ====
==== Matthew 24:15 and 1 Maccabees 1:54 ====
==== Matthew 24:15 and 2 Maccabees 8:17 ====
==== Matthew 24:16 and 1 Maccabees 2:28 ====
==== Matthew 25:35 and Tobit 4:17 ====
==== Matthew 25:36 and Sirach 7:32-35 ====
==== Matthew 26:28 and Sirach 37:2 ====
==== Matthew 27:24 and Daniel 13:46 ====
==== Matthew 27:43 and Wisdom 2:13, 18-20 ====
=== Mark ===
== Reasons for Rejection ==
This section will examine both the internal issues and external issues with the apocryphal books to show why they should not be considered canon. A large part of this is going to be looking for logical contradiction as an Omniscient God would not make such mistakes when divinely inspiring His Word to be written.
== Conclusion ==
In Truth and Love.
Category:Denominationalism
Category:Catholicism