apocrypha
Examinations of apocryphal writings, their historical background, doctrinal themes, and relevance in biblical debates.
NOTES FOR PERPETUAL VIRGINITY DEBATE Paid Members Public
Compiled by William Albrecht HEOS HOU An argument we hear brought up a lot is the argument that Matthew 1:25 proves that LATER on Mary and Joseph must have had sexual relations. Matthew 1:25 reads Matthew 1:25 And he knew her not until she brought forth her
ENOCH’S MESSIANIC SON OF MAN Paid Members Public
In this post I will be citing from the pseudepigraphal work 1 Enoch, which is a pre-Christian Jewish writing, that gives us an idea of how some of the Jews understood the Son of Man whom the prophet Daniel saw and wrote of in his inspired writing. Here is the
2 Maccabees and The Canon of Scripture Paid Members Public
In this post I am going to raise the question of whether Roman Catholics should consider 2 Maccabees as inspired scripture, and therefore a part of the Old Testament canon. I base this on the following section, which mentions Judas Maccabees offering sacrifices and prayers for Jewish soldiers who were
Athanasius’ Biblical Canon Paid Members Public
The following is taken from Athanasius’ 39th festal letter written at 367 AD (https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2806039.htm). (For 367.) Of the particular books and their number, which are accepted by the Church. From the thirty-ninth Letter of Holy Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, on the Paschal festival; wherein
The Signing of the Cross in Early Christianity Paid Members Public
In this post I am going to cite an early source attesting to the Christian practice of doing the sign of the cross with the hand. I will be quoting from a document called the Odes of Solomon. Scholars date this work as early to the beginning of the second
The Biblical Canon of the 5th-6th Centuries Paid Members Public
The following excerpt is taken from William Webster’s article The Canon: Why the Roman Catholic Arguments for the Canon are Spurious (https://christiantruth.com/articles/articles-roman-catholicism/canon/). All bold and underline emphasis mine. Jerome’s views are as follows: These instances have been just touched upon by me (the
Christian Apocryphal Writings Paid Members Public
In this post, I am going to mention some of the books that specific early Christian writers deemed to be inspired and/or canonical. I also include Enoch in this list since this is a writing that has been cherished by Christians for the most part, not the Jews. All
The Synod of Laodicea’s Biblical Canon Paid Members Public
The synod or council of Laodicea has been dated anywhere from 343 to 381 AD. It contains the list of biblical books that were deemed to be canonical, and therefore the only authoritative writings that could be read in the churches. Canon 59 No psalms composed by private individuals nor