Belgic Confession, Article 06: The Difference Between Canonical and Apocryphal Books
Article 6 of the Belgic Confession establishes the Reformed principle distinguishing canonical Scripture from apocryphal books, providing the theological rationale for the Protestant biblical canon. While acknowledging that apocryphal texts may be read for edification when consistent with Scripture, the confession affirms that only canonical books possess binding authority for establishing doctrine and Christian faith. This foundational confessional statement reflects 16th-century Reformed hermeneutics and defends the sufficiency and authority of the biblical canon against Roman Catholic inclusion of additional texts.
Article 6: The Difference Between Canonical and Apocryphal Books We distinguish between these holy books and the apocryphal ones,which are the third and fourth books of Esdras; the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach, Baruch; what was added to the Story of Esther; the Song of the Three Children in the Furnace; the Story of Susannah; the Story of Bel and the Dragon; the Prayer of Manasseh; and the two books of Maccabees.The church may certainly read these books and learn from them as...