Is the Apocrypha Canonical?
Rev. Angus Stewart defends the Protestant canon by arguing that the Apocrypha lacks the marks of divine inspiration and was never recognized as canonical by the Jewish church or endorsed by Christ and the apostles. Through textual analysis and historical argumentation, Stewart systematically refutes Roman Catholic claims regarding the apocryphal books' canonical status and responds to specific apologetic arguments in favor of their inclusion.
Rev. Angus Stewart Protestantism and Roman Catholicism agree regarding the canon of the New Testament (NT), but Roman Catholicism also includes the Apocrypha (Tobit, I and II Maccabees, Judith, etc.) in the Old Testament (OT) canon, unlike Protestantism. The apostle Paul declares that “the oracles of God” were “committed” to the Jewish OT church (Rom. 3:2), which never considered the apocryphal books as canonical. If the Apocrypha were “inspired,” as Rome claims (Catechism of the Catholic...