apocrypha

Layout Pimper.comAPOCRYPHA, from the Greek áðüêñõöïò, "hidden", refers in general to religious works that are not considered canonical, or part of officially-accepted scripture, but are of very roughly similar style and age as the accepted scriptures. Such works are often believed not to have been "inspired" or to be in some way "less inspired" by divine processes or entities, such as Holy Wisdom or the Holy Spirit. Most works that are considered apocryphal in the Hebrew Bible were written in languages other than Hebrew, such as Greek or Aramaic, or at least survive only as translations into non-Hebrew languages.



It is important to remember that different religions have different canons, which they have assembled and defined over time and through different processes. In modern times, the term "apocryphal" is often used with a connotation or denotation of heresy, but neutral commentators sometimes use it to mean "non-canonical" from the point of view of the particular sect under discussion.



Commenting on the connotation of the word apocrypha, one scholar wrote:



"The Greek word apocryphos did not always have the disparaging sense which later became attached to it. In Gnostic circles it was used of books the contents of which were too sacred to be divulged to the common herd, and it was in fact the heretical associations which it thus came to possess which led to its use as a term of disparagement. In the Nag Hammadi library, for example, one document bears the title Apocryphon or Secret Book of John, another that of Apocryphon of James, and several Gnostic gospels contain solemn warnings against imparting their contents to any save the deserving, or for the sake of material gain." -from R.M. Wilson in Studies in the Gospel of Thomas (the "apocryphal" Gospel of Thomas)

( the Prayer of Manasses (see Manasseh). All are included in the Septuagint, with the exception of 2 Esdras=4 Ezra. However, they were not included in the Hebrew canon (ratified c.A.D. 100). In 1566 the collection was deemed “deutero-canonicalEby the Roman Catholic Church, meaning that their canonicity was recognized only after a period of time. Protestants follow Jewish tradition in regarding all these books as non-canonical. Jewish and Christian works resembling biblical books, but not included among the Apocrypha, are collected in the Pseudepigrapha. The term Apocrypha is sometimes applied to early Christian writings that were once considered canonical by some but are not in the New Testament.