What do you think....
What are your thoughts on the lost books of scripture? You know the ones they didn't put in the Bible. Are they valuable?
31-35, F
This post may contain Mildly Adult content.
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robb65 · 56-60, M
"Books they didn't put in the bible" is a somewhat broad category. On one hand there's books that do appear in certain versions of the bible and are readily available to anyone who really wants to read them. On the other there's books that are mentioned in the bible but are lost to time and no one can say for sure what was in them or whether or not it would be "valuable". And then there's relatively recent forgeries, very old forgeries (3rd Corinthians for instance, Paul apparently did write at least one other letter to the Corinthians but this ain't it) pseudographic books ( Enoch, Testament of Moses for examples) and several Gnostic gospels. In other words you could fill a library with "lost books of the bible" depending on how you measure "lost"
While it's hard to see how a forgery from 200 years ago would have any value, there are several books that do and maybe several that could have depending on how you define "value". Books like Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and Judith might be "valuable" if you like reading but I don't recall anything of value there beyond their value as "literature". The Gnostic gospels might be of value if you are researching early Christian sects but the ones I've read sounded like something written by a fifth grader, not something I would recommend wasting time on.
Some of the books I find to be of more value include the Maccabees. The reason being that some of the prophesies in Daniel that Christians attribute to the antichrist are more likely about Antiochus Epiphanes, or at least interwoven with prophesies about him. Reading Maccabees fills in these gaps and makes that a bit easier to see. The things written about the "antichrist" in the New testament sound as if the writer went down the list of things Epiphanes did ( erected a statue on the Temple mount, sat in the Temple, declared himself to be G-d....). I think anyone with an interest in prophesy/end times events should take a closer look here.
Apocalyptic books like Enoch may have some value. There are at least two places in the "NT" where quotes from this one appear, along with at least one quote from the "Testament of Moses". While I'm hesitant to attach a lot of value to this sort of book, I think its potential value is that it did in some way influence the thinking of some early Christians to the point that they saw value in referencing it in their writings.
While it's hard to see how a forgery from 200 years ago would have any value, there are several books that do and maybe several that could have depending on how you define "value". Books like Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, and Judith might be "valuable" if you like reading but I don't recall anything of value there beyond their value as "literature". The Gnostic gospels might be of value if you are researching early Christian sects but the ones I've read sounded like something written by a fifth grader, not something I would recommend wasting time on.
Some of the books I find to be of more value include the Maccabees. The reason being that some of the prophesies in Daniel that Christians attribute to the antichrist are more likely about Antiochus Epiphanes, or at least interwoven with prophesies about him. Reading Maccabees fills in these gaps and makes that a bit easier to see. The things written about the "antichrist" in the New testament sound as if the writer went down the list of things Epiphanes did ( erected a statue on the Temple mount, sat in the Temple, declared himself to be G-d....). I think anyone with an interest in prophesy/end times events should take a closer look here.
Apocalyptic books like Enoch may have some value. There are at least two places in the "NT" where quotes from this one appear, along with at least one quote from the "Testament of Moses". While I'm hesitant to attach a lot of value to this sort of book, I think its potential value is that it did in some way influence the thinking of some early Christians to the point that they saw value in referencing it in their writings.
Pistis Sophia
you can read this
the translations of the originals and revisions by world church councils have distorted the meaning of even basic biblical texts
you can read this
the translations of the originals and revisions by world church councils have distorted the meaning of even basic biblical texts
Umile · 41-45, F
People will probably pay to read it.
I guess it's more sought-after because it's the missing pieces to the whole.
I just wonder about it's teachings though.
I guess it's more sought-after because it's the missing pieces to the whole.
I just wonder about it's teachings though.
Diotrephes · 70-79, M
What books are you asking about? Come Bible b=versions contain all of the original books.