I’m teaching an Old Testament Survey class through the end of August and I decided to include a topic that I considered a bit risky. As you can guess from the title, it was a look at the OT Apocrypha. Just for clarity, I mean the books and material commonly found in Catholic Bibles, not the Pseudographia.

Why read the Apocrypha?
The Apocrypha is useful reading for understanding our spiritual past. It is the largest source of material covering the Maccabean revolt (160BC?). It was considered at least useful for instruction by Hellenistic Jews and some early Christians. It gives us examples of Jewish and early Christian thinking by allowing comparisons between inspired and human writings. Looking at the reasons this material is not included in Protestant Bibles, gives us insight into our own Christian heritage as well.

The Apocrypha is also useful for understanding our present. Some Catholic doctrines are formed entirely on the basis of the Apocrypha, for example the existence of Purgatory, the intercession of saints, and prayers for the dead. Even in the Orthodox church, this material is considered scripture and used for teaching and instruction in doctrine.