What is your position concerning the Apocrypha?
Protestants largely do not consider the books of the Apocrypha to be canonical because Judaism has not consider them to be canonical. Judaism has not considered these books to be canonical because the principal copies which are extant of them are written in Greek, and not Hebrew, and were largely an adjunct part of the Septuagint. The Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions do consider these books to be canonical, with the Anglican tradition often regarding them as deutero-canonical. The principal books of the Apocrypha include:
3 Esdras
4 Esdras
Tobit
Judith
The Additions to Esther
Wisdom
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
Baruch
The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Youths, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon
The Prayer of Manasseh
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
The Eastern Orthodox Church adds 3&4 Maccabees to its Apocryphal canon
A ministry such as Outreach Israel and Messianic Apologetics would not consider the books of the Apocrypha to be “inspired Scripture,” per se, but we do think that they should be consulted as a valuable historical and cultural reference. They do play a significant role in historical Christian theology, and certainly cannot be ignored. Some of the traditions and points of view which the Apocrypha often records, can make their way into many parts of the Apostolic Scriptures, so the Apocrypha should have some secondary place after Scripture in determining one’s theology.
