The Good News Bible & the Apocrypha

The 66 books found in the standard translations of the Bible have stood the test and scrutiny of time. Their authenticity and canonicity have been reliably established.

The Catholic Good News Bible consists of additional writings (Apocrypha): Tobit, Judith, the Additions to Esther, the Additions to Daniel (the Prayer of Azariah and the Three Young Men, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon), the Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, the Letter of Jeremiah, 1 and 2 Maccabees.

The Apocrypha were formally canonized by the Catholic Church on April 8, 1546 A.D. at the Council of Trent. This council was called as a result of the Protestant Reformation, and Martin Luther's criticism of the Catholic church for not having scriptural support for certain distinct Catholic doctrines.

The Apocrypha should NOT be included in the canon of Scriptures because...

• None of the Apocrypha claim inspiration or divine authority. New Testament books claim inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; 2 Peter 3:16) None of the apocryphal books are written by a true prophet or apostle of God, or are they confirmed by divine miracles, or contain predictive prophecy.
• New Testament writers do not quote the Apocrypha. There are 263 quotations and 370 allusions to the Old Testament in the New Testament and not one of them refers to the Apocrypha.
• The Apocrypha is not in the Jewish Canon of Holy Scripture.
• There are historical, geographical, and chronological/ numerical errors and discrepancies in the Apocrypha. Historical and archaeological studies have always proven the canonical Scriptures to be accurate over and over again.
• The Apocrypha contains unbiblical doctrines. Such as...

1. Doctrine of the Mass (2 Maccabees 12:42-45; compare with Hebrews 7:27)
2. The notion that the world was created out of preexistent matter (Wisdom of Solomon; compare with Genesis 1 and Psalm 33:9)
3. The idea that giving alms and other works can make an atonement for sin. (Ecclesiasticus 3:3; 3:30; 5:5; 20:28; 35:1-4; 45:16; 45:23; compare with Romans 3:20)
4. The intercession of the saints. (2 Maccabees 15:14; Baruch 3:4; compare with Matthew 6:9)
5. The worship of angels. (Tobit 12:12; compare with Colossians 2:18)
6. Purgatory and the redemption of souls after death. (2 Maccabees 12:42, 45; compare with Hebrews 9:27)

BAPTISM

BAPTISM IS FULL IMMERSION IN WATER, NOT SPRINKLING


Note: The Greek word for baptism literally means immersion. There are separate words in Greek for sprinkling, pouring and immersion. In the Bible only the Greek word for immersion is used.


Jesus was baptized by full immersion int he Jordan River:

"When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him." (Matthew 3:16)


When Philip baptized the Eunuch, they both went into the water:

"So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing." (Acts 8:38-39)


Belief and repentance come before Baptism, (babies cannot be Baptized):

• "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:16)


• "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'" (Acts 8:36-37)


• "Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" (Acts 2:37-38)

Church Tradition

Jesus never said it was OK for man to change what the word of God teaches.


"'And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men'...He said to them, 'All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.'" (Mark 7:7-9)

STATUES

The 2nd commandment:

(Exodus 20:4-5) "You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them..."


Catholics regularly bow down to idols, icons and images of Jesus, Mary and the apostles, kissing the feet of the statues and praying before them.

PRIESTS

Jesus made all Christians to be priests, not just church leaders:


"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5)


"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9)


"And has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (Revelation 1:6)


"And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:10)

SAINTS

Catholic Doctrine:

The Pope says only very special dead Catholic people qualify to be called "saints."


Every living Christian in the church in Corinth was called a saint:

"To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours" (1 Corinthians 1:2)


Paul wrote the book of Ephesians to living Christians in Ephesus:

"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 1:1)


The Christians in the church at Philippi were called saints:

"Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons" (Philippians 1:1)


Every Christian living in Rome was called to be a saint:

"To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 1:7)

VIRGIN MARY

Catholic Doctrine:

1. The virgin Mary never had sex after Jesus was born and that Jesus had no brothers & sisters.
2. The Pope teaches that Mary is the mediator between God and Man.
3. Catholics praise Mary more than Jesus Christ & pray to her to have their prayers answered.

Jesus had brothers and sisters from the womb of Mary.
"Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" (Matthew 13:55-56)

Joseph began normal sexual relations with his wife after Jesus was born.
"And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus." (Matthew 1:24-25)

Mary is not the mediator between God and man.
" For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." (1 Timothy 2:5)

Jesus did not encourage praise to Mary.
" And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." (Luke 11:27-28)

CALLING THE PRIESTS "FATHER"

Jesus did not approve of calling the leaders of the church, "Father."

"Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven." (Matthew 23:9)

Peter: A Good Choice for the first Pope?

Peter was not a good choice because:

- Peter denied the Lord Jesus three times (Matt. 26:69-75 "Now Peter sat outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl came to him, saying, 'You also were with Jesus of Galilee.' But he denied it before them all, saying 'I do not know what you are saying.' And when he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, 'This fellow also was with Jesus of Nazareth.' But again he denied with an oath, 'I do not know the Man!' And a little later those who stood by came up and said to Peter, 'Surely you also are one of them, for your speech betrays you.' Then he began to curse and swear, saying, 'I do not know the Man!' Immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him 'Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.' So he went out and wept bitterly.")
- Peter was a married man (Matt 8:14 "Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.")
- Peter was rebuked by the Lord (Matt 16:23 "But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.")
- Peter was rebuked by Paul (Gal 2:11 "Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed")
- Peter was not superior to the other apostles (2 Cor. 11:5 Paul states "For I consider that I am not at all inferior to the most eminent apostles.")
- Peter never accepted reverence (Acts 10:25-26 " As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself am also a man.") [No man should!] (Rev. 19:10) "And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! The the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (see also Rev. 22:9)]
- Jesus is the only head of His church, not Peter (Ephesians 1:22-23, "And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.") (See also Col. 1:19) There are no references in the Bible that Peter was selected to be the Vicar of Christ on earth. Peter never talked about any "successors" to him.

THE ROSARY

JESUS FORBID REPETITIVE PRAYER USING THE ROSARY.

(Matthew 6:7 "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.)

Note: The Rosary was first invented in 1090AD by "Peter the Hermit" & made popular by St. Dominic in 1208AD. The idea of praying with beads came from pagan religions who were already using them hundreds of years before. Ex/ Hindus - any sub-multiple of 108 beads (456AD); Islam - 99 beads (610AD); Buddhists - 108 prayer beads on string.

PETER: THE FIRST POPE?

Catholics use the following Scripture as proof that Peter was the first Pope: (Matthew 16:13-19) When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter answered and said,"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." [Peter declared that Jesus was not one among many - He was someone set apart from all others. "The Christ" is the Greek title for the promised Messiah for whom the Jews had been waiting. Peter not only affirmed Jesus to be the Messiah; he identified the Messiah as the Son of God. Though the disciples had heard the Father call Jesus His beloved Son (Matt. 3:17) and had heard Jesus address God as Father numerous times (Matt. 11:27), this confession went beyond that to express the understanding of their hearts.] Jesus answered and said to him,"Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, [The church is built upon Jesus Christ: (1 Cor 3:11) "For no other foundation can anyone lay that that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ")] ["This Rock" refers to Peter's confession - of The Christ, the Promised Messiah, the Son of God - It is the Rock on which the church would be built.] and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. [Jesus' point is that death itself cannot destroy the church or keep it from going forward.]
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." [The binding and loosing is a reference to the distribution of the gospel. Peter and all believers were given the gospel ("the keys of the kingdom") to introduce men and women to Christ and His salvation and thereby build the church. (Matt 28:19-20 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.")]