Why is the Catholic church so afraid to let out and keep hidden certain gospels from the bible?

Answer 1

First of all the Catholic Church is not afraid to keep hidden certain Gospels from the Bible, because the Bible contains four Gospels we are quite proud of: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

You are undoubtedly referring to apocryphal gospels that never made it into the Bible. The Catholic Church is not so much afraid to expose them as it simply does not wish to acknowledge them as inspired and add them to the canon of the Bible.

The apocryphal gospels, such as the Gospel of Thomas and Gospel of Judas, are not included in the Bible, and will not be, because they are not authentic portrayals of the life of Christ, are not written by trusted authors, and contradict the orthodox Christian faith. The Holy Spirit, in essence, did not reveal them to be inspired.

Many of the apocryphal gospels -- probably the ones you are thinking of -- were Gnostic in origin. The Gnostics were a sect that tried to take various religions and distort them to pursue their own agendas -- primarily the idea that salvation comes through secret knowledge given to initiates. Because Christianity became popular, Gnostics appropriated Christian ideas and adulterated them with their own doctrines, and then tried to sell people on their own churches.

Study Gnostic thought and you will soon find that it is quite flaky and hard to stomach. Gnosticism is like the National Enquirer of religions. Their gospels are self-serving propaganda. Just as the National Enquirer would not be used for study in college courses (except as an example of bogus journalism), so the Gnostic gospels are not included in the Bible.

The canonical Gospels, on the other hand, were written by trusted men known to the Apostles chosen by Jesus and accepted by the community. This gave them and their gospels credibility. The apocryphal gospels enjoyed no such credibility because they were written by outsiders (or by heretics) and so their gospels were not accepted. Just as you would not allow a doctor who had no credentials to treat you, so the church did not allow anyone without credentials to write their Scripture.

In short, the apocryphal gospels are not included in the canon of the Bible because they are not inspired by God, are not reliable testimonies to the life of Jesus, and contradict orthodox teaching. Gnostic gospels are adulterated with Gnostic doctrine which has nothing to do with Christianity.

Answer 2

Only Divinely Inspired texts are in the Bible. Just because someone, even an Apostle, choses to sit down and write a Gospel, doesn't automatically mean it's Divinely Inspired.

The BIble, as we know it, has existed since the first century. However, the Bible Canon was not made official until the forth century - meaning a lot of thought and consideration went into deciding which books belonged and which ones did not.

And when it comes to these "apocryphal" texts, these books aren't hidden! They are widely available for anyone who wants to read them. You just have to stop by a CATHOLIC bookstore. They will be in there, which proves the idea the Catholic Church is trying to hide these texts is bogus.

Answer 3

Because then they lose the control they have over their followers! When the Catholics first started, they wanted to kill Martin Luther for translating the Bible into German from Latin, so the people could actually READ it themselves. That REALLY pissed off the popes! They wanted people to believe they had to buy their way into heaven and needed a priest to talk to God.

They took the Gnostic gospels out of the Bible because they empowered the reader to talk directly to God and they didn't like the mystic aspect of the gospels.

The Catholic church sucks and is responsible for how twisted Christians still are today.

And answerer "Mike" doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Read the Nag Hammadi. Those LEFT OUT books were eventually found.

Answer 4

Only the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have ever been in the Bible.

Back in the third and fourth century there were all kinds of pseudo-Christian groups coming up with "interesting" doctrines and writing gospels to back them up. A group called Gnostics wrote the gospel of Judas in this way.

The 27 books of the New Testament were widely accepted by the mainstream members of the early church long before the leaders got around to proclaiming them the canon.

The four Gospels that were chosen were the only ones to be written in the first century and the only ones written by either the original Apostles or their close companions.

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

Because those gospels are heresy and are not inspired by God. They were written by Heretics, godless men influenced by the devil. The Bible is the word of God and is closed forever. These books are well know and can are available to the public online or in any library.

Answer 6

Theres no proof one way or the other about gospels that are left out.

Answer 7

Hello, its not just the Catholic church. any other christian sect could step in and do the right thing, but no, they like blaming the Catholics for the secrecy.

Answer 8

I don't know what you mean by "Let out," but apocryphal gospels are published as they are found and are probably available at your local book store.

Answer 9

Catholicism is a pagan religion based on tradition not truth. Christianity embraces all truth.

This I believe; http://homelessheart.com/testimony.htm

Answer 10

So dark the con of man