The four gospels in the Bible were not the only gospels. They are the only gospels approved by the church. Shouldn't people have the right to make up their own minds about such matters. Does the church have the right to exclude such writings from the bible and prohibit people from reading them?
2006-09-26 22:37:28 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No the church doesnt have a right to decide that but it has been that way for a long time. I believe they were left out because they said things that went against what the church was trying to ingrain into people. and now they have built so much on all of this to bring out all the books that were left out of the bible would raise way to many issues so for the most part they choose to keep them under lock and key. Although if you do a little research online you can find some of them such as the dead sea scrolls but I have always believed there were way more then just the ones that have become public knowledge. I have always thought there were many more that told of Jesus childhood and the things he did and told more about the people that surrounded Jesus as well such as mary magdalene(sp) . All the things that for some reason the church doesnt want us to know.
2006-09-26 22:47:10 · answer #1 · answered by Tears30 2 · 2⤊ 4⤋
The Catholic Church didn't bother putting in the other 30 or so gospels because it taught things like: Jesus not a god, Hell not forever, Jesus was just a spirit, salvation through secret knowledge, and other "damnable" heresies. However, these gospels weren't chosen because they went against already common Christian beliefs, were written by an unknown author, and were written about 100-200 years after the included gospels.
2006-09-27 07:57:16 · answer #2 · answered by Nowhere Man 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The apocryphal gospels are not Divinely Inspired like the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are. That is why they are not included in the Bible.
This exclusion from the Bible is not a "ban". You can go into any Catholic bookstore and purchase a myriad of apocryphal texts, including the gospels.
Don't make the mistake of assuming that the Church must have alterior motives for excluding certain books from the Bible.
2006-09-27 06:45:30 · answer #3 · answered by Daver 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
There is no prohibition against other gospels. There is a rejection of other gospels for their faith. I don't think it was the Catholic Church that decided the approved cannon. The men who did the deciding for the inclusion in the canonized Bible were men who'd suffered for the name of Christ. Just about all of them had suffered through torture by one group or another trying to make them renounce their faith in God through Jesus Christ. I think these men were perhaps the most qualified to make such decisions. Faith for them was not an intellectual exercise, but the most important thing to them, above even their lives. The gave good reasons for their decisions and you can read all about them by searching on the historical documents of the Nicene Council.
http://judgeright.blogspot.com
2006-09-27 05:51:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
The Catholic Church not only picked and chose what scriptures they deemed "divine" but they also have modified those scriptures numerous times throughout history. (The Catholic Church was the only source of Christianity until The Reformation initiated by Martin Luther.) There were dozens of "books" citing dreams like the one John had in Revelations, but only that one was considered "divine". The Gospels that we have today are not only not all of the gospels, but they arent even the original versions of THOSE gospels.
The Catholic Church also bans its followers from reading many other written materials (I believe the banning of books initiated with Pope Pious X, or maybe that was the infallibility clause). Catholics who read books on the Codex of Forbidden Books are excommunicated (and to Catholics, that means sentenced to hell).
The Catholic Church is an evil, evil organization. Its fluffy cover is exactly that, a ruse.
This is not the fault of its followers however. Do not misread, there are a great many many wonderful Catholic people who only wish to help people.
2006-09-27 05:48:55 · answer #5 · answered by Blue Devil 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
The church was consolidating its doctrine of christianity. The other writings contradicted the doctrine so it excluded them.
Even today, there are many differing bibles between the Orthodox churchs, the Protestants, and the Catholics.
Sure it has the right. If you dont like it, quit.
2006-09-27 06:47:20 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Christian religious leaders edited anything that they thought didn't jive with their version of christianity out of the bible at the council of nicea. This was also where the false concept of the holy trinity was introduced. The Vatican still refuses to release all of the Dead Sea Scrolls to the public. What are they hiding? The Church does not want anyone making up their own minds about anything. They want you to blindly follow whatever dogma they create without question.
2006-09-27 05:42:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
I was watching discovery the other day . . . think it was about teh gospel of Judas. And they had no explaination on why they only chose 4 gospels. Some say because there is North, East , South and West which makes no sence. Well, I think all these gospels contradicts each other and they cant put them all in. Well, religion is a complicated religion. Its deeper than the Bible. The deeper you study it, the more you lose your trust in it.
2006-09-27 05:47:40 · answer #8 · answered by sampaul21 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Not an advocate for the Roman church, As a kid, I've never seen one person in that church with a bible anyhow.
What gospels and what is your proof of censorship?
God says his words will never change. There is a true edition out there available to all.
2006-09-27 05:44:01 · answer #9 · answered by digdugs 3 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Because the Roman Catholic Church has always tried to be the intimidating ones when they themselves have been corrupt for ages. They're the reason we use todays calender
2006-09-27 05:41:45 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋