Do christians know that the Gospel of James was one of the Gospels that was suppose to be in the Bible?

Question

but in the end they decided not to because they wanted the Bible to be mostly focused on Jesus... if it was put in the bible most protestants would be going around saying that mary was a prpetual virgin and all, am I right?

prepetual*

The Gnostic bibles didn't even get votes for heretic context the Gospel of James was next on the list and all early christians excepted it there is no where in the bible where it says that mary had James directly, in the Gospel of James it said that that he was Josephs son.

Answer 1

As with the canonical gospels, the vast majority of the manuscripts come from the tenth century or later. The earliest known manuscript of the text, a papyrus dating to the third or early fourth century, was found in 1958.

The Gospel of James, also sometimes known as the Infancy Gospel of James or the Protevangelium of James, is an apocryphal Gospel probably written about AD 150. The Gospel of James may be the earliest surviving document attesting the veneration of Mary and claiming her continuing virginity.
The document presents itself as written by James: "I, James, wrote this history in Jerusalem." Thus the purported author is James the Just, who the text claims is a son of Joseph from a prior marriage, and thus a step-brother of Jesus.

Scholars have established that, based on the style of the language and the theological concerns, and the fact that the author is apparently not aware of contemporary Jewish customs while James the Just certainly was, the work is pseudepigraphical (written by someone other than the person it claims to be written by). The echoes and parallels of the Old Testament appear to derive from its Greek translation, the Septuagint, as opposed to the Hebrew Masoretic Text, which is noticeable due to several peculiarities and variations present in the Septuagint. It apparently embellishes on what is told of events surrounding Mary, prior to, and at the moment of, Jesus' birth, in the Gospel of Matthew, and in the Gospel of Luke.

One of the work's high points is the Lament of Anna. A primary theme is the work and grace of God in Mary's life, Mary's personal purity, and her perpetual virginity before, during, and after the birth of Jesus, as confirmed by the midwife after she gave birth, and tested by "Salome" who is perhaps intended to be Salome, later the disciple of Jesus who is mentioned in the Gospel of Mark as being at the Crucifixion.

Besides the perpetual virginity of Mary, this is also the earliest text that explicitly claims that Joseph was a widower, with children, at the time that Mary is entrusted to his care. This is the feature which appears in its earliest mention, in the above-mentioned text of Origen, who adduces it to demonstrate that the 'brethren of the Lord' were sons of Joseph by a former wife. Since the text was regarded as heresy by the time of the Gelasian Decree, its dismissal may be due in part to this reading of the adelphoi, which corresponded to the developed Eastern Orthodox view rather than the western, i.e. Roman Catholic, view, which treated them as cousins.

Answer 2

Scholars have established that, based on the style of the language and the theological concerns, and the fact that the author is apparently not aware of contemporary Jewish customs while James the Just certainly was, the work is pseudepigraphical (written by someone other than the person it claims to be written by). The echoes and parallels of the Old Testament appear to derive from its Greek translation, the Septuagint, as opposed to the Hebrew Masoretic Text, which is noticeable due to several peculiarities and variations present in the Septuagint. It apparently embellishes on what is told of events surrounding Mary, prior to, and at the moment of, Jesus' birth, in the Gospel of Matthew, and in the Gospel of Luke.

As for its estimated date, the consensus is that it was actually composed some time in the 2nd century AD. The first mention of it is by Origen in the early third century, who says the text, like that of a "Gospel of Peter", was of dubious, recent appearance, and shared with that book the claim that the 'brethren of the Lord' were sons of Joseph by a former wife [1]. In the same train of thought, though, he admits that, while the notion might seem pious, it was not unlikely that the obvious interpretation of Scripture (that Mary bore them for Joseph) was true and acceptable."

Answer 3

I don't really think so. If you read the Bible there are references to Jesus' family and his brother James was elder of the Christian church in Jerusalem at the time of Paul. So the idea of Mary being a perpetual virgin is not a viable one, given the history.

Answer 4

I don't know which James you are speaking of, but there is a James in the bible.
everything that is in the Bible is there because God wanted it to be, God is mightier than man and can change a mind in a heartbeat.. therefore if it was left out (like 3 Corinthians and the book of Enoch) then God had his reasons.. the editors were only following God's direction.

Answer 5

Where in the world did you get this idea? Read the Epistle of James if you want to know what he thinks. James writes about discrimination, treating others as we would wish to be treated. Christian use of the tongue, the responsibility of teachers, godly wisdom, God's plan for a holy people, and His judgment on selfish persons.

Answer 6

And they also left out…

Gospel of Mary Magdalene
Gospel of Judas
Gospel of Philip
Gospel of Thomas

…to name just few.

Answer 7

I think you meant to say "the Protoevangelium of St. James," rather than the 'Gospel of St. James.'

To Martha D. : Your thinking of 'the Epistle of St. James.'

Answer 8

i'm not sure. were the books chosen based on credibility or based on shaping the Christian belief. there is also the gospel of Thomas which has given birth to gnostism (knowledge is requiered to be saved). i would like to read these other gospels for myself one day.

Answer 9

Books that were already accepted into the cannon covered everything that was needed to bring us to Christ. God is able to protect His word, so don't worry that something that does not make a difference was left out.

Answer 10

Hate to burst your bubble but James is in all my versions right behind Hebrews.