For Protestants?

Question

Why do you use the KJV and other protestant bibles that have had books removed? Doesnt Revelations 22 forbid this? All protestant bibles are missing 7 important books from them.

Rev. 22: 18-19
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall aadd unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Answer 1

Read....... "On the Jews and their Lies", a 65,000-word treatise written by the German monk and church reformer Martin Luther in 1543, three years before his death.
Luther writes that the Jews are a "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision, and law must be accounted as filth." They are full of the "devil's feces ... which they wallow in like swine," and the synagogue is an "incorrigible whore and an evil **** ..." He argues that their synagogues and schools should be set on fire, their prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes razed, and property and money confiscated. They should be shown no mercy or kindness, afforded no legal protection, and these "poisonous envenomed worms" should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time. He also seems to advocate their murder, writing "[w]e are at fault in not slaying them."


The canon of the Old Testament that Catholics use is based on the text used by Alexandrian Jews, a version known as the "Septuagint" and which came into being around 280 B.C. as a translation of then existing texts from Hebrew into Greek by 72 Jewish scribes (the Torah was translated first, around 300 B.C., and the rest of Tanach was translated afterward).

The Septuagint is the Old Testament referred to in the Didache or "Doctrine of the Apostles" (first century Christian writings) and by Origen, Irenaeus of Lyons, Hippolytus, Tertullian, Cyprian of Carthage, Justin Martyr, St. Augustine and the vast majority of early Christians who referenced Scripture in their writings. The Epistle of Pope Clement, written in the first century, refers to the Books Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom, analyzed the book of Judith, and quotes sections of the book of Esther that were removed from Protestant Bibles.


In the 16th c., Luther, reacting to serious abuses and clerical corruption in the Latin Church, to his own heretical theological vision (see articles on sola scriptura and sola fide), and, frankly, to his own inner demons, removed those books from the canon that lent support to orthodox doctrine, relegating them to an appendix. Removed in this way were books that supported such things as prayers for the dead (Tobit 12:12; 2 Maccabees 12:39-45), Purgatory (Wisdom 3:1-7), intercession of dead saints (2 Maccabees 15:14), and intercession of angels as intermediaries (Tobit 12:12-15). Ultimately, the "Reformers" decided to ignore the canon determined by the Christian Councils of Hippo and Carthage.

The Latin Church in no way ignored the post-Temple rabbincal texts. Some Old Testament translations of the canon used by the Latin Church were also based in part on rabbinical translations, for example St. Jerome's 5th c. Latin translation of the Bible called the Vulgate.

The "Masoretic texts" refers to translations of the Old Testament made by rabbis between the 6th and 10th centuries; the phrase doesn't refer to ancient texts in the Hebrew language. Some people think that the Masoretic texts are the "original texts" and that, simply because they are in Hebrew, they are superior.

Some Protestants claim that the "Apocrypha" are not quoted in the New Testament so, therefore, they are not canonical.
Going by that standard of proof, we'd have to throw out Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Obadiah, Nahum, and Zephaniah because none of these Old Testament Books are quoted in the New Testament.


But there is a bigger lesson in all this confusion over not only the canon but proper translation of the canon , especially considering that even within the Catholic Church there have been differing opinions by individual theologians about the proper place of the deuterocanonicals (not that an individual theologian's opinions count for Magisterial teaching!).
The lesson, though, is this: relying on the "Bible alone" is a bad idea; we are not to rely solely on Sacred Scripture to understand Christ's message. While Scripture is "given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16-17), it is not sufficient for reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness.
It is the Church that is the "pillar and ground of Truth" (1 Timothy 3:15)!
Jesus did not come to write a book; He came to redeem us, and He founded a Sacramental Church through His apostles to show us the way.
It is to them, to the Church Fathers, to the Sacred Deposit of Faith, to the living Church that is guided by the Holy Spirit, and to Scripture that we must prayerfully look.

Answer 2

On this important subject it needs to be said that Protestants since the Reformation have been conned and short changed regarding the treasures of the church, Luther may have started the deception but those such as Calvin did the real damage.
The Apostles and their successors are the only ones authenticated by Christ to reveal and interpret the deposit of faith and not just any disillusioned self styled megalomaniacs like Calvin,Zwingli and Knox etc.
They have been robbed of meaningful relationship with the Queen of Heaven, robbed of the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist as well as the sacrament of Confession to name a few, and through time Protestants have become lulled into accepting the lies and deceptions of these heretics, so in order to cement these heretical teachings it was necessary to amend the scriptures to uphold the reformers hatred of Priesthood and the PopesIt is also a fact that some of these so called reformers were free masons and several Popes came out in condemnation of freemasonary.

Answer 3

Perhaps we can consider a middle, ecumenical ground. The deuterocanonical books not included in Protestant bibles are these: Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), and Baruch; as well as some additions to Esther and Daniel.

Nothing at all is missing from the New Testament in Protestant Bibles.

Protestants can read these books and derive theological understanding from them, just as they can read the Didache, the Shepherd of Hermas, and other books considered but not adopted as canon in the New Testament.

The big problem with Protestantism is not the canon of scripture, but the rule of sola scriptura, which imposes a huge roadblock to understanding the teachings of Jesus.

First, sola scriptura outlaws any nonbiblical source as authoritative in matters of faith and morality. This means that the writings of the Fathers of the Church, who were disciples of the Twelve Disciples, are not definitive in establishing the correct interpretation of ambiguous texts such as "born again by water and the Holy Spirit," which as the Fathers explain, refers to the sacrament of baptism.

Second, sola scriptura authorizes the individual believer, rather than the Church, to determine the meaning of scripture. This is on the order of letting any individual medical patient write his own prescriptions. If this is dangerous in matters of health, it is infinitely more dangerous in matters of salvation.

Because of sola scriptura, Christians are split into thousands of denominations rather than the unity that Christ prayed "that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you."

Answer 4

as a Catholic, I wonder the same thing. if they read history, they will find out that it is at Luther's whims that 7 books were removed from the original compilation, therefore the Bible that they're using is very much incomplete and partial. if they are seeking for truth, they should seek for the full truth and not just partial truth.

by the way, I posted the Sad Story of the Bible: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsNGBdOXbx28EdcPPb7ys4Dty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20070914065354AAY8SHw

Answer 5

For one, those books weren't "removed," as is often stated. While they were certainly most often printed in most early versions of the bible, even "protestant" versions would include them, but would denote them as "apocryphal," which only means that their origins could not meet the same standard as the criteria used to canonize the 66 books in the KJV and later versions. I can certainly go to a "Protestant" bookstore today and buy a copy of the apocryphal books because they aren't "evil," "hidden" or "forbidden;" again, only that Protestants believe they do not reach the same standard of authenticity as the canonized books. They add nothing to God's plan of salvation.

As for the citation of Revelation you give, most Christian scholars would probably say that the warning given there is really most accurately applied to the "book" of the Revelation. Having said that, many false religions have modified the bible to create doctrinal errors that render them in apostasy, so it is always important to read a well-translated and documented version of the bible, KJV, NKJV are but two examples of many worthy translations.

But what is MOST important is that you take the passages of scripture that are not ambiguous, not "in question," as to their provenance, and use them to assess the state of relationship between you and God. That is why "Protestants" so often guide you to John 3:16. No serious scholar of history, literature, theology or archeology would really doubt that a man named Jesus of Nazareth uttered those words as they have been recorded and faithfully translated over the centuries. And yet, in that one sentence, Jesus lays out for you the entire plan and standard of salvation.

As an aside, you should know that the scriptures often refer to "books" that have been lost to history...

Exodus 24:7
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.”

Numbers 21:14-15 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: “ Waheb in Suphah, the brooks of the Arnon, and the slope of the brooks that reaches to the dwelling of Ar, and lies on the border of Moab.”

Joshua 10:13
So the sun stood still,And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

...and NONE more important than this one, the Lamb's Book of Life, which is not to be found on earth, but in heaven:

Revelation 13:8
All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

Revelation 20:15
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:27
But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

So as an old Christian expression goes, "Don't worry about the parts of the bible you don't yet understand, just read it in faith and live by the parts you DO understand, and God will reveal the rest as you grow and mature in your relationship to Him."

Answer 6

tebone, a Protestant believes that the books that are contained in our bible are there for a reason, just as the books considered not authentic, and not in our bible, are not there for a reason.

Let's not do the Catholic/Protestant thing, shall we? It's so tiresome.

Answer 7

You are right when you say protestant bibles are missing 7 important books....

Now ... Catholics bibles are missing another 30 important books .... the "gospels" that was not admitted to the bible and was thrown out during the Nicaean council.