The Goal Has Been Accomplished

I finished the Apocrypha!  Whew!  I don’t know if I’m any smarter, but the goal has been accomplished.  What’s that you say?  You don’t know what the Apocrypha is?  Well, that’s not surprising, especially if you’re not Catholic.   It’s the part right in the middle of the Catholic Bible, or the Revised Standard Version…that’s where mine is.

The word Apocrypha means ‘hidden writings.’  They show up around 200 BC in Alexandria, Egypt, as part of the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Old Testament.  Apparently, there’s lots of arguing about whether the books should have been made part of the canon.  Some say the ancient Jews put their blessings on them and some argue that they didn’t.  Imagine me shrugging my shoulders here.  It’s kinda hard to know what to believe and, quite frankly, how much it matters.  

Honestly, I thought some of it was a little out there.  I also think that some of it came perilously close to contradicting Scripture.  But some of it was good for historical reading, such as the Maccabees.  Remember that God was quiet for the 400 years before Christ was born.  In other words, there’s 400 years of human existence between the Old and the New Testaments…and we don’t know much about them. 

Stimulate Discussion

Anyway, for now, reading the Apocrypha is probably a one and done.  If I need a reference from it, I know how to navigate it and I could probably find what I was looking for.  What do you know about the Apocrypha?  Have you read it?   Tell me what you know at Lifting Her Voice, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.  My goal for 2022 is to read the Quran.  I believe reading these documents is one way that we can be ready to give a reason for the hope that we have.  It can help us understand where someone is coming from and stimulate discussion.  And that’s where relationships start.