Expert: Bruce Gourley - 5/7/2007

Question
Could you tell me (or point me to information that will tell me)the Protestant Churchs position on the fourteen books of the Bible called the Apocrypha that were removed in 1885. I would like the who, what and why?  

Thanks you for you time.


Answer
The Apocrypha was included in the King James Bible from its inception (1611) through 1884. Although the Apocrypha was embraced by many Christians for centuries prior to the Reformation and to a lesser degree thereafter, the Reformed Church, Calvinists and the Church of England (in the 16th and 17th centuries) officially labeled the Apocrypha as non-canonical (the Reformed Church went so far as to condemn the Apocrypha). Despite earlier acceptance by some Christians (especially Roman Catholics), the books of the Apocrypha have always been questionable because of uncertainties regarding authorship and authenticity.

Finally, in 1880 the American Bible Society voted to remove the "Apocrypha" Books from the King James Version. Today, no English Protestant Bibles include the Apocrypha, with the exception of some academic editions of Bibles, which include the extra books for historical purposes.

Bruce Gourley
www.baptistlife.com
www.brucegourley.com