Description
Surprisingly, the progression from text to sacred text was not always smooth or straight forward. In the early days of Judaism and Christianity, there was significant debate and controversy about what should be included in what came to be considered sacred scripture — the Bible. These two lectures will examine some of the materials, written by early Jewish and Christian communities between the 4th century BCE and the 4th century CE, which are not considered authoritative and thus not included in the Canon. These non-canonical texts are found in the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, and the New Testament Apocrypha. These texts are not only interesting in themselves, but they also help us to understand the development of Judaism and Christianity and thus to see why these materials were excluded from the Canon.
