New Testament apocrypha

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The New Testament Apocrypha are various gospels, epistles, apocalypses, and other writings claiming Biblical authority, but rejected from the New Testament canon. Books which are not objectively known to have existed in antiquity, such as the Gospel of Barnabas or the Book of Mormon, are usually not considered part of the Apocrypha. Additionally, works of Gnosticism are usually not considered part of the Apocrypha nor are the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, though four of these (see below) were considered for inclusion. The books of the New Testament Apocrypha are generally not accepted by most Christians, though the Ethiopian Orthodox Church recognizes some of them.

Many of these works still exist in whole or in part, but many more exist today only in fragments or not at all. These writings are known because of their being mentioned by early Christian writers. One, the Q Gospel, is speculated to have existed because of similarities between the Gospels of Matthew and Luke which seem to suggest a lost predecessor.

Contents

[edit] Non-canonical ancient books

Many of the books in this list are not preserved in their entirety, surviving only in fragments, short quotes, or not at all beyond mention of their title in preserved works.

[edit] Apocryphal Gospels

These books are generally considered to be of Gnostic origin.

Another group of "gospels" was considered heretical or fraudulent.

[edit] Considered for inclusion

The following writings of the Apostolic Fathers were considered for inclusion in the New Testament, but were rejected:

[edit] Quoted by orthodox authors

Many of the books noted below, while often quoted by orthodox authors and not considered particularly heretical in content, were nonetheless not considered canonical.

[edit] Other ancient books

Other works claiming to be gospels have surfaced in later periods. The Gospel of Barnabas originated in the medieval period. Works from the modern period (sometimes called modern apocrypha) include the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Life of Issa (allegedly discovered by Nicolas Notovitch) and a thorough account of the events in the first century were documented by Josephus, a Jewish Historian in the first century.

  • Sermon of Paul
  • Book of spells of serpents

[edit] See Also

[edit] External Links

Some of the most complete collections and resources on New Testament Apocrypha can be found at:

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