Dear Craig:

I am sorry that you are so misinformed and knowledgeable about the Bible. I am always amazed at the lack of knowledge of the bible among alleged "Bible Christians".

In any event, you ask the wrong question. The question is, "How can the Protestants rip out the OT deuterocanonical books when it was the OT that Jesus knew and loved?" The Old Testament of the day included those books that we call the deuterocanonicals.

The Jews translated their Hebrew Bible into Greek beginning in the 3rd century B.C to the 1st century B.C. comprising the Septuagint version of the OT. The Septuagint was considered inspired Scripture by the Jews, Jesus, and the Apostles in the First Century. It was not until the end of the First Century that the rabbis removed the seven books found in the Septuagint that were written originally in Greek and not Hebrew. The reason for this appears to be two-fold: 1) language purity, and so they did not want any Scriptures that were written originally in Greek; and 2)  those pesky new Christians in the first century were using those seven books to support the doctrine of the Jesus and the Apostles.

The problem is that, from God's point-of-view, the Jewish rabbis after A.D. 33 had no authority to change the canon of the Old Testament. The Old Covenant under the Chair of Moses (chair of Moses mentioned by Jesus in Mt. 23:2) had already closed. The New Covenant was in effect and the chair of authority had changed with it to the chair of Peter (Mt 16:18-19; Isa 22:21-23). In the Bible "chair" represents authority. So, the changes of the Jewish rabbis means nothing.

Thus, the Church retained this canon of the OT even after the rabbis removed from the Hebrew Bible in around A.D. 100.

In the writing of the New Testament, by the way, there are some 300 direct or indirect quotations and references made by the apostles to the OT deuterocanonical books.

My friend, all Catholic doctrine can be found or derived from the Scriptures. The New Testament was written by Catholics, the Bible was vetted by Catholic Bishops. It is, quite literally a Catholic book that Protestants borrow (after ripping some of it out). Why are you missing seven books from the Bible? is the real question.

The Church, from A.D. 33 until today, has always had those seven books in the Old Testament. It was the OT for 1500 years until Martin Luther in his childish arrogance decided to subtract and add to the Bible.

If Protestants are so intent of ripping pages out of the OT that Jesus knew and loved, why then do they not rip out of the Bible the New Testament deuterocanonical. Actually, Martin Luther wanted to rip out the books of James, Hebrews, and Revelations primary because these inspired Scriptures did not conform to his own personal doctrines, especially the book of James.

Martin Luther hated the book of James because it appeared to contradict his "faith alone" notions. In fact, the only place in the Bible where the phrase "faith alone" is found is in James 2:24:

KJV: Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
RSV:  You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Luther really did not like that, so he wanted the book of James ripped out of the Bible. Then he added words to his German translation that were not in the Greek. He added the word "alone" to Roman 3:28. The problem is that the word "alone" is not in the original Greek. Luther added words to the Bible to suit his opinions. Luther was confronted by Catholics and Protestants alike about this at the time. What follows is his answer:

You tell me what a great fuss the Papists are making because the word 'alone' is not in the text of Paul. If your Papist makes such an unnecessary row about the word 'alone', say right out to him: 'Dr. Martin Luther will have it so,' and say: "Papist and asses are one and the same thing.' I will have it so, and I order it to be so, and my will is reason enough. I know very well that the word 'alone' is not in the Latin or the Greek text, and it was not necessary for the Papist to teach me that. It is true those letters are not in it, which letters the jackasses look at, as a cow stares at a new gate ... It shall remain in my New Testament, and if all the Popish donkeys were to get mad and besides themselves, they will not get it out.

Wow, what humility Luther had. Who is the real "jackass" here? In addition to his bigotry and hatred for the Church, he shows utter disdain and disrespect for the Sacred Scripture. As the text of Luther shows, it was the Catholic Church defending the integrity of Holy Writ against an arrogant man who thinks he can change Scripture at his leisure.

I would advise that you learn the Bible and its history if you are going to claim to be a "Bible-Christian".

Here is some help. Check out these websites:

Scripture Catholic: Providing Scriptural Evidence for the Teaching of the Catholic Faith

Biblical Evidence for Catholicism

The Old Testament Canon: Quotes from the Church Fathers

Apostolic Tradition, not the Bible Alone

We will be praying for you.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary