Growing up I attended 3 separate and radically different churches: one during childhood, one through junior high and one through High School. The first was a Southern Baptist church with hymns only, lite-hearted teaching and nearly no theology to speak of. The second was a PCA church with a very diversified worship style and completely Reformed in its theology in every way. The third was a non-denominational charismatic church with all the gifts in operation and theology that was all over the map. In neither of the 3 churches did I ever hear the word 'Apocrypha' much less have a clue as to what it was.
It was not until my freshman year of college, sitting under Professor Jenks at Toccoa Falls Bible College that I was introduced to the Apocrypha, a whole other world of 'Scriptural' styled writing. While understanding that the Apocrypha was not canonized and therefore not inerrant, it could still be of great help.
Furthermore, it was not until years later that I realized that the Roman Catholic Church actually included the Apocrypha in their Bible, thus deducing why we Protestants are probably so ignorant of or scared to death of the writings. Most Protestants are ignorant and scared to death of Catholicism as a whole, this just giving further fuel to the fire. It gave me great joy, on this side of ignorant, to actually have a High School student in a Sunday School class recently (formerly Catholic - she professed faith in Christ and joined our 'Protestant' church in October) bring her 'Catholic' Bible to class and ask if she needed to purchase a new one because it had the Apocrypha in it. I told her unwaveringly that she did in fact need to be accompanied to the nearest Christian bookstore and buy the coolest, hippest, easiest to read and preferably pink copy of the Bible immediately. I also wrote that last line with great sarcasm.
Anyway, I digress... I am revisiting or rereading the Apocrypha, the 1st of the 100 books that should be read, with a better understanding now than I had 14 years ago sitting in that freshman class. And no, I am not afraid of being converted to Catholicism or of claiming that we Protestants should include it in our NIVs and ESVs either. But, who knows, through it all I just may learn something.
Grace and peace...
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