What about the "Catholic Bible"

Well, it's time for me to turn on my brain again. My mother asked me something along these lines:

I rememberyou saying something about the "Catholic Bible" and it containing some books that aren't in the "normal" Bible. What are these books, where did they come from, and what is learned from them?

I hope that is a fair summary of what she was asking. So I'll start...

There is a group of books called the deuterocanonical books (second canon) and a group of books called the apocrypha (hidden texts) which are referred to by different people at different times as scripture. The two are separate things (deuterocanical and apocrypha) but include about 10 of the same things. They are...Tobit, Judith, additions to Esther, Wisdom, Ben Sira, Baruch, Epistle of Jeremy, Additions to Daniel (three separate additions), 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees. This listing of books is all of the deuterocanical books. The apocryphal books would add, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Jubilees, Enoch, and the Prayer of Mannasses. That is bound to be confusing enough.

Here is my summation of what is important to know about these "books of the Bible." These books are all found in ancient Greek Scrolls. These are the scrolls which were likely used by the New Testament writers to quote the Old Testament books, which is why if you search hard enough, you will find quotes from these books in the current and widely accepted New Testament. These books, however, were never found in the ancient Hebrew Scrolls (the language in which the Old Testament was written. So confusion has happened.

Though these books were sometimes quoted by the New Testament (as were poets and pagans) they were never considered by the early church to be a part of Scripture. They first gained publicity and notice in the middle of the 1500's. This was during the Council of Trent. The Council of Trent was formed as a council of the Roman Catholic church from 1545 to 1563 to discuss the Reformation. This council was the nineteenth of the Catholic Ecumenical Councils and was held primarily to specify Catholic doctrines on salvation, the sacraments and Biblical Canon, and standardizing mass throughout the church. Luther, who was leading the reformation, had stated that the Dueterocanical books should be placed with the rest of the Apocrypha, and seen as wise cultural writing but not as scripture as they were never included with the Hebrew Scrolls. This specific council found the Latin and Greek scrolls which contained the 10 or so books in question to be the ultimate primary text, regardless of their original language and thus included them in scripture.

You will notice, that not everything that happened at the Council of Trent was successful, primarily the standardization of mass throughout the church. Most Orthodox and traditionally Roman Catholic churches would now have a Bible that includes the deuterocanonical books, while many Catholic churches, who have been influenced by other denominations, and the Reformation, would have Bibles that don't include those books. There is now no singular Catholic Bible.

Thus follows the question, what do these books say, and what can we learn from them. I can only answer this question in part. Some of the books are historical books, much like those of 1 and 2 Kings, or 1 and 2 Samuel, describing the cultures, wars, and history of certain civilizations in the period between the Old Testament and the New Testament (now referred to as intertestamental). These are the only books that I have studied, and of little consequence as far as doctrine is found in them.

The Catholic belief in purgatory stems from a combination of these books, canonized Scripture (today's widely accepted Bible) and other historical writings to find its foundations. None of the three of these alone is able to make the argument for purgatory itself, but combining the three has proved relevant enough to most Catholic churches (who again would accept at least two of these three scenarios as being God inspired). This is specifically seen in the book of 2 Maccabees of which I will post a quote:

42 And so be taking themselves to prayers, they besought him, that the sin which had been committed might be forgotten. But the most valiant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin, for as much as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of the sins of those that were slain. 43 And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection, 44 (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,)
2 Maccabees 12:42-44

Again, some of the strongest teachings for this doctrine, or at least example of it come from books and statements that are not found in the Canonical Bible, but in books that some Catholic Churches have held as being scripture.

I have no other examples as I have not studied all of the books exhaustively. There are many fascinating things when it comes to the history of the church, and the word of God. I wish I knew them all.

I am more than happy to share my opinion on any of them, or answer any more specific questions that people may have about this one, but to continue at this point, would be mere rambling for no one's benefit.