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What books were left out of the Bible?

What books were left out of the Bible?

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Starting explanation, not independently reviewed

The current answer

Not one dramatic burning, a centuries-long sift over date, theology, and use.

What remains uncertain

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Claims & evidence

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The Old Testament apocrypha (Tobit, Wisdom, 1-2 Maccabees) stay in Catholic Bibles but were dropped by Protestants.

Imported citation, not independently checked: Bruce M. Metzger, The Canon of the New Testament (1987)

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The Ethiopian Orthodox canon is broader still, retaining 1 Enoch and Jubilees as scripture to this day.

Imported citation, not independently checked: James VanderKam and John J. Collins on 1 Enoch and Jubilees

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The book of Jubilees, a retelling of Genesis and Exodus, was likewise treated as authoritative at Qumran, where copies turned up among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Imported citation, not independently checked: James VanderKam and John J. Collins on 1 Enoch and Jubilees

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Karen King's caution holds: "Gnosticism" is a contested umbrella term, assembled partly from the heresy-hunters' own insults, not a single rival church.

Imported citation, not independently checked: Karen L. King, What Is Gnosticism? (2003)

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