Good men were engaged on both sides of the ecclesiastical controversies.Ībout two thirds of this volume is occupied with epistles. That out of this welter should have arisen the Bible, with its fine inspiration, would seem to present a plausible basis for belief in its Divine origin.īut who can deny that under such vicious and human circumstances much writing of as pure purpose and as profound sincerity as other that is included in the authorized Bible, must have been omitted? The story of the first council of Nice, when Arius was commanded by the Bishop of Alexandria to quit his beliefs or be declared a heretic, and his writings were ordered destroyed, is eloquent of many things that happened. In the formulation of early church doctrines there was dissension, personal jealousy, intolerance, persecution, bigotry. It was an evolution at the hands of Churchmen of various beliefs and purposes. It was a matter complicated and abstruse. The compilation of the Bible was not an act of any definite occurrence. Discount the statements from the historical viewpoint as you will-there remains in these gospels and epistles an earnestness of purpose, and zeal to express a message, similar to that of our authorized Bible.Īn interesting question naturally arises as to why these writings were cast out in the selection of the material that has come down to us in the authorized version. These writings are a vivid picture of the minds of men in the post-Apostolic period of the Church.

This will enable the reader to form his own conclusions as to the genuineness of the writings.

Origins are noted in paragraphs at the front of each book. Whether they are canonical or not, at least these writings are of very great antiquity. They are published here as a matter of record. YOU will find between these covers all the ecclesiastical writings of early Christian authorities that are known to exist, and yet were omitted from the authorized New Testament. Follow Global Grey on Facebook or Twitter Excerpt from 'The Lost Books of the Bible'

The bible online pdf