The Apocrypha through History: The Canonical Reception of the Deuterocanonical Literature

The deuterocanonical books, otherwise called the Apocrypha, have been a part of Christian Bibles for as long as there has been a Christian Bible. For just as long, there have been disputes about their authority. Are they canonical Scripture, or merely edifying literature? These opposing positions can be found in the Church Fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries, who in turn influenced the entire subsequent discussion. The deuterocanonical books were almost always considered beneficial, o...