The Controversial Removal of 14 Books from the Bible in 1698

Contrary to the popular belief that the concept of biblical scripture was clarified only in recent centuries, the truth is that by the 17th century, several books had already been de facto deemed non-canonical. These books were removed from the biblical canon during the Council of Elizarion in 1698, a period when the Roman Catholic Church was refining the Bible version to align with its own theological doctrines.

The 14 Missing Books

The removal of these 14 books was not because they lacked meaning or relevance, but because they either contradicted the prevailing narrative or introduced ideas that were deemed unorthodox. Contrary to the misperception that these books were dismissed because they didn't fit into the modern world, they were often controversial and challenging to early Christian thought.

The Council of Bishops and the 14 Books

The decision to remove these 14 books came from Pope Constantine’s decision to convene the Council of Bishops in 325 CE. This council’s aim was not only to rewrite the entire New Testament (NT) but also to heavily edit the Old Testament (OT). The OT had been ‘borrowed’ from the Hebrew Bible, hence the sabbath being changed to Sunday and a Papal Bull decreeing that anyone refusing to accept the change would be put to death. Although many thousands were martyred, the changes eventually became the norm.

Why These Books Were Problematic

Several of these 14 books, such as Enoch’s writings, were highly controversial. Enoch’s writings portrayed angels in a fearsome and terrifying manner, depicting them as totally devoid of empathy or any other emotions, barely constrained from violence. This depiction was far from the picture the early church wanted to convey. Other books, such as the writings of Mary Magdalene and Judas Iscariot, provided narratives that went entirely against the accepted stories and highlighted the many discrepancies in other accounts.

The council of 325 CE also voted on the inclusion of Jesus Christ as God, a decision that was not made before then. It’s essential to understand that these votes were not merely a reflection of new understandings but were influenced by political and theological considerations of the time.

It is crucial to read a few hundred books to understand the complex history and debates surrounding these ancient texts. Only by doing so can we gain a more nuanced understanding of the Canonicity of the Bible as we know it today.