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This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.
Question
I've heard about "lost scripture" mentioned in the Bible. What is this about, and what implications does it have for the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy and sufficiency?
Answer
So called "lost scripture" is in reference to writings mentioned or cited within the present Biblical record, but which are not in the Bible itself. Some of these writings are known from other sources, and some are not.
Examples of "lost scripture"
| Lost writing |
Biblical citation to the lost writing
|
| Book of the Wars of the Lord |
Numbers 21꞉14
|
| Book of Jasher |
Joshua 10꞉13, 2 Samuel 1꞉18
|
| Book of the Acts of Solomon |
1 Kings 11꞉41
|
| Book of Samuel the Seer |
1 Chronicles 29꞉29
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| Book of Gad the Seer |
1 Chronicles 29꞉29
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| Book of Nathan the Prophet |
1 Chronicles 29꞉29, 2 Chronicles 9꞉29
|
| Prophecy of of Ahijah |
2 Chronicles 9꞉29
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| Visions of Iddo the Seer |
2 Chronicles 9꞉29, 2 Chronicles 12꞉15, 2 Chronicles 13꞉22
|
| Book of Shemaiah |
2 Chronicles 12꞉15
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| Book of Jehu |
2 Chronicles 20꞉34
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| Sayings of the Seers |
2 Chronicles 33꞉19
|
| Paul's epistle to Corinthians before our "1 Corinthians" |
1 Corinthians 5꞉9
|
| Paul's possible earlier Ephesians epistle |
Ephesians 3꞉3
|
| Paul's epistle to Church at Laodicea |
Colossians 4꞉16
|
| 1 Enoch and The Assumption of Moses |
Jude 1꞉14
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| 1 Enoch |
"It influenced Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 John, Jude (which quotes it directly) and Revelation (with numerous points of contact)…in molding New Testament doctrines concerning the nature of the Messiah, the Son of Man, the messianic kingdom, demonology, the future, resurrection, the final judgment, the whole eschatological theater, and symbolism."[1]
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Examples of canonical differences among Bibles
The picture is further complicated by the fact that Christians have not always agreed on the "canon"—that is, they have not always agreed upon which writings were "scripture" and which were not.
Some examples of these variations:
| Christian Person or Group |
Difference in canon from Protestant Bible (eg KJV)
|
| Catholics |
Apocrypha is canonical
|
| Orthodox |
Apocrypha is canonical
|
| Clement of Alexanderia (A.D. 200) |
- Epistle of Barnabas
- Epistle of Clement
- The Preaching of Peter[2]
|
| Origen (date) |
- Epistle of Barnabas
- Shepherd of Hermas[3]
|
| Martin Luther |
Considered Epistle of James "a right strawy epistle."[4] Also didn't agree with Sermon on the Mount because didn't match his "grace only" theology.
|
Endnotes
- [note] E. Isaac, "1 (Ethiopic Apocalypse of) Enoch," in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. J. H. Charlesworth, 2 vols, (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1983), 1:10; cited in Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks, "Comparing LDS Beliefs with First-Century Christianity, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, no date). off-site
- [note] Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks, "Comparing LDS Beliefs with First-Century Christianity, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, no date). off-site
- [note] Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks, "Comparing LDS Beliefs with First-Century Christianity, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, no date). off-site; citing Clyde L. Manschreck, A History of Christianity in the World, 2d. ed. (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1985), 52.
- [note] Timothy George, "'A Right Strawy Epistle': Reformation Perspectives on James," The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology (Fall 2000), 20–31. PDF link
Further reading
FAIR wiki articles
Template:BibleWiki
FAIR web site
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FAIR Holy Bible materials
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- John A. Tvedtnes, "The Bible Code and Biblical Inerrancy," (Mesa, Arizona: FAIR) FAIR link
External links
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On-line Holy Bible materials
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- Alma Allred, "Coin of the Realm: Beware of Specious Specie (Review of: "Scripture," In The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism)," FARMS Review of Books 12/1 (2000): 137–174. off-site
- Danel W. Bachman, "The Other Side of the Coin: A Source Review of Norman Geisler's Chapter (Review of: "Scripture," In The Counterfeit Gospel of Mormonism)," FARMS Review of Books 12/1 (2000): 175–214. off-site
- John Gee, "The Old Testament as Reliable History, Review of On the Reliability of the Old Testament by Kenneth A. Kitchen," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 425–430. off-site wiki
- William J. Hamblin and Daniel C. Peterson, "The Evangelical Is Our Brother (Review of How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation)," FARMS Review of Books 11/2 (1999): 178–209. off-site
- Blake T. Ostler, "Bridging the Gulf (Review of How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation)," FARMS Review of Books 11/2 (1999): 103–177. off-site
- Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks, "Comparing LDS Beliefs with First-Century Christianity, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, no date). off-site
- Stephen E. Robinson, Are Mormons Christians? (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1993). off-site FAIR linkoff-site
- John A. Tvedtnes and Matthew Roper, "'A Bible! A Bible!' The Canon and Ongoing Revelation (Review of Luke P. Wilson's "Lost Books & Latter-Day Revelation: A Response to Mormon Views of the New Testament Canon")off-site
Printed material
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Holy Bible print materials
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- Alan Denison & D.L. Barksdale, Guess Who Wants To Have You For Lunch?, 2nd edition, (Redding, California: FAIR, 2002[1999]), 37–57. ISBN 1893036057. FAIR link
- Emanuel Tov, Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, 2nd Rev edition (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2001[1999]), 1. ISBN {{{isbn}}}.
- Leon Vaganay and Christian-Bernard Amphoux, An Introduction to New Testament Criticism, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 1. ISBN {{{isbn}}}.
