Essay: Are there 73 or 66 Books in the Bible

This Essay is to show the Early Christians, by the 4th Century, accepted 73 Books in the Bible, not just 66. The Council of Carthage around 397 A.D. mentions the traditional 73 Books. . And the Council of Rome under Pope St. Damasus in 382 A.D., even earlier, does this, as we will discuss further with sources below.

The Basic Gist of what happened in the 4th Century Church after Christ: The Catholic Church decided/settled the Biblical Canon

The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church states:

"A council probably held at Rome in 382 under St. Damasus gave a complete list of the canonical books of both the Old Testament and the New Testament (also known as the 'Gelasian Decree' because it was reproduced by Gelasius in 495), which is identical with the list given at Trent."

Catholic Historian Fr. William Jurgens writes:

"It is now almost universally accepted that these parts one and two of the Decree of Damasus are authentic parts of the Acts of the Council of Rome of 382 A.D."

Martin Luther on the Bible Canon

"We are compelled to concede many things to the [Catholics], that [1] they have the Word of God, [2] that we received it from them and [3] that without them we should have had no knowledge of it at all. ~ Martin Luther, slightly adapted to remove a Bigoted Word for Catholics.

The First Book printed in Catholic Christian Europe when the Printing Press was invented was the Holy Gutenberg Bible in the 15th Century, pre-dating Martin Luther's Protestant Revolution by several decades. This Printing Press was invented by Catholic Christians for the Holy Bible's spread, contrary to later Anti-Catholic Propaganda. The Good Fruits and Concrete Results speak for themselves: no Culture in the Whole World was developed enough to invent the Printing Press, but Catholic Christian Europe was, and they printed the Holy Bible first.

"The Gutenberg Bible (also known as the 42-line Bible, the Mazarin Bible or the B42) was the earliest major book printed using mass-produced movable metal type in Europe. It marked the start of the "Gutenberg Revolution" and the age of printed books in the West. The book is valued and revered for its high aesthetic and artistic qualities[1] as well as its historical significance. It is an edition of the Latin Vulgate printed in the 1450s by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, in present-day Germany ... The Gutenberg Bible, an edition of the Vulgate, contains the Latin version of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament. It is mainly the work of St Jerome who began his work on the translation in 380 AD"

Wiki states: "Luther considered Hebrews, James, Jude, and the Revelation to be "disputed books", which he included in his translation but placed separately at the end in his New Testament published in 1522. This group of books begins with the book of Hebrews, and in its preface Luther states, "Up to this point we have had to do with the true and certain chief books of the New Testament. The four which follow have from ancient times had a different reputation." Some opine that Luther's low view of these books was due more to his theological reservations than to any historical basis regarding them."

So Luther had a low view of 13 Books in all, bring down 73 to 60. The 7 Deuterocanonicals (1) 1 and (2) 2 Maccabees, (3) Baruch (4) Sirach, (5) Judith (6) Wisdom (7) Tobit. Then (8) James (9) Jude (10) Hebrews (11) Revelation. And finally, (12) Esther and (13) Jonah.

Why it matters

2 Maccabees shows the Saints in Heaven praying for Israel and us, showing how ancient this Pre-Christian Jewish, i.e. truly ancient and truly traditional time-tested Judeo-Christian belief going back 2000+ years of God's Saints interceding for us is. In Rev 5:8, 6:9, 8:4, and 12:1, it is also evident the Saints and Angels, especially the Mother of God, are in Heaven, and thus their Prayers are Powerful and their Intercession with God should be asked for, since they now wear Crowns beside Him, as Mother Mary does in Revelation 12, as even Luther knew. In John 2 also, we see Mother Mary's Prayers to Her Son bring forward the time, whereas at first the Lord Jesus Christ said the Time for His Miracles had not yet come. But after His Saintly Mother's Prayers, it had. Note that the Sadducees denied the Saints in Heaven were alive, and rejected many Bible books, but Jesus Christ refuted them in the Gospel, saying that Abraham and Jacob were Living Saints in the time of Moses, because God is the God of the Living, as He proved from the Pentateuch - the 5 Books accepted by the Sadducees. So we see this error has ancient roots and rejecting Bible Books causes division/sects.

2 Maccabees on the Intercession of the Saints in Heaven =

This is 2 Macc 15:

"12 He told them that he had seen a vision of Onias, the former High Priest, that great and wonderful man of humble and gentle disposition, who was an outstanding orator and who had been taught from childhood how to live a virtuous life. With outstretched arms Onias was praying for the entire Jewish nation. 13 Judas then saw an impressive white-haired man of great dignity and authority. 14 Onias said:

This is God's prophet Jeremiah, who loves the Jewish people and offers many prayers for us and for Jerusalem, the holy city.

15 Then Jeremiah stretched out his right hand and gave Judas a gold sword, saying as he did so, 16 This holy sword is a gift from God. Take it and destroy your enemies.

17 The eloquent words that Judas spoke encouraged everyone to be brave, and inspired boys to fight like men. Their city, their religion, and their Temple were in danger. So the Jews made up their minds not to waste any time, but to make a daring attack against the enemy and bravely decide their fate in hand-to-hand combat. 18 They were not so concerned about their own families and relatives as they were about their sacred Temple. 19 And the people who had to stay in Jerusalem were deeply concerned about how a battle on open ground would turn out.". Here, a Battle was Won through the Intercession of God's Saints in Heaven, like the Prophet Jeremiah, and the High Priest Onias, who had reposed in the Lord many years before.

2 Maccabees on Praying for the Sins of the Faithful Departed

Beside this, 2 Maccabees 12 also teaches we are bound to pray and offer sacrifices to God asking for the forgiveness the sins of the faithful departed. This is why the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist "for the remission of sins" (Mat 26:27-28).

"2 Maccabees 12:43-46 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition" 43 And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection,

44 (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead,)

45 And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them.

46 It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."