Actually I always saw it more as people tried to add to the Bible to support their beliefs rather than take away stuff to support there beliefs.
The general Apocrypha consists of these fifteen books.
- .The First Book of Esdras
- .The Second Book of Esdras
- .Tobit
- .Judith
- .The Rest of the Chapters of the Book of Esther
- .The Wisdom of Solomon
- .Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach
- .Baruch
- .A Letter of Jeremiah
- .The Song of the Three
- .Daniel and Susanna
- .Daniel, Bel, and the Snake
- .The Prayer of Manasseh
- .The First Book of the Maccabees
- .The Second Book of the Maccabees
Though these books were considered non-canonical, slowly over the years they came to be regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as part of the Bible, and were finally officially labled as such. But the Historical Hebrew Religion, and the Historical Christian Religion growing from it, understood that these writings were non-canonical.
It is quite clear that those who would like to have these books considered Holy Canon do so because of their own traditions, and are not facing the facts objectively. Their beliefs are not supported by either the fundamental facts, by what the Old Testament Saints themselves historically called scripture, nor by early New Testament Church History. If the Jewish Theologians of the Old Testament Congregation of God (
Who of course were used of God to write that Old Testament) didn't have the Apocrypha books in their Old Testament text, why would any Christian Church growing from that very same Old Testament Hebrew Congregation, consider adding these Apocryphal books as part of the Old Testament Hebrew? It makes no sense. Nor is it's presence in copies of the Masoretic Text. Not only this, but Roman catholics attempt to add them as part of Old Testament Canon, in New Testament times, despite all available evidence that they were not inspired Hebrew text? If they were not God inspired writings to the very people of God's Israel that they were written to, then why would any Church growing from this very same Religion (on their own), consider adding them later?
The Catholics are not the only people who use extra books he just specifically mentioned purgatory.