While Protestants and Catholics use the Bible as their reference in religious practices, the books of the Apocrypha remains to be disputed between the two religions with Protestants omitting them while Catholics including them in their scriptures. Various arguments by Protestants which are mostly historical and doctrinal based acts as the defining factor for skipping the books of the Apocrypha. The discussed reasons are popular among Protestants and satisfy their perception about the books of the Apocrypha.
The Protestants argue that the books of the Apocrypha were written in the silent years. The silent years were the four hundred year period between the last book in the Old Testament and the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist. The Protestants argue that during the silent years, God did not convey any message to His people and thus any letters written during that time could not be included in the Bible. The rejection of the books of Apocrypha by the early church leaders had a significant impact on other generations, and this is one of the reasons why the Protestants did not embrace the books of the Apocrypha. Some of the typical books rejected by the early church leaders include Athanasius, Origen, and Jerome. The writings of the Apocrypha never appeared on the early canonical lists, and this is also one of the reasons why the Protestants are reluctant to be identified with these books (MacDonald 37). The books of the Apocrypha only appeared in the late fourth century thus raising the authenticity of the books. The other contributing factor for the alienation of the books of the Apocrypha is from the rejection of the books by the Jews. The Jews believed that the books were not divinely inspired and the Protestants adopted the idea. The books of the Apocrypha remain to be a subject of contention between the Protestants and the Catholics.
References
MacDonald, Lee M. Forgotten Scriptures: The Selection and Rejection of Early Religious Writings. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. Print.