The Self-Incriminating Contents of the Apocryphal Books part three

Some events mentioned in the forged books did not actually occur until after the days of their alleged authors; thus, the men to whom they are attributed could not have written them. In the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Jew greet Pilate with the expression, "your excellency," even though they were were not familiar with form of address, for it was not vogue at the time. We also read about Christ making the sign of the cross on Adam and all the saints before He rescued them from hell, despite the fact that the sign of the cross was not widespread until the fourth century.

The style of the forged writings is the strongest proof of their unreliability. For instance, names cited in the Gospel of Nicodemus, purporting to be Jewish, are in fact Greek or Roman; and the overall language is Latin, not Greek which is the language of inspiration. Also, the letters attributed to Paul lack the anointing of divine apostolic, words. At the beginning of The Letter to Seneca, for instance, we read: "I commit you to God's keeping, O splendid master."  Such phraseology is foreign to the style of the apostles and was not even used until long after their time.

There are certain matters attributed to the apostles and disciples that conflict with history. In the alleged correspondence between the Apostle Paul and Seneca, it is mentioned that Paul was in Rome. Then it goes on to say he was at a place he never visited, and then there is a complaint of his absence. In the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth letters, the names of the Roman consuls are misquoted. In one incident, Paul warns Seneca not to mention the Christian religion in front of Nero, and this of course contradicts his religious zeal. In the Gospel of Nicodemus, we read that Pilate mentioned the history of the children of Israel; yet in another he is said to have been ignorant of it.

The accuracy of the names of people and places in the New Testament is confirmed by contemporary historians, be they Christian or pagan. This makes the soundness of the Gospel record evident. The contents of the spurious gospels, on the contrary, are at variance with the writing of contemporary authors and these errors prove the falsity of their claims.

The Christian religion exhorts its adherents to cling to sound doctrine. As was quoted earlier, the Apostle Paul and John said: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed....For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Galatians 1:8, Revelation 22:18-19). Indeed, the presence of such strict commands in the Bible makes it unthinkable that anyone would dare to add or subtract anything from its pages. Christians were even forbidden to accept oral teachings unless these were documented in writing and substantiated by remarkable signs.

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