Secrets of the Bible Revealed, Episode 3: “Forbidden Scriptures”

History Channel series Secrets of the Bible Revealed tackles biblical mysteries over the course of six episodes.

Consulting producer Dr. Robert Cargill, an expert and assistant professor of classics and religious studies at the University of Iowa, has responded. Secrets of the Bible Revealed Questions from viewers in the series. Read the questions and answers here.

Episode 3, “Forbidden Scriptures,” Posted on November 27, 2013.

Summary of Episode 3 by Dr. Robert Cargill

Dr. Robert Cargill, Professor and Consulting Producer

The event explores many ancient Jewish and Christian documents that did not make it into the Bible. Scholars refer to these documents as “pseudoepigrapha” (books written under a false name) and “apocrypha” (considered as “hidden books”). The episode asks why these books were excluded from the Bible.

“Forbidden Scriptures” Act 1: The Biblical Canon

This episode begins by noting that both Christianity and Judaism at the time of early Christianity were incredibly diverse. In fact, when it comes to “scripture,” different Jewish and Christian groups hold different books as authoritative and canonical. We first explore the concept of canonization, asking how and why the Bible has been canonized, or banished from it.

Special attention was paid to the figures of Enoch and the books attributed to him.

Enoch was an incredibly popular figure at the end of the Second Temple, and yet the books attributed to Enoch became the Jewish and Christian canon. Indeed, those responsible for the Dead Sea Scrolls loved Enoch and the literature associated with the Enoch tradition (such as the Book of Jubilees). But many Christians don’t realize that a portion of 1 Enoch actually made it into the Christian canon. Scholars acknowledge that verses 14-15 of Jude’s canonical epistle actually refer to 1 Enoch 1:9. We can compare them below:

Jude 14: Seventh from Adam, Enoch prophesied about these people: “Behold, the Lord is coming with thousands of his holy people,

Jude 15: To judge everyone, and to punish all the ungodly deeds that they have done in an ungodly manner, and all the harsh words that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

The passage that Jude claims Enoch is quoting is actually a rough translation of the Book of Enoch.

1 Enoch 1:9: “And behold! He works with ten thousand of his holy ones to pass judgment on all, and to destroy all the ungodly.”

So despite the fact that the Book of Enoch was removed from the biblical canon, it was so popular in the first century AD that part of it was preserved in a passage from the Epistle of Jude.

Because the book of Enoch is so closely connected to the events of the canonical book of Genesis 6:1-4, this event suggests that 1 Enoch exists, in part, as an apology to God. There seem to be some moral questions raised about why a knowing God would create humans in the “woe” (cf. Genesis 6:6-7) and ultimately kill them all (except Noah and his family, of course) with the flood. He raised questions about God’s proportional and moral judgment. Thus, some scholars argue that the beginning of the Book of Enoch was an attempt to one-up God by interpreting the account of the Great Flood as a means by which to save humanity from the unstoppable giants who were wreaking havoc on the entire earth and consuming all its resources (cf. Jabels 7:21-25). Thus, instead of understanding the Great Flood as a murderous divine punishment of humans, the book of Enoch tries to make God look a little better by suggesting that the only way to save humanity from the evil of the giants was through divinely inspired intercourse.

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“Forbidden Scriptures” Act 2: Gnostic Christianity

In Act 2, the show introduces the Gnostics and some of their beliefs. The corpus of texts discovered at Nag Hammadi explores Gnosticism and Gnostic Christianity and how that belief system differed from what would become mainstream Christianity. The Gospel of Thomas is highlighted, and there is a discussion about how the Gospel of Thomas differs from the canonical Gospels. For example, Thomas is a collection of sayings of Jesus, but it does not contain any miracles or narratives about Jesus. These differences, combined with his Gnostic teachings that would later be considered heretical, are likely the reason why he was excluded from the Christian canon.

Read about how the Nag Hammadi texts discovered in Egypt reintroduced the world to Gnostic Christianity in a Daily Bible History article. “The Nag Hammadi Codex and Gnostic Christianity.”

“Forbidden Scriptures” Act 3: The figure of Mary Magdalene

In Act 3, the documentary examines the person and attributes the Gospel to Mary Magdalene. The show examined biblical and popular claims made about Mary – including that she was an important disciple (perhaps the most important of the disciples) and that she was married to Jesus. The documentary also points out that later attempts to contrast Mary Magdalene with the unknown “sinful” woman mentioned in Luke 7 were likely designed to suppress the influence of Mary (and women in general), while elevating the male disciples (apostles) to a higher level of prominence in the early church tradition.

The act also discusses the testimony of truth and asks why Adam and Eve are punished and then punished for gaining knowledge by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

“Forbidden Scriptures” Act 4: Did God have a wife?

Act 4 begins with the life of Adam and Eve, offering several additional details about the Bible’s first family that are not included in the biblical accounts, such as the origin of sickness and death.

The act also explores the concept that God can have a wife. Cantlett speaks of the writing elite of Ajrud as a consort of God blessed by the authors of the inscriptions. We have similar written blessings that invoke YHWH and Asherah from Khurbet al-Kum. This is a difficult concept for many people because the Bible is very clear that God is one God (as one would expect in a monotheistic or monotheistic faith). Yet because the prophets were so adamant and repeated about the fact that idols – including Asherah – were not to be worshiped, this is seen as evidence that it was, in fact, being worshiped in ancient Israel and Judah and included in the blessings alongside YHWH.

I often use the example of “No Skateboarding” signs my classes can see in public plazas when explaining this. If you see “No Skateboarding” signs everywhere in a public place, chances are there’s a lot of skateboarding, in fact, going on there. (At least enough skateboarding to discourage activity requires multiple symbols.) The same is true for the worship of Asherah: given the fact that the prophetic texts offer so many repeated warnings about her worship, it is likely that she was worshiped in ancient Israel.

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“Forbidden Scriptures” Act 5: Apocalypse and the Book of Revelations

The final act introduces the concept of the “apocalypse” and spends a moment discussing the book of Revelation (aka John’s apocalypse). Act 5 also highlights a trio of pseudepigraphical texts attributed to the apostle Peter: the Apocalypse of Peter, the Gospel of Peter (featuring a giant, a living Jesus and a floating, talking cross), and the Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter. It is worth noting that many scholars see the Apocalypse of Peter as a possible inspiration behind Dante. Infernobecause it was not only as popular as the final book of Revelation, but also describes a hell where every punishment corresponds to the crime.

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