Why Did the Catholic Church Rejected the 3rd and 4th Maccabees if She follows the Greek Bible?

Psalm 1 of the Septuagint - the Greek Bible ____________________

Anonymous said... Magandang araw po. May katanungan po ako na related sa topic na ito. Kung ang apostles po ay gumamit ng Greek Bible na Septuagint, bakit hindi po lahat ng libro sa Septuagint tulad ng 3rd & 4th Maccabees ay kasama sa Roman Catholic Bible? September 13, 2010 6:31 AM ********************** Fr. Abe, CRS said... Dear Anonymous, The simple answer to your question is given by the Catholic Encyclopedia: "The Third and Fourth Books of Machabees III Mach. is the story of a persecution of the Jews in Egypt under Ptolemy IV Philopator (222-205 B. C.), and therefore has no right to its title. Though the work contains much that is historical, the story is a fiction. IV Mach. is a Jewish-Stoic philosophical treatise on the supremacy of pious reason, that is religious principles, over the passions. The martyrdom of Eleazar and of the seven brothers (2 Maccabees 6:18-7) is introduced to illustrate the author's thesis. Neither book has any claim to canonicity, though the first for a while received favourable consideration in some Churches." As you can see from the explanation there are major points that stand out for us why it was rejected as Canonical: 1. It is a work of fiction. The story is not about the Maccabees or the Maccabean Revolt but about later persecution of the Jews. If the title itself and its content is deceptive and fictional then it is not worthy to be part of the Word of God. It would make God a participant in the lies of others. Thus, it is similar to the so-called Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Thomas, etc. They are fakes. 2. The 3rd and 4th Maccabees were only appendix to the Greek Bible and not really part of its canon. 3. The Philosophy they contain is not Judeao-Christian but Stoic and Hellenistic thoughts. Thus, it is tainted. September 13, 2010 7:34 AM