Free Why Catholic Bibles Are Bigger by Gary G. Michuta Page B

arguments–for I think that you
also, with your great zeal for knowledge, and your great attainments in
learning, cannot be ignorant of the writings either of Moses or of
Isaiah and Jeremiah, and the other prophets, who, lifted in ecstasy above the
natural operations of their minds by the impulses of the Divine Spirit, uttered
the things with which they were inspired, the Spirit making use of them as a
flute-player breathes into a flute;–what, then, do these men say? ‘The LORD is
our God; no other can be compared with Him. ’ And again: ‘I am God, the first
and the last, and besides Me there is no God.’ In like manner: ‘Before Me there
was no other God, and after Me there shall be none; I am God, and there is none
besides Me.’ And as to His greatness: ‘Heaven is My throne, and the earth is
the footstool of My feet: what house will ye build for Me, or what is the place
of My rest?’ But I leave it to you, when you meet with the books themselves, to
examine carefully the prophecies contained in them, that you may on fitting
grounds defend us from the abuse cast upon us. [108]
    This early description of the inspiration of Scripture
includes—right along with Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the other prophets—a
passage from Baruch 3:36. The quotation is given, then followed up immediately
by additional quotes from Isaiah. There is no indication that Athenagoras
recognized any differentiation between the authority of the Baruch and that of
the other texts. [109]
    Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 115–190)
    Irenaeus was born in Proconsular Asia and converted to
Christianity during the first half of the second century. We know from an
autobiographical passage in his writings that he was, as a young man, a hearer
of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, a disciple of the Apostle John himself. Irenaeus
became a priest in the city of Lyon and later, upon the martyrdom of his
predecessor, the bishop of the city. Irenaeus’ is somewhat unique in that he
provides eyewitness testimony regarding the condition of the second century
church in both the Eastern and Western parts of the Empire. His life straddles
the watershed period from the end of the Apostolic Fathers (via his
acquaintance with Polycarp) right up to the turn of the third century.
    Irenaeus’ writings indicate clearly that he accepted the
Deuterocanon as Scripture. The books of Wisdom, Baruch, and the
Deuterocanonical portions of Daniel are freely cited as Scripture. [110] For example, he
unambiguously attributes the section known as “Bel and the Dragon” to “Daniel
the Prophet.” [111] The
story of Susanna he also credits to Daniel. [112] Twice, Irenaeus quotes sayings he attributes
to the prophet Jeremiah—which are actually passages from Baruch. [113] (Baruch was
Jeremiah’s secretary, an association so close that many early writers
considered the two books to be essentially one. [114] ) In other words, Irenaeus undoubtedly
considered the book of Baruch to be an authentic conduit of Jeremiah’s
prophecies. [115] And
as the early Church’s great expert on Gnosticism, Irenaeus also provides
evidence for acceptance of the Deuteros even among the early splinter groups;
he records that Gnostic Ophites and Sethians included the book of Tobit among
the writings of the Prophets. [116]
    The Muratorian Fragment (ca. AD 155)
    L. A. Muratori discovered this famous fragment in 1740; a
somewhat mysterious scrap of second century writing that could very well be the
oldest surviving list of New Testament books. [117] And even though the Muratorian Fragment never addresses the subject of the Old Testament at all, we must include a
discussion of it here—if only because it includes, among the books of its
recommended New Testament, the Old Testament Book of Wisdom!  The fragment
reads, in part:
    [New Testament books....] The Epistle of Jude, indeed,
and two belonging to the above-named John—or bearing the name of John—are
reckoned among the Catholic Epistles. And the book of