Discourse on the Obscure Apocrypha Book of the She

[iris89]

Discourse on the Obscure Apocrypha Book of the Shepherd of Hermes:

INTRODUCTION:

There have been many claims for lost books of the Bible, but in reality all but one of these claims is just plain spurious. Good examples of spurious so called lost books are the Book of Enoch and the Book of the Shepherd of Hermes. It is suspected with respect the spurious apocrypha book of the Shepherd of Hermes that it was written by the brother of a Pope that had fallen under Hellenic influence in the 2 nd. Century. One authority on this say,
<<<" Shepherd of Hermes. Perhaps written by the brother of Pope St. Pius I (~140-55) or perhaps by the Hermes mentioned by St. Paul (Rom 16:14); the book refers to Clement as Pope (89-99). This work, long considered authoritative in many parts of the early church, was consists of 5 visions, 12 mandates (commandments), and 4 similitudes (parables). Hermes may have been Hermes describes how Rhoda comes to him with God's rebuke that he once thought of her inappropriately ("I would like to have such a beautiful woman as my wife") when helping her out of the Tiber river, where he saw her bathing. He is instructed to pray for his lustful sons and immoderately talking wife. He has 4 visions of the church, which appears to him first as an aged women (weak and helpless from the sins of the faithful); then made younger (through penance); then quite young but still with white hair (reinvigorated with forgiveness); finally as a shapely (at the end of the days). She gives him a boo, which he is to copy and give to the authorities of the Church that it be taught to all. In the fifth vision, "the Angel of repentance" comes to his house in the guise of a shepherd and gives him 12 commandments: belief in one God, simplicity, truthfulness, chastity, long-suffering, faith, fear, continence, confidence, cheerfulness, humility (against those who seek authority in the church, perhaps including Marcion), and good desires. The shepherd also explains ten more parables which Hermes sees in visions. The most significant (9) elaborates on the parable of the building of a tower (from the 3rd vision): the tower is the Church, and the stones of which it is built are the faithful. [source - Canon of the Bible by beutel.narod.ru]>>>.
HELLENIC GREEK INFLUENCE EVER SEEN IN THE NAME OF THE SHEPHERD OF HERMES:
Let's look at where the very name of the Book of the Shepherd of Hermes originated in Greek mythology.
<<<" Hermes, the herald of the Olympian gods, is son of Zeus and the nymph Maia, daughter of Atlas and one of the Pleiades.
Hermes is also the god of shepherds, land travel, merchants, weights and measures, oratory, literature, athletics and thieves, and known for his cunning and shrewdness. He was also a minor patron of poetry.
He was worshiped throughout Greece especially in Arcadia. Festivals in honor of Hermes were called Hermoea.
According to legend, Hermes was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. Zeus had impregnated Maia at the dead of night while all other gods slept. When dawn broke amazingly he was born. Maia wrapped him in swaddling bands, then resting herself, fell fast asleep.
Hermes, however, squirmed free and ran off to Thessaly. This is where Apollo, his brother, grazed his cattle. Hermes stole a number of the herd and drove them back to Greece. He hid them in a small grotto near to the city of Pylos and covered their tracks.
Before returning to the cave he caught a tortoise, killed it and removed its entrails. Using the intestines from a cow stolen from Apollo and the hollow tortoise shell, he made the first lyre.
When he reached the cave he wrapped himself back into the swaddling bands. When Apollo realized he had been robbed he protested to Maia that it had been Hermes who had taken his cattle.
Maia looked to Hermes and said it could not be, as he is still wrapped in swaddling bands.
Zeus the all powerful intervened saying he had been watching and Hermes should return the cattle to Apollo.
As the argument went on, Hermes began to play his lyre. The sweet music enchanted Apollo, and he offered Hermes to keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre.
Apollo later became the grand master of the instrument, and it also became one of his symbols.
Later while Hermes watched over his herd he invented the pipes known as a syrinx (pan-pipes), which he made from reeds. Hermes was also credited with inventing the flute.
Apollo, also desired this instrument, so Hermes bartered with Apollo and received his golden wand which Hermes later used as his heralds staff. (In other versions Zeus gave Hermes his heralds staff).
Being the herald (messenger of the gods), it was his duty to guide the souls of the dead down to the underworld, which is known as a psychopomp. He was also closely connected with bringing dreams to mortals.
Hermes is usually depicted with a broad-brimmed hat or a winged cap, winged sandals and the heralds staff (kerykeion in Greek, or Caduceus in Latin). It was often shown as a shaft with two white ribbons, although later they were represented by serpents intertwined in a figure of eight shape, and the shaft often had wings attached. The clothes he donned were usually that of a traveler, or that of a workman or shepherd.
Other symbols of Hermes are the thingy, tortoise and purse or pouch.
Originally Hermes was a phallic god, being attached to fertility and good fortune, and also a patron of roads and boundaries. His name coming from herma, the plural being hermai< herm was a square or rectangular pillar in either stone or bronze, with the head of Hermes (usually with a beard), which adorned the top of the pillar, and male genitals near to the base of the pillar. These were used for road and boundary markers. Also in Athens they stood outside houses to help fend off evil.
In Athens of 415 BC, shortly before the Athenian fleet set sail against Syracuse (during the Peloponnesian War), all the herms throughout Athens were defaced. This was attributed to people who were against the war. Their intentions were to cast bad omens on the expedition, by seeking to offend the god of travel. (This has never been proved as the true reason for the mutilation of the herms.)
The offspring of Hermes are believed to be Pan, Abderus and Hermaphroditus.
Hermes as with the other gods had numerous affairs with goddesses, nymphs and mortals. In some legends even sheep and goats.
Pan, the half man half goat, is believed to be the son of Hermes and Dryope, the daughter of king Dryops. Pan terrified his mother when he was born, so much so that she fled in horror at the sight of her new born son. Hermes took Pan to Mount Olympus were the gods reveled in his laughter and his appearance and became the patron of fields, woods, shepherds and flocks.
Abderus, a companion of the hero Heracles, is also thought to be a son of Hermes, he was devoured by the Mares of Diomedes, after Heracles had left him in charge of the ferocious beasts.
Hermaphroditus (also known as Aphroditus) was conceived after the union of Hermes and Aphrodite. He was born on Mount Ida but he was raised by the Naiads (nymphs of freshwater). He was a androgynous (having the characteristics of both sexes) deity, depicted as either a handsome young man but with female breasts, or as Aphrodite with male genitals.
It was Hermes who liberated Io, the lover of Zeus, from the hundred-eyed giant Argus, who had been ordered by Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, to watch over her. Hermes charmed the giant with his flute, and while Argos slept Hermes cut off his head and released Io.
Hera, as a gesture of thanks to her loyal servant, scattered the hundred eyes of Argos over the tail of a peathingy (Heras' sacred bird).
Hermes also used his ingenuity and abilities to persuade the nymph Calypso to release Odysseus, the wandering hero, from her charms. She had kept Odysseus captive, after he was shipwrecked on her island Ogygia, promising him immortality if he married her, but Zeus sent Hermes to release Odysseus. Legend says that Calypso died of grief when Odysseus sailed away.
Hermes also saved Odysseus and his men from being transformed into pigs by the goddess and sorceress Circe. He gave them a herb which resisted the spell.
Hermes also guided Eurydice back down to the underworld after she had been allowed to stay for one day on earth with her husband Orpheus.
Known for his swiftness and athleticism, Hermes was given credit for inventing foot-racing and boxing. At Olympia a statue of him stood at the entrance to the stadium and his statues where in every gymnasium throughout Greece.
Apart from herms, Hermes was a popular subject for artists. Both painted pottery and statuary show him in various forms, but the most fashionable depicted him as a good-looking young man, with an athletic body, and winged sandals and his heralds staff.
His Roman counterpart Mercury inherited his attributes, and there are many Roman copies of Greek artistic creations of Hermes. [source - Encyclopedia Mythica' at www.angelfire.com/realm/shades/demons/emhermes.htm on 4/22/2008]>>>.
And,
<<<" Hermes (Greek, ??µ??, IPA: /'h?mi?z/), in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of thieves and road travellers, of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics, of weights and measures, of invention, of commerce in general, and of the cunning of thieves and liars.[1] The analogous Roman deity is Mercury. The Homeric hymn to Hermes invokes him as the one :"of many shifts (polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver, a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."[source - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]>>>.
In fact the entire plot of the book is about a foolish shepherd and does NOT harmonise with the 66 inspired books of the Bible.
DESPERATION OF THOSE WHO USE OBSCURE APOCRYPHA BOOKS:
When individuals try to use obscure Apocrypha books as backup, you well know they do not have a legitimate point and are just 'grasping at straws.'
What is usually being referred to are books that were NOT divinely inspired nor legitimate, but NOT actually lost. These will be dealt with in three sections, (1) The Aprocypha or deuterocanonical books, (2) The external books actually quoted in the Bible by inspired writers, (3) History books that some count as part of the Aprocypha, i.e., the 4 Books of Maccabees, the strangest case of all!

But there actually is one lost book, although obviously very short, that we do NOT have today, and I call it 4 th. John.

THE APROCYPHA OR DEUTERCANONICAL BOOKS:

First, let's consider what they are as defined by the Columbia Encyclopedia, sixth edition, by Columbia University Press. This encyclopedia defines the Apocrypha as, "(pk´rf) (KEY) [Gr.,=hidden things], term signifying a collection of early Jewish writings excluded from the canon of the Hebrew scriptures. It is not clear why the term was chosen." In reality they were nothing but uninspired writings, many purporting to be written by other than who was actually their author, or basically illegitimate and lacking credence. In fact, the real author of only one of the Apocrypha is actually known. Some religions, unfortunately, have included some of the Apocrypha in their Bibles, but even these were few in number. A list of most of the Apocrypha follows:

1 Clement, 1st Apocalypse of James, 2 Clement, 2nd Apocalypse of James, 1 Esdras, 2 Esdras, Acts of Andrew, Acts of Apollonius, Acts of Carpus, Acts of John,Acts of Paul, Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas, Acts of Peter, Acts of Peter and the Twelve, Acts of Pilate, Acts of the Apostles, Acts of Thomas, Additions to the Book of Esther, Anonymous Anti-Montanist. Anti-Marcionite Prologues, Apelles, Apocalypse of John, Apocalypse of Peter, Apocryphon of John, Apollonius, Apology of Aristides, Aristo of Pella, Ascension of Isaiah, Athenagoras of Athens, Authoritative Teaching, Bardesanes, Baruch, Basilides, Eel and the Dragon, Book of Elchasai, Book of the Shepherd of Hermes, Book of Thomas the Contender, Books of Jeu, Caius, Celsus, Christian Sibyllines, Claudius Apollinaris, Clement of Alexandria, Colossians, Coptic Apocalypse of Paul, Coptic Apocalypse of Peter, Dialogue of the Savior, Diatessaron, Didache, Didascalia, Dionysius of Corinth, Discourse on the Eighth and Ninth, Dura-Europos Gospel Harmony, Ecclesiasticus, or the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, Egerton Gospel, Epiphanes On Righteousness, Epistle of Barnabas, Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus, Epistula Apostolorum, Excerpts of Theodotus, Fayyum Fragment, Fifth and Sixth Books of Esra, Fronto, Galen, Gospel of Judas, Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Philip, Gospel of the Ebionite, Gospel of the Egyptians, Gospel of the Hebrews, Gospel of the Nazoreans, Gospel of the Savior, Gospel of Thomas
Gospel of Truth, Hegesippus, Heracleon, Hippolytus of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Infancy Gospel of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Inscription of Abercius, Irenaeus of Lyons, Isidore, Judith, Julius Cassianus, Justin Martyr, Kerygmata Petrou, Letter from Vienna and Lyons, Letter of Jeremiah, Letter of Peter to Philip, Lost Sayings Gospel Q, Lucian of Samosata, Mara Bar Serapion, Marcion, Marcus Aurelius, Martyrdom of Polycarp, Maximus of Jerusalem, Melchizedek, Melito of Sardis, Muratorian Canon, Naassene Fragment, Octavius of Minucius Felix, Odes of Solomon, Ophite Diagrams, Origen, Oxyrhynchus 1224 Gospel, Oxyrhynchus 840 Gospel, Pantaenus, Papias, Passion Narrative, Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs , Philostratus, Pistis Sophia, Pliny the Younger, Polycarp to the Philippians, Polycrates of Ephesus, Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Jews, Prayer of Manasseh, Preaching of Peter, Ptolemy, Quadratus of Athens, Rhodon, Secret Book of James, Secret Mark, Serapion of Antioch, Shepherd of Hermas, Signs Gospel, Sophia of Jesus Christ, Suetonius, Susanna, Tacitus, Tatian's Address to the Greeks, The Additions to the Book of Daniel, Tertullian, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Theophilus of Antioch, Theophilus of Caesarea, Tobit, Traditions of Matthias, Treatise on the Resurrection, Trimorphic Protennoia, Valentinus, Victor I, Wisdom of Solomon, etc.

As can be seen many of these illegitimate books try to give themselves credence by closely mimicking the names of actual legitimate canonical books of the Bible. These books are often called the pseudepigrapha? The term is a transliteration of the Greek plural noun that literally means "with false superscription". According to Webster's Third New International Dictionary (p. 1830), the term can be defined as, "spurious works purporting to emanate from biblical characters". The Random House Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines the term as, "Certain writings (other than the canonical books and the Apocrypha) professing to be Biblical in character, but not considered canonical or inspired. These are NOT lost books, just NOT legitimate books of Bible cannon.

THE EXTERNAL BOOKS QUOTED IN THE BIBLE:

There are many external books quoted by inspired Bible writers as references. Many are, "not aware that the Old Testament authors depended upon other writings as their sources which they freely admit. Among these are: the Book of the Wars of Yahweh (Num. 21:14), the Book of the Jashar (Josh 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:18), the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Ki 14:19; 2 Chr 33:18), the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah (1 Ki 14:29, 15:7), the Annals of Samuel the Seer (1 Chr 29:29), the History of Nathan the Prophet (2 Chr 9:29), the Annals of Shemaiah the Prophet and Iddo the Seer (2 Chr. 12:15), the Annals of Jehu the Son of Hanani (2 Chr. 20:34), and others. Some teach that Moses compiled the Book of Genesis from other writings that surely had to have been handed down and preserved by his forefathers. Genesis can be broken down into eleven separate history books, each being separated by colophons at the conclusion of the books. This is known to have been a popular style for such ancient writings. ...According to this theory we have eleven separate books having the following authors: Adam, Noah, and eight other authors which Moses merely compiled into one book. [source= Ronald G. Fanter Cutting Edge Ministries].

One of these books is still existent today, the Book of Jashar or as it is sometimes called the Book of the Just, and another, the Book of the Wars of Yahweh, is actually thought my most scholars to actually be the Book of Jashar. The Book of Jashar is quite interesting, but one must be careful in obtaining a copy as there are counterfeit books masquerading as the Book of Jashar which are not. Also, there is a counterfeit Book of the Wars of Yahweh which is of course a fake since as previously said, this book is thought to just be another name for the Book of Jashar.

THE 4 BOOKS OF MACCABEES:

This is by far the strangest case of all. The 4 Books of Maccabees are ranked by many as part of the Apocrypha; however, they should be ranked as history books of the 1 st. and 2 nd. Century roughly before the incarnation of our leader and savior, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ. Very strange is the fact that the Catholic church accepted only two of them into their Canon of Bible Books; whereas, there are four of them. The Greek Orthodox, however, accepted three of them, and only the Cathars accepted the fourth. Strange to say the least, but none should have been accepted as canonical as they are history books, and one would NOT THINK of accepting H. G. Wells, 'Outline of History," into the Bible cannon; we are getting into the absurd. However, they make excellent reading as history books that fill in the history of these two centuries.

CONCLUSION:
The Book of the Shepherd of Hermes is but another obscure Apocrypha book which is in no way inspired by Almighty God (YHWH). Let's look at the facts with regard inspired books. The Bible is NOT the product of one committee or strongman. It has over 40 individual writers who wrote under divine inspiration/guidance putting the thoughts of God (YHWH) into the words of men much as transcribing secretaries today taking transcription and then later typing it out. In other words one real author, God (YHWH), and many scribes each of whom wrote in his own style over a period of approximately 1,600 years. All of what people call or consider inconsistencies are really not such, but most often just a problem of translation and/or understanding, i.e., lack of understanding of what the original writer writing in his own language and culture meant/said in his original writing. What is remarkable, is the writers over such a period of time all wrote in harmony when even most posters on threads on this forum can not even stay on track or subject over a period of a few days and/or weeks at most with the original subject of the thread. This fact of harmony over a period so great as to almost stagger the imagination shows that it had one guiding force or author who divinely inspired its writers as humans of their own volition can not keep on track over short periods of time. If so called lost books are NOT in harmony with the inspired scriptures, they can only be Apocrypha or spurious frauds.


To wit, the Bible is the ONLY book God (YHWH) ever inspired men to write as his scribes. In other words, God is its author and men only put his thoughts given to them by divine inspiration into their own words, the words of men. Not only that, all the other writers of later so called religious guidance books borrowed from it and made changes in accord with their strong man or so called prophet. Take the example of Joseph Smith who borrowed from it to write the Book of Mormon, but failed to give credit or source to the Bible and twisted some borrowed things into bizarre distortions. Other examples are of course the bizarre writings of David Koresh the Prophet of the Branch Dividians of Waco, Texas; and the Quran, etc.

In fact, the Book of the Shepherd of Hermes is NOT in harmony with the Inspired Scriptures of the Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, but in harmony with Greek mythology. Interestingly one theologian said,

<<<""Now with the heresy of the Ariomaniacs, which has corrupted the Church of God...These then teach three hypostases, just as Valentinus the heresiarch first invented in the book entitled by him 'On the Three Natures'. For he was the first to invent three hypostases and three persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and he is discovered to have filched this from Hermes and Plato." [Source: Logan A. Marcellus of Ancyra (Pseudo-Anthimus), 'On the Holy Church': Text, Translation and Commentary. Verses 8-9. Journal of Theological Studies, NS, Volume 51, Pt. 1, April 2000, p.95]>>>.

Your Friend in Christ Iris89