M E R I D I A N M A G A Z I N E
Lost Scripture Critics often claim that the Book of Mormon was not needed because the Bible contains all the word of God that He has deigned to give us. In fact, many critics say the Book of Mormon is an affront to Christians by proclaiming itself to contain additional scripture. These critics state that the Bible is complete and inerrant. But is the Bible really complete? The Lost Scriptures So called "lost scripture" is in reference to writings mentioned or cited within the present Biblical record, but which are not in the Bible itself. Some of these writings are known from other sources, and some are not.
From FAIR, the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research
Examples of "Lost Scripture"
There are 12 books mentioned in the Old Testament which are not presently in the Bible. These include the Book of the Wars of the Lord, the Book of Jasher, the Book of the Acts of Solomon, the Sayings of the Seers, and the Book of Nathan the Prophet.
In the New Testament, additional writings of Paul, the Book of Enoch, and the Assumption of Moses are all refered to or quoted but not found in the Bible.
Additional Anons
The picture is further complicated by the fact that Christians have not always agreed on the "canon"—that is, they have not always agreed upon which writings were "scripture" and which were not. Catholics and Orthodox Christians include additional books that the KJV does not. Earlier versions of the books considered scriptural canon did not accept Hebrews, the epistles of Peter, James, Jude, or even the Book of Revelations.
All these canons cannot be correct. Why must we accept that the critic's Bible is complete and inerrant? By what authority is this declared? Such an authority would have to be outside the Bible, thus demonstrating that there is some other source for the Word of God besides the Bible.
Furthermore, one should remember that Biblical writers were not aware of the Bible canon, because the Bible was not compiled until centuries later. Thus, Biblical writers cannot have referred to completeness and sufficiency of the canon, because the canon did not exist.
Conclusion1. Biblical writers considered writings not in the present canon to be scriptural writings.
2. Christian groups do not agree on what constitutes the Biblical canon—any claim that the canon is closed, complete, and sufficient must answer:
a) which canon?
b) what establishes this canon as authoritative and not some other?
3. Differences in canon between Christian groups and Biblical authors' clear belief in the scriptural status of other non-Biblical texts argue against a coherent doctrine of Biblical sufficiency and inerrancy drawn from the Bible itself. Such a claim must come from outside the Bible.
The full FAIRwiki article may be accessed at http://en.fairmormon.org/Lost_scripture
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