My Thoughts on What's Called the Doctrine of the "Lost Books"

While reading through 2nd Chronicles - a familiar doctrinal footnote by the KJV Study Bible is known as the "lost books". The doctrine of the lost books talks about a dozen books cited in the Old Testament canon such as the Book of Jasher (Joshua 10:13, 2nd Samuel 1:18), the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1st Kings 11:41), the Prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, the Visions of Iddo the Seer, the Book of Nathan the Prophet (9:29), the Book of Gad the Seer (1st Chronicles 29:29), the Book of Shemaiah the Prophet (12:15), the Acts of Uzziah (26:22), and the Sayings of the Seers (33:19). The same doctrinal footnote also mentions for the New Testament an epistle Paul wrote to the Corinthians (1st Corinthians 5:9), a letter Paul wrote to the Laodiceans (Colossians 4:16), the Book of Enoch (Jude 1:14), another unknown epistle by John (3 John 1:9), and something else Luke wrote (Luke 1:1, 2). So what are these "lost books" for and why are they not in canon. 

So the illustration writes the following:

There is no indication that any of these nonbiblical books were inspired. The doctrine of preservation argues that inspired books providentially survived, implying that these lost books were not inspired. They may have recorded interesting background to the inspired record of God, but they were not Scripture.

The way the footnote writes about the illustration has me thinking about this one. Why did the Scripture mention these non-biblical books? I'm reminded once more of the book written by the late D. James Kennedy called "Why I Believe" where he cites various historical and scientific sources to defend the Bible's inerrancy and accuracy. I think the same can be true as to why these "lost books" are mentioned. It's citing an outside source that's not Scripture to defend Scripture. It's just like when we cite science textbooks to prove Intelligent Design, to disprove evolution to be non-science (whether theistic or atheistic), or that God is self-existing by citing the law of the conservation of mass and energy. A physics book written by various physicists is not Scripture but it certainly can help prove Intelligent Design and God's self-existence. I mean, we learn from physics that matter and energy are neither created nor destroyed which in turn proves God's self-existence.

One way that Kennedy also proved the Bible's authenticity was through historical documents. I think the same can serve for the several books mentioned in the Old Testament canon that are not in the Old Testament canon. For instance, I think the Book of Jasher is an academic or historical textbook by the Jews that recorded the exploits of the heroes. Maybe, it was the history textbook of the Jewish students at that time. These books would have probably recorded events that are not recorded in the Bible. I think the Book of Jasher in itself was used to defend the validity and historicity of the Old Testament heroes. However, unlike the Book of Joshua - I think the Book of Jasher was subject to human error like any historical textbook. Probably, the Book of Jasher was revised overtime because of human error therefore proving that while it was a reliable source - it was not an infallible source. It's like a science textbook that may be reliable while scientists end up saying that they made some mistakes here and there. They're good researchers but they have to admit that they do still have a margin of error that they can't eliminate. I think the same goes as to why other prophets have books written but were not recorded. It's possible that those prophets while writing their prophecies. I think they were mentioned as valid external sources. It might be a way of saying, "If you don't believe in the authenticity of Scripture - these guys have the records to be our witnesses!"

So what happened with the apostolic writings that were not included in the New Testament canon? Well, some did create forgeries centuries later claiming them to be lost books and were refuted because of inconsistencies. However, Paul's extra letter to Corinth and a letter to the Laodiceans were probably treated like regular letters rather than inspired by the Holy Spirit letters. I believe Paul wrote many letters but only 13 (or 14 if Hebrews is really ever his writing) were inspired and infallible while the others may have contained a human error. Paul probably mentioned those letters saying like how a utility service provider tells you that you've got an important notice. Paul probably sent both letters like they contained some miscellaneous, not-so-important information but still important information like how you receive a utility bill. I think the same way went for John's unknown letter. Jude probably mentioned the Book of Enoch (which a forgery claiming to be it exists much later) as a historical reference like I'd mention historical books to prove the Bible is accurate with history. 

I still feel the mentioning of these "lost books" is important like footnotes. It's pretty much like a research paper except the Scripture is free from error. The writers of the Scriptures decided to put these non-inspired scholarly materials and references to help validate the authenticity of their writings. It's pretty much like my sources may be fallible but they're reliable. It shows that it's very important to get as many valid sources as possible (fallible as they may be) in the defense of the Christian faith.