There are seven added books the Catholics hold to: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees, and 2 Maccabees. They also include additions to the Book of Daniel and Ester. There is much wisdom in these books, and a few questionable teachings which I discuss below:
The first vein that runs throughout the seven books is the idea that “almsgiving delivers from death”. “To all those who practice righteousness, give alms according to your circumstances, my son, and do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor. Then the face of God will not be turned away from you.” (Tobit 4:6-7) The Canonical scripture confirms, “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be answered.” (Proverbs 21:13)
Then it continues, “Act according to what you have, my son. If you have much, give alms from it; if you have little, give alms in accordance with what you have. Do not be afraid, my son, to give alms. You will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against a day of need.” (Tobit 4:8-9) And the Canonical scripture confirms, “For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” (2 Corinthians 8:12) And, “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.” (Proverbs 19:17)
Then the contention enters: “For almsgiving delivers from death and keeps you from going into the darkness. Indeed, almsgiving, for all who practice it, is an excellent offering in the presence of the Most High.” (Tobit 4:10-11) Then it also says in another place, “Prayer with fidelity is good, and almsgiving with righteousness is better than wealth with injustice. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold, for almsgiving saves from death and purges away every sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life, but those who commit sin and do wrong are their own enemies.” (Tobit 12:8-10) And again in another place, “Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from every disaster.” (Sirach 29:12) And, “Kindred and helpers are for a time of trouble, but almsgiving rescues better than either.” (Sirach 40:24)
In the Scriptures, almsgiving, or charity, is mentioned by the Lord Jesus, specifically its purging effect. “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also? But give that which is within as charity, and then all things are clean for you.” (Luke 11:39-41) For love and giving are very closely related; almsgiving is how love is expressed. For, “Whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17)
This is seen clearly in the King James rendering of 1 Corinthians 13 when Paul speaks about love: “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5) So even in the etymology, love and charity are intertwined. Furthermore wisdom testifies, “Ill-gotten gains do not profit, But righteousness delivers from death.” (Proverbs 10:2) And, “Love covers a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8) “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.” (Proverbs 10:12)
Now we know throughout history this concept has been twisted and corrupted by the Catholic church to sell the forgiveness of sins, redeeming the dead from hell, and the like; but if this is done with these non-canonical texts, it is done with the canonical texts as well, “which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (2 Peter 3:16) Although true, almsgiving without love does not prosper; as it says, “If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:3) But rather, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Now, there are things written in the Apocrypha which promote generosity to the dead: “Give graciously to all the living, do not withhold kindness even from the dead.” (Sirach 7:33) And even more explicitly, in the second book of Maccabees, a practical case:
“On the next day, as had now become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kindred in the tombs of their ancestors. Then under the tunic of each one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was the reason these men had fallen. He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a purification offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, so that they might be delivered from their sin.” (2 Maccabees 12:39-45)
I find this topic interesting in light of these scriptures: “What will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why then are they baptized for them?” (1 Corinthians 15:29) And, “For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:6) “In which also He [Jesus] went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.” (1 Peter 3:19-20) These texts have always been puzzling to me. Perhaps they mean what they say? But I am not about to say that.
Furthermore, about giving, the text are explicit: do not give alms to sinners. “Give all your surplus as alms, my son, and do not let your eye begrudge your giving of alms.” (Tobit 4:16) As the covenant of Moses says, “All fat is the LORD'S.” (Leviticus 3:16) And regarding the eye, Christ speaks on giving, “If your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” (Matthew 6:23) Then the text in Tobit continues, “Pour out your food and your wine on the grave of the righteous, but do not give it to sinners.” (Tobit 4:16) Again we see: a kind deed for the dead. Truly, if the dead do not rise, then why do anything for the dead? If this is a true thing, I recognize it as being very gracious thing on God’s behalf to accept an offering for the dead. Nevertheless further revelation is needed here.
Also, on giving to the righteous and not giving to the wicked, the book of Sirach preaches,
“Do good to the devout, and you will be repaid—if not by them, certainly by the Most High. No good comes to one who persists in evil or to one who does not give alms. Give to the devout, but do not help the sinner. Do good to the humble, but do not give to the ungodly; hold back their bread, and do not give it to them, for by means of it they might subdue you; then you will receive twice as much evil for all the good you have done to them. For the Most High also hates sinners and will inflict punishment on the ungodly. Give to the one who is good, but do not help the sinner.” (Sirach 12:1-7)
Although hard to swallow, the Psalms are clear: God hates the wicked. As it says, “The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked, And the one who loves violence His soul hates.” (Psalms 11:5) And, “You destroy those who speak falsehood; The LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.” (Psalms 5:6) However, Sirach rings an alarm for another reason: for our well-beloved scriptures say, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:21-22) So giving to the wicked, assuming your enemy is evil and you are good, is encouraged.
Furthermore, Jesus spoke concerning our enemies (Luke 6:30-35, Matthew 5:43-48); but Christ was not revealed at the time of the writings of the Apocrypha; but when Christ came preaching faith, He held the people to a higher standard: "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:43-44) So it was a common saying during those days to say, “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.” But for a New Testament believer, we love as Christ loved us, and King David practiced this: “They repay me evil for good, To the bereavement of my soul. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, And my prayer kept returning to my bosom. I went about as though it were my friend or brother; I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.” (Psalms 35:12-14) And He loved us while we were His enemies.
Another thing I discovered in one text: the idea of life before life. “As a child I was naturally gifted, and a good soul fell to my lot, or rather, being good, I entered an undefiled body.” (Wisdom 8:19-20) I am not sure what is meant by this. And another thing which surprised me: table etiquette. “Be ashamed of breaking an oath or agreement and of leaning on your elbow at meals.” (Sirach 41:19) And the wickedness of idolatry: “For the idea of making idols was the beginning of sexual immorality, and the invention of them was the corruption of life, for they did not exist from the beginning, nor will they last forever.” (Wisdom 14:12-13)
These are the things which personally had me on edge in my reading. Thinking more about them, I think they settle in with the rest of Scripture, except Wisdom 8:19-29. The amount of things which were especially insightful and wise to me were found in the books of Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach. Tobit and Judith were records of historical events in history of two exceptional people: Tobit and Judith; they were both filled with the spirit of wisdom. There are some puzzling things in these two writings which I personally don’t discount as happening. 1 and 2 Maccabees were also historical books and showed the breakaway of some Jews and the faithfulness of others during tyranny. There are no mention in these book about Purgatory. Catholics just made that up.