Non-canonical Texts

[Veridicus]

What is the Church's stance on reading early Church non-canonical texts like "Shepherd of Hermas?" I understand completely that this stuff isn't divinely-inspired, but it still seems like it must be a fairly interesting read if some of the early Church fathers debated it as being scriptural. Just curious.

Thanks!

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
4/30 - Third Sunday of Easter

Veridicus,

There's nothing inherently wrong with reading non-canonical texts. Remember, though, that the Church didn't approve of them for a reason (i.e., the [i]Shepherd of Hermas[/i], which has some screwy views on penitence, and the [i]Didache[/i], which is more Jewish than Christian). Though it's not forbidden to read these texts, it's usually not a good idea unless you know where the author went wrong. Hope this helps.

Yours,
Pio Nono

[rako]

Veridicus,

Pio Nono gave good advice. The early Church fathers respected the Shepherd of Hermas, but they also rejected it from the canon of the scriptures. In my view, the text has some problematic or questionable views, one of which Pio noted above, regarding repentance. I made a thread about the Shepherd here in case you are interested: