Banned Books: The Apocrypha Edition

Meet Judith, the fearless widow who seduces and beheads a general. Watch young Jesus tame dragons. Discover the lost love story of Joseph and his Egyptian bride. Explore vivid visions of heaven, hell, and the Last Judgment. These stories—and many more—appear in ancient texts known as the “apocrypha,” writings that didn’t make it into most Jewish or Christian Bibles. But “banned” doesn’t mean forgotten. Many of these texts were accepted, loved, and even canonized by diverse communities throughout history.

In this course, Dr. Brandon W. Hawk pulls back the curtain on the fascinating world of apocryphal literature. You’ll learn what these texts are, why they were excluded, and how they challenge our assumptions about the Bible. If you’ve ever wondered who decides what counts as Scripture—and what we’ve lost along the way—this class will open your eyes to a more complex, captivating, and contested history of faith.

"Why do some ancient texts become “Scripture,” while others are cast aside? And who gets to decide what counts as the Bible in the first place? In this eye-opening lecture, medievalist and apocrypha expert Dr. Brandon Hawk takes us into the fascinating world of banned, forgotten, and forbidden texts—what scholars call the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha. Far from being merely fringe or heretical, these writings offer surprising insights into the richness and diversity of early Judaism and Christianity.

Dr. Hawk walks us through the shifting boundaries of biblical canon across history and denominations—from Jerome’s Vulgate and Athanasius’s Easter letter to the expansive Bibles of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Along the way, we explore apocryphal gospels, prophetic expansions, cosmic visions, and imaginative retellings of biblical events that didn't make the final cut. Why did some books survive while others were silenced? And what does that reveal about the communities who preserved—or rejected—them?

This course isn’t just about lost texts. It’s about recovering lost perspectives. You'll come away with a clearer understanding of how power, theology, culture, and politics shaped the Bible we know today—and why the ""outsider"" texts still deserve our attention. Whether you're curious about hidden gospels, ancient theological debates, or the complicated history of the canon itself, this journey through banned books will challenge and inspire. "

What terms like Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Deutero-canon actually mean
How different Jewish and Christian groups have defined (and disagreed on) the biblical canon
Why books like Judith, 1 Enoch, and the Gospel of Thomas were embraced by some and rejected by others
How early Jewish and Christian communities used extra-canonical texts to wrestle with questions of identity, suffering, and power
The role of empire, exile, and colonization in shaping sacred literature
How canon formation was a messy, political, and often contested process—not a divine decree
Why banned books still matter today for understanding Scripture and religious diversity

Brandon W. Hawk is Professor of English at Rhode Island College. Most of his interests in research and teaching encompass what might be called transmission studies: the afterlives of texts, including circulation, translations, adaptations, and re-presentations in various cultures and media. Brandon has written a variety of pieces about pop culture uses of the Middle Ages and apocrypha for his website, The Public Medievalist, Forces of Geek, The Washington Post, and The Conversation. His books include Preaching Apocrypha in Anglo-Saxon England (University of Toronto Press, 2018), The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Nativity of Mary (Cascade Books, 2019), and Apocrypha for Beginners: A Guide to Understanding and Exploring Scriptures Beyond the Bible (Rockridge Press, 2021).

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