Very interesting article. In the interests of full disclosure, I'm a Catholic with a degree in Theology. Speaking as such, the reason that the Jews did not accept the seven so-called apocryphal books of the Old Testament was precisely because they first appeared as part of the Septuagint and, as such, were written in Greek, the language of Paganism. Combine this fact with the knowledge that the early Christians used the Septuagint in their controversies with the Jews, and it is understandable why the Jews would be hostile to this translation and, thus, not accept the inclusion of these books.
The reasons Catholics consider these books canonical are many, but for reasons of space, I'll just name two:
1. The NT writers quote principally from the Septuagint (the translation including the so-called apocrypha). Of the 350 OT quotes in the NT, about 300 of them come from the Septuagint.
2. Some of the NT writers utilize the so-called apocrypha in the NT. St. Paul quotes from The Book of Wisdom and the Epistle of St. James shows that Paul was familiar with Ecclesiasticus.
Thanks again for the great article and for the opportunity to talk about what can be a confusing topic for people!
