What is the Apocrypha?
Why aren't these books found in the Protestant Bibles?

These writings should not be considered to be inspired by God as the Bible is. Josh McDowell explains a little history of the apocryphal writings:

Today the word Apochrypha is synonymous with the 14 or 15 books of doubtful authenticity and authority. These writings are not found in the Hebrew Old Testament, but they are contained in some manuscripts of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament) which was completed around 250 B.C. in Alexandria, Egypt.

Most of these books were declared to be Scripture by the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Trent (1545-1563), though the Protestant Church rejects any divine authority attached to them.

Those who attribute divine authority to these books and advocate them as Scripture argue that the writers of the New Testament quote mostly from the Septuagint, which contains the Apocrypha. They also cite the fact that some of the Church fathers, notably Iraneaeus, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria, used the Aprocrypha in public worship and accepted them as Scripture, as did the Syriac Church in the fourth century.

McDowell adds, "The case for including the Apocrypha as holy Scripture completely breaks down when examined."

Even through there was brief mention of it in the New Testament, the Apocrapha was never even hinted by Jesus or any of His disciples to be Holy Scripture.

The Roman Catholic church didn't even declare these books as Scripture until the Council of Trent (1545-1563).

McDowell goes on to say:

The arguments that advocate the scriptural authority of the Apocrypha obviously leave a great deal to be desired.

There are some other telling reasons why the Apocrypha is rejected by the Protestant Church. One of these deals with the unbiblical teaching of these questionable books, such as praying for the dead.

Praying for the deceased (advocated in 2 Maccabees 12:45-46) is in direct opposition to Luke 16:25, 26 and Hebrews 9:27, among others. The Apocrypha also contains the episode which has God assisting Judith in a lie (Judith 9:10, 13).

The Apocrypha contains demonstrable errors as well. Tobit was supposedly alive when Jeroboam staged his revolt in 931 B.C. and was still living at the time of the Assyrian captivity (722 B.C.), yet the Book of Tobit says he lived only 158 years (Tobit 1:3-5, 14:11).

There is no claim in any of these books in the Apocrypha that claims to be inspired by God. All that a person needs to do is read them along side of a Bible to see that there is a huge difference between the two.

McDowell, Josh. Answers to tough questions skeptics ask about the Christian faith. Wheaton, Ill. Campus Crusade for Christ. 1980. (pp. 46-49)