The Apocrypha
Different branches of the church have accepted or rejected various books as part of God's bible. The King James Bible of 1611 for example included the old testament book of Judith, and the Wisdom of Solomon whereas most other bibles omit them. These books are collectively known as the Apocrpypha.
The term apocrypha also includes books dating from new testament times, such as the Gospel of Thomas and the testament of Mary Magdalene.
The reasons for inclusion or exclusion in the core, or non-apocryphal bible centre on the authenticity of the texts.
Scholars have long debated whether a particular apocryphal text is 'genuine' or not. In conservative terms, genuine means 'directly inspired by God's truth' while a less charitable interpretation of genuine would be 'not at odds with the dominant beliefs'.
Often the early church stifled debate on some books, leading to all manner of conspiracy theories both in the past and now in modern times.
The Apocrypha provide fascinating reading, although some, such as the Epistles of Jesus are clearly very crude anti-Jewish propaganda.
Here is a list of just some of the many apocryphal books which are excluded from most bibles:
The Epistles of Jesus to Abgarus
The Didache
Epistle of the Apostles
Acts of Andrew
Gospel of Barnabas
Gospel of Bartholomew
Martyrdom of Bartholomew
Book of James (protevangelium)
Acts of John
Secret Gospel of Mark
The Acts of Pontius Pilate
Acts of Peter
Letter of Peter to Philip
Thaddeus
Gospel of Thomas
Paul and Seneca
Gospel of Mary
Narrative of Joseph of Arimathaea
Shepherd of Hermas
Revelations of Stephen