Historically, they were never counted as Scripture. None of the Apocryphal writers claim to be inspired by God. They were all written during a time (400 years) between the two testaments when it was acknowledged there were no prophets, and no direct revelation from God. The New Testament Jews never included them in any Jewish collection of Scriptures, so contrary to people believing that books have been removed from the Bible, the opposite is actually true: books have been added. The Apocrypha contains a great variety of errors – historical, geographical, chronological, and moral, and promotes doctrines which contradict the Bible. Without these apocryphal books, the Roman Catholic Church would have absolutely NO support for their doctrines of purgatory, praying for the dead and offering sacrifices for the dead (indulgences was a significant reason for the reformation). The Gnostics held a totally different view of the Bible, of Jesus Christ, of salvation, and of virtually every other major Christian doctrine, which is why Paul preached against them and their false teachings.