Forgery and Counter-forgery

The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics

Bart D. Ehrman

This is the first comprehensive study of literary forgery in the early Christian tradition ever produced in English.
It establishes once and for all that ancient critics considered the use of false authorial names to be a form of literary deceit, lying.
It evaluates every major aspect of the phenomenon in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, including ancient Judaism: the extent of the phenomenon, ancient attitudes towards it, intentions of forgers, their motivations, the techniques they used to avoid detection, the methods critics used to expose them, and the reactions to forgers and their work once they were exposed.
It considers every instance of Christian forgery produced for polemical purposes from the time of the New Testament (nearly half of the New Testament books make false authorial claims) through the second and third centuries, and up to the end of the fourth century, with the Pseudo-Ignatian letters and the pseudonymous Apostolic Constitutions.
For works whose authorship is hotly debated among scholars (for example, 1 Peter; 2 Timothy), establishes decisive grounds for understanding the work as a forgery; in instances where there is now little debate (for example, 2 Peter, the Pseudo-Ignatians), summarizes the arguments that are widely deemed compelling.
Establishes the polemical use of every forgery he considers, whether in Christians' conflicts with Jews and Judaism, with pagans and paganism, or with one another in the heated debates over early Christian doctrine and practice.
Highlights in particular the phenomenon that he labels "counter-forgery," in which a forger directs his work against another work that is a forgery, seeing instances of the phenomenon from our earliest surviving traditions (2 Thessalonians) on up through the Fourth Century (the Acts of Pilate and the Apostolic Constitutions).
Shows that some well-known works not generally considered to be forged do in fact make clear false authorial claims, including the New Testament books of Acts and 1 John.
Set within the context of other related phenomena: the false attribution of otherwise anonymous writings (the Gospels of the New Testament), the fabrication of legendary narratives (the apocryphal acts of the Apostles, early Christian gospel traditions), the falsification of texts through scribal activities, and plagiarism - themselves maligned literary practices in antiquity.
Concludes with a detailed discussion of ancient Christian discourses on "lying," showing that widely disparate views of the practice were held by such well-known authors as Augustine, who argued that the Christian should never lie, under any circumstances whatsoever, and John Cassian, who, with the majority of Christians, maintained that there were situations in which it was, in fact, the right thing to do to deceive another. It is within these discourses of lying and deception that the forgers' self-justifications are probably to be situated.

Forgery and Counter-forgery

The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics

Bart D. Ehrman

Description

Forgery and Counter-Forgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics by Bart Ehrman, the New York Times best-selling author of Misquoting Jesus and recognized authority on early Christianity, is the first major contemporary work on forgery in early Christian literature. It examines the motivation and function behind Christian literary forgeries. Ehrman guides readers through Christian literary forgeries of the first four centuries CE while providing coverage of other ancient texts. He asks why early Christians lied about themselves when writing polemical works; and then answers by showing how unknown Christian authors used forgeries to defend their own faith and attack other interpretations of early Christianity. He further asks why many scholars resist acknowledging their forgeries; and he answers that the forgeries uncomfortably call into question the authority of the New Testament.

The book is essential reading for those interested in early Christianity and the New Testament.

Forgery and Counter-forgery

The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics

Bart D. Ehrman

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Introduction
PART ONE: FORGERY IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD
Chapter Two: Forgers, Critics, and Deceived Deceivers
Chapter Three: Terms and Taxonomies
Chapter Four: Forgery in Antiquity: Aspects of the Broader Phenomenon
Chapter Five: Forgery in Antiquity: Motives, Techniques, Intentions, Justifications, and Criteria of Detection
PART TWO: FORGERY IN EARLY CHRISTIAN POLEMICS
Chapter Six: Introduction to Forgery and Counter-forgery in Early Christian Polemics
Chapter Seven: Early Pauline Forgeries Dealing with Eschatology
Chapter Eight: Later Forgeries Dealing with Eschatology
Chapter Nine: Forgeries in Support of Paul and His Authority
Chapter Ten: Forgeries in Opposition to Paul and His Message
Chapter Eleven: Anti-Jewish Forgeries
Chapter Twelve: Forgeries involving Church Organization and Leadership
Chapter Thirteen: Forgeries involving Debates over the Flesh
Chapter Fourteen: Forgeries Arising from Later Theological Controversies
Chapter Fifteen: Apologetic Forgeries
Chapter Sixteen: Lies and Deception In the Cause of Truth
Bibliography

Forgery and Counter-forgery

The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics

Bart D. Ehrman

Author Information

Bart D. Ehrman, James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Professor Ehrman completed his M.Div. and Ph.D. degrees at Princeton Seminary; author of over 25 books, including Orthodox Corruption of Scripture, second edition (OUP, 2011), Misquoting Jesus (HarperOne), and The New Testament, fifth edition (OUP, 2012). Widely recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on the New Testament and early Christianity, he has lectured at major universities throughout North America and has been featured on CNN, BBC, the History Channel, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, A&E, major PBS stations, and the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. New York Times best-selling author.

Forgery and Counter-forgery

The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics

Bart D. Ehrman

Reviews and Awards

"Few books have so effectively challenged the basis of scriptural authority in Christianity." - London Review of Books

"This is a rich study on a broad range of documents ... that will stimulate further, needed research." - Ilaria L.E. Ramelli, Filologia Neotestamentaria