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An evaluation of the Pauline letters

Letter: Date of the Place of Purpose of Message of the
writing: writing: book:(One Book: One or
sentence) two short
sentences.)
Romans: The middle of Rome. Paul is The central
defending & message is the
the first
giving nature of the
century AD. credibility to Christian faith
his message through our
as well as his justification by
Apostleship. faith.
1 Corinthians Around 56 Rome. Being a The message
follower of to the
A.D.
Jesus in the Corinthians is
world through the theology of
purity and the Cross.
submission to
the Cross of
Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians Date 57 A.D. Ephesus Its purpose is The message
to show how was outlined
the with how
relationship Christians
functioned should stand
between a 1st for truth and its
Century pastor defence.
and his
congregation.
Galatians AD 44-48 Ephesus Paul reveals The core
our place in message is
Christ but also how would we
press that we stand up for
should live up the truth of the
to what we Gospel and
know. defend it and
share the heart
of our
justification in
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Christ.
1Thessalonians Early 50 A.D. Corinth The purpose of The core of the
this letter is to message is to
give a ray of bring clarity to
hope in dark all the
times & the misconceptions
greatest hope of the return of
is the return of Christ
Christ. especially the
His 2nd coming.
2Thessalonians Early 52 A.D. Corinth The purpose is This letter
a pastoral corrects and
letter meant to instructs that
give people though the
hope amongst Lord’s return
persecution. was imminent,
it hasn’t
already come.
Ephesians 60 – 62 A.D. Rome Paul surveys The core
the work he message is
has done in justification by
ministry & also faith and how
what still God construed
needs to be this plan for us.
done Paul also
especially touches on the
through the future of Jews
workings of the and Gentiles,
spiritual life. the second
coming of
Christ, the
defeat of
Satan, and the
victory of the
church through
Christ.
Philemon 60 - 62 A.D. Rome The purpose of The message
this book is to of the book is
show how the to deal with the
apostle Christian and
approached a slavery. Paul
rather difficult also deals with
social problem a situation
in a very between slave
delicate and master to
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manner. bring
reconciliation.
Philippians 60 – 62 A.D. Rome The purpose of Paul uses
this book is to Christology to
show the solve practical
divinity and problems in the
pre-existence Church.
of Christ. The
letter was
written as a
response to
this false
teaching.
Colossians 60 – 62 A.D. Rome Purpose of the The core
book is to message is the
show the exaltation of
divinity and Jesus & holy
pre-existence living.
of Christ. The
letter was
written as a
response to
this false
teaching.
1 Timothy 63 A.D. Greece Purpose of This letter
1 Timothy instructs
shows how we Timothy to
should deal appoint,
with false recognize and
teaching within organize the
the church. church
leadership.
And shows the
importance of
defending the
Church from
false doctrine.
Titus 63 A.D. Greece Paul writes this Paul instructs
letter to Christians to
encourage the content with
reader to evidencing for
establish and their faith
maintain order through good
and to give a godly lifestyles
mandate for and godliness.
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his apostleship
end credence
to his
message!
2 Timothy 65 - 68, A.D. Rome This letter is The Message
Paul’s last will was for
or testament. It Timothy to look
was important after his own
for Paul that spiritual health.
Timothy Paul instructs
imitated Paul’s him to guard
teaching the gospel to
(defending the persevere even
faith, in suffering.
Christology &
and
Soteriology)

Assignment 2:

Many Biblical scholars today challenge the traditional view of the authorship of certain
Biblical New Testament books. Recently I read one of these scholars’ books called
“Forged”. I always thought that the authority and authenticity of these New Testament
books were undisputed, but recent attacks made me inquisitive. Bart D. Ehrman claims
to have “investigated ancient sources to reveal which New Testament books were
outright forgeries and goes on to explain how widely forgery was practiced by early
Christians.” He also calls to “expose the deception in the history of the Christian
religion.” (Ehrman, Bart D. (2011). Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's
Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are. Harper Collins Publishers.

Many scholars today believe specifically that some of the Pauline writings were not
written by Paul but by an associate or disciple after his death that re-interpreted the
meaning of Paul’s teaching and altered his Doctrines to fit their own explanation of his
teachings. Six letters with Paul's name are called into dispute. The first 3 letters are
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known as the “Deutero-Pauline Epistles" which are regarded as having no accord on

whether or not they are bona fide letters of Paul. (2 Thessalonians, Ephesians,
Colossians.) The other 3 (1 & 2 Timothy and Titus) are known as the "Pastoral Epistles"
which seems to be regarded as pseudepigraphical works. We will investigate very
concisely which books are disputed and the reasons of these Books authenticity. I will
draw extensively on the study material provided by Dr. Annang Asumang.

2 Thessalonians:

There seem to be numerous style and language differences between the 2 nd and 1st
letters attributed to Paul. This led many scholars to question if Paul was indeed the
author of these letters. Many scholars today believe that this book was not written by
Paul but by an associate or disciple after his death who tried to conclude; what he
perceived represented Paul’s message. Some scholars argued that 2nd Thessalonians
is significantly different in style, being very myopic and vague on a lot of Church and
Doctrinal issues. Others even go as far as to state that Paul couldn’t have written it
because it reflects ideas and doctrines that were only established after Paul’s demise
and that this proofs ploys commonly used by forgers. Some scholars argue that Paul
used a different secretary or scribe to write his letters for him. Some also point out that
Paul’s tone in 2 Thessalonians is more formal and lacks the warmth and feeling of 1
Thessalonians. Specifically the eschatology of these two letters is seen as noticeably
diverse. How do we explain all these presumed contradictions?

It would be very odd for any of the early Churches to accept a letter from Paul that was
inauthentic. The Thessalonian community accepted this letter and we can therefore
clearly see they didn’t attest it to be a forgery and received it because of its authorship
and dependability, not a lack of it! It is also essential to note that our styles of speech
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and writing are reliant on several factors like: The Nature of our letter and its intention
as well as whom we are addressing. When any scholar or layman asserts that the
literary difference in style or nature of the letter proofs its inaccuracy they should rather
consider that if it was a fraud it would be significantly similar rather than diverse. A
pseudonymous forger would rather duplicate every single word and try to mimic a
concept than to be almost utterly conflicting. On the difference emphasis on eschatology
we should also remember that Paul wrote two distinct letters to remind the Church of
Thessalonica of the importance of this doctrine. The apparent differences in the
eschatological message in the 2 letters can be clarified as we see in the 1 st letter the
emphasis was motivation to a persecuted Church who took great comfort in the Lord’s
return. In the second letter we see more of a doctrinal issue being addressed where
Paul tries to show that the return of Christ is not a past event that meant they could live
recklessly or proudly. We can clearly see the apparent objections to this letter are
flawed and there is no reason to doubt its authenticity. The next letter we will discuss is
Ephesians.

Ephesians:

The books of Ephesians have been hotly debated as a “pseudepigraphy” in the New
Testament. This is very significant to this book because the credibility of the book is
based on Paul’s authority and also cautions against being deceptive in ministry. (Eph 3)
If the author calls to “put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour” and he
wasn’t Paul, he had to go to great lengths to hide it. If Paul was not the author of this
book we have a serious theological ethical problem. Only very recently in Church history
do we see a dispute pertaining to the authenticity of Paul being the author. The
allegation is basically that a scribe wrote a summary dealing with the whole Church after
Paul’s death. Again we see these attacks include that the vocabulary is not familiar as
Paul’s and there are about 35 words unfamiliar to any of Paul’s other letters. There is
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also the style of the letter that seems to be more complex and substantial in the letter
and the author seems to lean heavily on the doctrines that are espoused in the book of
Colossians. If these accusations are true we can declare that the pseudonymous writer
had no intention but to deceive his readers by fraudulently using Pauls name to gain
acceptance for his own teaching by blending in his words and style in this letter. But we
must also say we see no indication of bias or heretical teaching that contradicts what we
find in other Pauline letters. In fact we find overwhelming evidence in the book that Paul
was the author. Contrary to their speculation the author refers to himself as Paul on two
occasions. (Eph 1:1, 3:1.) The means by which the author introduces himself
correspond with the way Paul introduces himself in other letters. The author also refers
to himself as a prisoner in chains (3:1 & 6:20) & the theological content, themes of
discussion and style of the letter corresponds to his authorship and is undisputed even
by the post apostolic Church Fathers. The author declares himself to be a preacher to
Jews and gentiles (3:7) that also corresponds with Paul’s revelation and commission.
We can also see that the demographic Paul found himself in was greatly astute and
highly educated and demanded Paul’s teaching ministry. (Acts 20:27) This might also
explain the eloquent use of new words and fresh style in the letter where Paul could
speak to these progressive people in a way that they could understand and proofs
Paul’s brilliance in understanding the context he wrote to. The reference to the Book of
Daniel and addressing of themes like: “the inheritance of the saints, revelation of
mysteries, the heavenly places, spiritual warfare and the fulfilment of the plan of the
kingdom of God” also affirms the previous point. When we consider Paul wrote to a
Jewish audience of Babylonian descent who had a great interest in the Book of Daniel,
he could relate to them very easily by referring to these familiar themes the Ephesians
Christians could identify. When we look at these evidences for this books authenticity,
we can clearly see there really is no dispute for its legitimacy.

Colossians:
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The rejection of this letter has serious consequences to New Testament theology due to
the explicit nature of the doctrines it contains. Yet, the objections seem to be numerous.
The same old argument centers on differences in style and vocabulary as well as the
extensive theological development in the letter as compared to other Pauline letters. We
find a similar reference to “Archippus” in both Colossians and Philemon, which is an
undisputed letter, and this should add to the reliability of Colossians. (Phil 2 & Col 4:17)
Unfortunately those who say this is a Deutero-Pauline book insist with the same
evidence that this was the work of a clever counterfeiter. Some even argue that the
letter was altered by a later editor to combat the rising problem of Gnosticism. How do
we explain all these alleged fallacies? It is very important to see that Colossians was
written by Paul in conjunction with Timothy (1:1) and even includes Paul’s signature in
the end of the book. (4:18) Even though those who argue that Colossians is
pseudonymous maintain that their view does not affect their own evaluation of the
authority of the doctrine taught in the book, it is nevertheless quite unthinkable that one
could on one hand suspect a writer who calls himself “I, Paul” (1:23) not to be who he
says he is, and yet, take his other words and doctrines so accurately. There is also a
look at the circumstances of life in prison (4:3-4) and mention of fellow contemporaries.
(4:7-18) There is also mention of authority on the author’s part as well as a referral to
declaring God’s mystery. (1:23-26) All these themes refer to the letter being
authentically Pauline in nature and even the Colossians Church seem to accept its
validity. Not only Philemon refers to Colossians but there is also mention of this book in
Ephesians which then gives some authority to this letter. This is vital because
Ephesians stands by the validity of Colossians which seemed to be written earlier and is
referred to and makes it more trustworthy. Skeptics claim that 74 words which comprise
17% of the letter have no relation to the other Pauline letters in style, doctrine or
language used. Yet, if we look at some other authentic Pauline letters they also contain
volumes of new language, style and doctrine. Language wise; Galatians use 90 new
words that is 18% of the total letter and Philippians use 85 words (almost 19%). Paul
writes differently according to the topic at hand and amazingly adapts his style to the
audience he is writing to. Concerning the style we see that Paul used different
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secretaries but the similarities in the two letters that goes beyond style. We have
evidence that Paul wrote the greeting in his own hand (4:18) and thereby we conclude a
scribe or even scribes wrote the rest. And this would account for the difference in
language and style. On the question on the difference in theology of this Pauline letter
one of the mayor issues seem to stem from the fact that the Church is spoken of
ecumenically or universally instead of locally. The Christology also seems to be very
elevated and the letters eschatology seems very rich and not as temporary. The fact
that Paul attributes himself as a vehicle of God’s mysteries also seems to be highly
improbable. When we look closely we see that the reference to the Universal Church
does not really complicate or obscure anything. This just shows how progressive Paul
could reflect even when being imprisoned for a long time on the whole Church and not
make statements on the local Church only. We can see that Paul applied this view to
the nature and structure of the Christian Church as god used him to be a vehicle of
revelation to these mysteries in both Colossians and Ephesians. What about the
Christology in Colossians? We find exactly the same content in his letter to the
Philippian church (2:6-11) and we can see Paul could easily write on the pre-existence
and divine nature of our Lord Christ Jesus. It is also noteworthy that Paul had to give a
clear account of the supremacy of Christ to the Colossian Church in this letter because
of increasingly false doctrines pertaining to the person and work of Jesus Christ. The
point made about spatial eschatology specifically pertaining to Christ’s exaltation (3:1-4)
in contrast to the temporal eschatology which speaks of the 2 nd coming of Christ in both
Ephesians and Colossians is to some extend quite valid. But we also need to consider
that spatial eschatology and temporal eschatology are combined and appears in Paul’s
other letters as well (Rom 6 & Col 3:1-4 v/6) and therefore Paul highlighting this in his
other books should not be surprising. This seems to be classically Pauline in character.
We can therefore conclude that Colossians is authentic and very undisputed.

The Authenticity of the Pastoral Letters (1 Tim 2 Tim Titus):

Next to the book to the Hebrews the pastoral letters are probably the most disputed
amongst all the New Testament letters. There are numerous allegations that these
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letters were written even a century after Paul’s death. The arguments seem to stay with
the same criticism, vocabulary, the style and theology and implied circumstances within
these letters. Regarding the vocabulary again they content that Paul does not use the
same language or words that is familiar in the other letters with which these ones add
an addition of 901 words where 335 are new (37%). (Hapax legomena) This is almost
double the average new words used in other letters. There also seem to be familiar
words missing in these pastorals like: preach, body, to do, rejoice, soul, to work, free etc
are notably absent in the pastorals. The problem with this argument is total disregard
Paul’s age, versatility and reason for writing the content of this letter as Biblical
intellectual. The style seems to also bring dissention with the different nouns and
adjectives. We should keep in mind that scribes were used and therefore could have
had an impact on the textual method. The nature of these letters is also private and
pastoral in nature and is written to others and not only the recipients of these letters.
Regarding the theology some argue that certain doctrines for instance the Doctrine of
Church office would not have occurred anytime in the 1 st Century. This view totally
disregards the background and structure found in Jewish synagogues in Paul’s time that
would have been incorporated into the 1st Century Church. The nature of the heresies
Paul wrote about are the same as the ones reflected in his letters to the Corinthian &
Laodicean Churches and we know Timothy was just a few hundred kilometres away
from Ephesus? So we can see that these letters were written substantially earlier rather
than later in the 1st century. There is also an argument that the Paul of the pastoral
letters expected orthodoxy doctrinally that would have been foreign to the real Paul of
that time. The theological concepts raised by passages like: 1Timothy 1:15; 3:1; 4:9; 2
Timothy 2:1; and Tit 3:8; are seen as to rigged and concrete for a 1st Century frame of
mind and is rather seen as 2nd Century writings and data. Yet we cannot deny that from
the beginning of Paul’s ministry he had to be very “concrete” and uncompromisingly
correct in his defence of these core doctrines. Even Orthodox Jews had to be very
concise and very clear, so to think any mindset would have not thought these things
through in a 1st Century mindset is absolutely ludicrous. He had to write therefore in
such a way that his letters had a clearly outlined doctrines and boundaries to instruct
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the Churches. Another allegation is that these letters cannot be reconciled to the
narratives found in the Acts of the Apostles. But this just assumes that Luke the author
of the book of Acts detailed every single travel and labour of the Apostle Paul and his
acquaintances. We must really also mention that unless we have substantial evidence
that Paul did not write these books there should be no dismissal of it.

- The End -