You will find similar tendencies in “Forged,” but Ehrman also
offers some original research which will be presented in a more scholarly volume at a
later date.
The basic premise of “Forged” is that much of the New Testament is in fact comprised
of forgeries. This has been hidden from the general public by the timidity of New
Testament scholars who, in Ehrman’s estimation, are unwilling to call things what they
are. They refer to these forgeries as “pseudonymous,” acknowledging that they were not
written by the people who are claimed as the authors. What most of these scholars do
not or will not admit is that these false attributions are deliberate attempts to deceive.
That ancient pseudonymity or pseudepigraphy was in Greco-Roman culture a practice
of deception and considered as such is the focus of Ehrman’s original research. He
has done an extensive survey of this literature and demonstrates his position convincingly.
However, he dismisses very casually two relevant theories which should be given
deeper consideration. One is the notion that Paul and others may have given secretaries
a good deal of freedom in composing their letters. This he finds totally implausible, on
less than convincing grounds. The other possibility is that some of these documents may
represent scribal traditions; elaborations and augmentations of a significant teacher’s
instruction by his followers. Many scholars see this as a well-established practice visible
in the Old Testament and Jewish apocalyptic.
On the basis of his analysis of Greco-Roman attitudes, Ehrman
rules this possibility out for both testaments. In relation to the Old
Testament and apocalyptic literature his critique is very brief. This,
along with his quick dismissal of the possibility that New Testament
writers may have used secretaries, represents the major failing of this
book. Many feel that it is in the context of this sort of scribal tradition
that we are to understand some of the New Testament “pseudonymous”
writing. It has been suggested that the difficulty some of the New
Testament books faced in the canonization process was due to the
changing context in which they were read. No longer being read in a
Jewish context or one heavily influenced by Jewish practice, but now in
a more Hellenized church, such writings were in danger of being viewed
the way Ehrman sees them, as simple forgeries.
In the end, one has the impression that things are more complex than
Ehrman’s simple choice between either single or joint authorship on the
one hand and forgery on the other. He has made the case in relation
to Greco-Roman culture, but not Jewish and early Christian writing.
JOSEPH DELAHAUNT is pastor of First Baptist Church in New
Haven, Conn.
