Forgery and Counterforgery
| File:Forgery and Counterforgery.jpg Cover | |
| Author | Bart D. Ehrman |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Early Christian literature, pseudepigraphy, textual criticism |
| Genre | Nonfiction |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Publication date | November 2012 |
| Media type | Print, e-book |
| Pages | 628 |
| ISBN | 978-0-19-992803-3 Search this book on  . |
| OCLC | 825060076 |
| Preceded by | The Apocryphal Gospels: Texts and Translations (2011) |
| Followed by | Did Jesus Exist? (2012) |
Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics is a 2012 scholarly monograph by American New Testament historian Bart D. Ehrman. Published by Oxford University Press and included on the National Humanities Centre, the volume surveys Christian writings from the 1st through 4th centuries that claim are considered to have false or disputed authorship, and evaluates how contemporaries received them.[1][2]
Ehrman applies textual criticism and related historical analysis to define literary forgery in its Greco-Roman contexts, and to trace how pseudepigraphal texts functioned within early Christian debates.
Reviewers have noted the book's expansive and rigorous examination of the potential use of literary pseudonymity in Christian polemics.
Background and publication
Ehrman had previously published on textual change and pseudonymous writing, including The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture and the trade monograph Forged. Forgery and Counterforgery extends that research by analyzing the rhetoric, motives, and reception of pseudonymous composition in Christian writings.
Ehrman on his Blog has described the volume as his most academic publication, and emphasized that it is not written for general audiences. Specifically, he wrote that "of all the books I have written, I am proudest of this one".[3][4]
Contents
The book is divided into two parts that together span more than six hundred pages of analysis and reference material. Part One surveys forgery in the broader Greco-Roman world and sets definitions, typologies, and detection criteria. Part Two examines Christian materials and situates pseudepigraphy within controversies over eschatology, Pauline authority, relations to Judaism, church order, Christology, apologetic argument, and later doctrinal debates, including cases of counterforgery where one forged writing answers another.
| Part | Chapter | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Part One | 1 | Introduction |
| 2 | Forgers, Critics, and Deceived Deceivers | |
| 3 | Terms and Taxonomies | |
| 4 | Forgery in Antiquity, Aspects of the Broader Phenomenon | |
| 5 | Forgery in Antiquity, Motives, Techniques, Intentions, Justifications, and Criteria of Detection | |
| Part Two | 6 | Introduction to Forgery and Counterforgery in Early Christian Polemics |
| 7 | Early Pauline Forgeries Dealing with Eschatology | |
| 8 | Later Forgeries Dealing with Eschatology | |
| 9 | Forgeries in Support of Paul and His Authority | |
| 10 | Forgeries in Opposition to Paul and His Message | |
| 11 | Anti-Jewish Forgeries | |
| 12 | Forgeries Involving Church Organization and Leadership | |
| 13 | Forgeries Involving Debates over the Flesh | |
| 14 | Forgeries Arising from Later Theological Controversies | |
| 15 | Apologetic Forgeries | |
| 16 | Lies and Deception in the Cause of Truth |
Analysis
Ehrman reviews both canonical and noncanonical writings. For each text he evaluates the explicit authorial claim, internal and external evidence for pseudonymity, linguistic and stylistic features, intertextual dependence and source use, manuscript attestation and patristic testimony, proposed date and setting, and the polemical function of the attribution within early Christian disputes.[5]
| Text | Focus |
|---|---|
| 2 Thessalonians | forged letters and eschatology |
| Pastoral Epistles | church order and Pauline authority |
| Ephesians and Colossians | authorship and literary dependence |
| 1 Peter and 2 Peter | Petrine voice and testamentary rhetoric |
| Pseudo-Ignatian letters and Apostolic Constitutions | pseudonymous episcopal authority |
| correspondence attributed to Paul and Seneca | fabricated exchange |
| Clementine Homilies and Recognitions | Petrine narrative and anti-Pauline currents |
| Gospel of Peter | docetic passion narrative |
| Gospel of Thomas and Gospel of Philip | sayings composition and sacramental language |
| correspondence of Jesus and Abgar | forged royal letter |
Ehrman defines forgery as a text produced by an author who falsely claims to be a known figure, distinguishing that practice from anonymous writing that later receives a false ascription. He gathers ancient testimonies to authorial deceit, summarizes criteria for detection, and analyzes the motives and literary techniques that forgers used to secure reception. Ehrman argues that surviving discussions by pagan, Jewish, and Christian readers did not treat pseudonymous attribution as a benign convention and that, when detected, such writings were condemned as lies.[6]
Reception
In October 2012 Library Journal called the book "a comprehensive study" and "a valuable addition to the field of scriptural literary criticism", concluding that it would be "very useful to researchers and lay readers in that field".[7]
Robert S. Boylan's 2013 review characterized it as an in depth scholarly examination, a valued contribution and historical-critical resource. Boylan notes that while the conclusion on the Book of James being pseudopigraphic is contested, Bart allows for a framework that interests scholars in the New Perspective on Paul.[8] In the Marginalia Review of Books, David Lincicum described the volume as "impressive and wide-ranging", praised its control of sources, and argued that the book sometimes over-reads polemic as an organizing lens while still finding "very little sensationalism" in the presentation.[9]
Mainstream press coverage have discussed the book, such as Diarmaid MacCulloch 2014 review of the London Review of Books who called it an "engrossing and learned analysis of early Christian literature".[10] Einar Thomassen in The Journal of Theological Studies discussed the breadth of the corpus and the analytic category of forgery, assessing points of disagreement while recognizing the study's documentation.[11] Armin D. Baum in Novum Testamentum agreed that ancient readers commonly condemned pseudepigraphy as deceit yet questioned Ehrman's insistence that authenticity always required an author's very words, calling that claim "one step beyond what the numerous relevant sources reveal".[6]
David Brakke's 2016 review in The Journal of Religion surveyed about fifty case studies and engaged Ehrman's criteria and historical claims.[12]
In 2018, Jonathan Klawans discussed Ehrman's work in relation to debates about ancient forgery and authorship across biblical and classical fields. Discussions of pseudepigraphy and intellectual deceit in antiquity have engaged Ehrman's definitions, motives, and use of ancient testimony.[13]
See also
- Pseudepigrapha
- Textual criticism
- Authorship of the Pauline epistles
References
- ↑ "Forgery and Counterforgery". National Humanities Center. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ Ehrman, Bart D. (2012). Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-992803-3. Search this book on
- ↑ "My book: Literary Forgery and Counterforgery in Early Christianity". The Bart Ehrman Blog. June 2, 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ "My Book on Literary Forgery". The Bart Ehrman Blog. April 20, 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ Ehrman, Bart D. (2012). Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–3. ISBN 978-0-19-992803-3. Search this book on
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Baum, Armin D. (2014). "Book review: Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics, written by Bart D. Ehrman" (PDF). Novum Testamentum. 56 (4): 428–431. doi:10.1163/15685365-12341442. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
- ↑ White, Sue (October 15, 2012). "Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics". Library Journal. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ Boylan, Robert (2013). "Book Review: Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics, by Bart D. Ehrman" (PDF). The Interpreter Foundation. Retrieved 2026-07-17.
- ↑ Lincicum, David (August 21, 2013). "Lies, Damned Lies, and Patristics". The Marginalia Review of Books. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ MacCulloch, Diarmaid (February 6, 2014). "Faking the Canon: Forging the Bible". London Review of Books. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ Thomassen, Einar (2014). "Review of Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics". The Journal of Theological Studies. 65 (1): 241–243. doi:10.1093/jts/flu029. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ Brakke, David (2016). "Early Christian Lies and the Lying Liars Who Wrote Them: Bart Ehrman's Forgery and Counterforgery". The Journal of Religion. 96 (3): 378–390. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
- ↑ Klawans, Jonathan (2018). "Deceptive Intentions: Forgeries, Falsehoods, and the Study of Ancient Judaism". AJS Review. 42 (2): 337–357. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
External links
- Official website
- National Humanities Center, book page
- Marginalia Review of Books: review by David Lincicum
- The Journal of Religion: review by David Brakke
Template:Pseudepigrapha and apocrypha Template:Bart D. Ehrman
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