Last month, Dr. Bart Ehrman's much anticipated book, Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics, was released by Oxford University Press. The following is the publisher's "Description":
"Arguably the most distinctive
feature of the early Christian literature," writes Bart Ehrman, "is
the degree to which it was forged." The Homilies and Recognitions
of Clement; Paul's letters to and from Seneca; Gospels by Peter, Thomas, and
Philip; Jesus' correspondence with Abgar, letters by Peter and Paul in the New
Testament--all forgeries. To cite just a few examples.
Forgery and Counterforgery is the first comprehensive study of early Christian
pseudepigrapha ever produced in English. In it, Ehrman argues that ancient
critics--pagan, Jewish, and Christian--understood false authorial claims to be
a form of literary deceit, and thus forgeries. Ehrman considers the extent of
the phenomenon, the "intention" and motivations of ancient Greek,
Roman, and Jewish forgers, and reactions to their work once detected. He also
assesses the criteria ancient critics applied to expose forgeries and the
techniques forgers used to avoid detection. With the wider practices of the
ancient world as backdrop, Ehrman then focuses on early Christian polemics, as
various Christian authors forged documents in order to lend their ideas a
veneer of authority in literary battles waged with pagans, Jews, and, most
importantly, with one another in internecine disputes over doctrine and
practice. In some instances a forger directed his work against views found in
another forgery, creating thereby a "counter-forgery." Ehrman's
evaluation of polemical forgeries starts with those of the New Testament
(nearly half of whose books make a false authorial claim) up through the Pseudo-Ignatian
epistles and the Apostolic Constitutions at the end of the fourth century.
Shining light on an important but
overlooked feature of the early Christian world, Forgery and Counterforgery
explores the possible motivations of the deceivers who produced these writings,
situating their practice within ancient Christian discourses on lying and
deceit. (LINK)
I
have the book on order, but given the fact that we are in the 'holiday season',
I have no idea when the book will arrive. However, even though I have yet to
read Ehrman's book, a gent I have respect for (Dr. Tim Henderson) has already
offered a valuable critique on one of the topics of the book. The following are
the links to his three installments:
Grace
and peace,
