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
Bart D. Ehrman is the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 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. He is the author of the New York Times best-selling book
Misquoting Jesus.
"Forgery and Counterforgery is to be welcomed as a substantial
contribution to a controversial subject. Ehrman combines clarity of
writing with profound scholarship, building up a detailed case on
the basis of historical evidence that those with more a skeptical
view must take into serious consideration. Biblical scholars and
historians of early Christianity will find much to ponder in this
book."--J. Samuel Subramanian, Review of Biblical
Literature
"This is a significant study in English of a theme not normally
explored by scholars, This book is vintage Ehrman: forthright and
coherent, based on thorough research and enviably wide reading
replete with rich footnoting."--The Expository Times
"[An] engrossing and learned analysis of early Christian
literature, both within and beyond the covers of the Bible...A text
that will have a material effect on the future of a faith that is
currently experiencing one of its most interesting and fruitful
phases of transformation. Few books have so effectively challenged
the basis of scriptural authority in Christianity." --London Review
of Books
"Impressive and wide-ranging." --Marginalia
"This comprehensive study is a valuable addition to the field of
scriptural literary criticism and will be very useful to
researchers and lay readers in that field. It is both an insightful
study of the use and usefulness of forgeries in polemics during the
first four centuries of Christianity, and a near encyclopedic
survey of the forged texts themselves." -- Library Journal
"The book is excellent. It will make an enormous impact on the
field of New Testament studies and also studies of pseudepigraphy
in the ancient world. ... The book will make a huge contribution to
the field. There are comparable books in German, but this one goes
beyond them all. And it will be the only thing of its kind in
English."
--Dale B. Martin, Professor of Religious Studies at Yale
University
"The book tackles an important subject--the nature of ancient
Christian pseudepigraphy--and makes a significant contribution to
it.... The author's contribution lies in updating Speyer's thesis
that pseudepigraphy was usually, on the contrary, an attempt to
deceive, and in establishing this thesis in a comprehensive
English-language monograph. The greatest strength of the book is
its comprehensiveness."
--Joel Marcus, Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at
Duke Divinity School
"Examining over fifty examples of early Christian forgery and their
polemical contexts, Ehrman uncovers the varied motives that
prompted ancient Christian authors intentionally to deceive their
readers. Whether these authors forged their works to support or
critique the Apostle Paul, to oppose or celebrate "the flesh", to
promote their own views of doctrine and church leadership, or to
defend Christianity against hostile critics, the sheer magnitude of
early
Christian forgery startles the modern reader. Ehrman demolishes the
claim that forgery was an acceptable literary practice in
Greco-Roman antiquity, as well as scholars' attempts to "explain
away" its
prevalence in early Christianity. Ehrman's remarkable and
comprehensive account of a misunderstood practice is unparalleled
in English-language scholarship."--Elizabeth A. Clark, John
Carlisle Kilgo Professor of Religion and Professor of History, Duke
University
"With Forgery and Counter-forgery, Bart Ehrman has decisively
undermined the view that the early Christian pseudepigraphic
writings are something other than forgeries. These works, however
well-intentioned, were, quite simply, "bastards" and were viewed as
such whenever their false authorial claims were discovered. Based
in flawed or faulty scholarship, modern attempts to excuse the New
Testament forgeries are therefore misplaced, revealing the
longings of contemporary readers for secure canonical authorities
capable of defending their own points of view. This deeply
engaging, carefully documented and thought-provoking exposé of
ancient forgery is required
reading for anyone interested in understanding how, and why, so
many Christian writers sought to pass off their works as the
products of named authorities when they so obviously were not.
Thoroughly convincing."--Jennifer Knust, Boston University
"The quality is very high; it is very thorough and well-researched.
... Ehrman has produced a learned and engaging survey of early
Christian controversial literature from the vantage point of
authorial identity and rhetorical deceit, asking why Christians
lied about themselves when writing polemical works and why scholars
are so resistant to acknowledging their forgeries. ... There is no
other major scholarly study in English that tackles this subject
with such
thoroughness, and its usefulness to students of early Christian
literature will be undeniable. ... There is no comparable work in
English on forgery. ... I also think general readers will pick it
up
and find it fascinating. ... The prose is solid, the arguments are
clear and effective, and the significance of this study is
undeniable."
--Andrew Jacobs, Associate Professor and Chair of Religious Studies
at Scripps College
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