Includes bibliographical references and index

World of deceptions and forgeries -- Forgeries in the name of Peter -- Forgeries in the name of Paul -- Alternatives to lies and deceptions -- Forgeries in conflicts with Jews and pagans -- Forgeries in conflicts with false teachers -- False attributions, fabrications, and falsifications: phenomena related to forgery -- Forgeries, lies, deceptions, and the writings of the New Testament

It is often said, even by critical scholars who should know better, that "writing in the name of another" was widely accepted in antiquity. But religion scholar Bart D. Ehrman dares to call it what it was: literary forgery, a practice that was as scandalous then as it is today. Here, Ehrman's original research takes readers back to the ancient world, where forgeries were used as weapons by unknown authors to fend off attacks to their faith and establish their church. So, if many of the books in the Bible were not in fact written by Jesus's inner circle--but by writers living decades later, with differing agendas in rival communities--what does that do to the authority of Scripture?--From publisher description

Digitized at Georgetown University Law Library

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews