Pseudepigraphy and the early Christians

Abstract

The early Christians, whether orthodox or heretical, used pseudepigraphy and for the most part unashamedly in order to promote their special views and doctrines. Numerous writings were attributed to the apostles and others of the apostolic period, to the apostolic fathers and the fathers who followed them, to Old Testament heroes, and even to pagans. Many of the falsifications went undetected, indeed, a considerable number were accepted into the Christian scripture, the New Testament. The spurious ascription of some, notably Susanna, Hebrews, and Revelation, was exposed by the use of literary-historical criticism, but even these were accepted by most of the Christians, and in the cases of the three just mentioned, retained in the Bible. Scholars of modern times have been much more critical, to be sure, but even so no systematic attempt to survey the practice of the literary artifice of pseudepigraphy by the early church has been made. Keywords: early Christians; Hebrews; Old Testament; pseudepigraphy; Revelation; Susanna