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Why isn't Ephesians considered an authentic letter of Paul? Didn't Paul live in Ephesus?
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Steefen
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March 13, 2022 - 10:47 pm

Why isn’t Ephesians considered an authentic letter of Paul? Didn’t Paul live in Ephesus?

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Robert
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March 14, 2022 - 7:55 am
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Stephen
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March 14, 2022 - 10:11 am

I can testify that F & CF finally convinced me that Ephesians is a forgery. 

A couple of interesting factoids.  In 1:1 while most translations give “To the saints who are in Ephesus…”  it should be noted that the words “in Ephesus” do NOT appear in any of the oldest and best manuscripts.  The thinking is that the letter was originally intended to be circular rather than directed at a specific community. 

Also the author favors what’s called a ‘realized eschatology’, the idea that in some sense believers have already participated in the resurrection, an idea Paul specifically attacks in his correspondence with the Corinthians. 

But don’t take my word for it.  Read Ehrman’s book.  Think about his arguments and make up your own mind.   Sometimes you have to get down in the weeds and stick your nose in the dirt.  I learned a lot. His popular version Forged by it’s nature could really only skim the surface. 

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CEJ

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March 18, 2022 - 11:12 am

Robert said
Bart’s Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics summarizes “a range of arguments involving style, vocabulary, structure, and content” used by critical scholars in favor of viewing Ephesians as a forgery.

  

Forgery and Counterforgery is the text from Ehrman I enjoyed the most.

 

It’s a fine read.

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