Forged (book)

Forged: Writing in the Name of God – Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are is a book by the biblical scholar Bart D. Ehrman. Although it has long been recognised that numerous books of the New Testament bear names of authors who are unlikely to have written them, it has often been said that it was an accepted practice in antiquity for a writer to attribute his work to a well-known figure from the past, or a teacher who has greatly influenced him.

For the unrelated 2010 film, see Forged (film).
Forged: Writing in the Name of God – Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are
First edition
AuthorBart D. Ehrman
LanguageEnglish
SubjectAuthorship of the Bible
PublisherHarperCollins
Publication date
2011
Pages320 pages
ISBN0-06-207863-1
Preceded byJesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don't Know About Them) 
Followed byThe Apocryphal Gospels: Texts and Translations 

Forged contends that this is incorrect and the practice would have been condemned as dishonest by all authorities in antiquity. Falsely attributed writings are often referred to as "pseudepigraphs" but Ehrman maintains that the more honest term is "forgery". The book posits that 11 or more books out of the 27 books of the Christian New Testament canon were written as forgeries.[1] In his book, Ehrman points out numerous inconsistencies which he finds within the New Testament which appear to support many of his claims, such as the fact that in Acts 4:13 the statement is made that both Peter and John were illiterate, yet in later years entire books of the Bible were then alleged to have been written by them.

New Testament books identified as forgeries by Ehrman

False attributions

In addition to the eleven books of the New Testament Ehrman identifies as forgeries, he discusses eight originally anonymous New Testament texts that had names of apostles ascribed to them later and are falsely attributed. These are not forgeries since the texts are anonymous but have had false authors ascribed to them by others.

See also

References
  1. "Half of New Testament forged, Bible scholar says". CNN. 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-17. CNN book review article summarizing Ehrman's claim that much of the New Testament was written as a forgery.
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