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Misquoting Jesus Podcast

Did Paul Actually Write the Pauline Epistles?

November 5, 2024 · 50 min · Watch on YouTube →

PaulBible

Show notes

Episode Outline:
– Introducing Paul and disputed authorship
– Why Paul’s authentic letters matter
– Who Paul was and why he shaped Christianity
– Which letters are attributed to Paul?
– How scholars evaluate Pauline authorship
– Why scholars dispute Ephesians
– The theological impact of disputed letters
– First Timothy, women, and church leadership
– Paul’s missing letters
– How letters became part of the New Testament canon

Episode Description
Writings attributed to the apostle Paul make up a large swathe of the New Testament, and have been of fundamental importance in the development of Christian theology. However, there are some serious questions over whether Paul actually wrote everything attributed to him. What texts do scholars think are not as…legitimate as they could be, and what texts do experts think were actually written by the man himself?

Also watch these episodes:
Historical Paul: What Scholars Actually Know About Paul's Life, Beliefs, and Personality
Historical Paul: What Scholars Actually Know About Paul's Life, Beliefs, and Personality

Is the New Testament Actually Filled with Forgeries?
Is the New Testament Actually *Filled* with Forgeries?

Must Women Keep Silent? What Were Jesus' and Paul's Actual Views of Women in the Church?
Must Women Keep Silent? What Were Jesus' and Paul's Actual Views of Women in the Church?

Megan asks Bart:

- This is obviously a pretty important topic - has the disputed authorship of Paul’s writings come up in your own life?

- Why is this important to talk about?

- Who is Paul? What do we know about him?

- What writings have been attributed to him?

- How were these attributions made? Do all of the texts name Paul as their author?

- Are any of these attributions disputed?

- What features make biblical scholars skeptical of Paul’s authorship?

- We obviously don’t have all of the letters Paul wrote, and it’s impossible to know how many we’re missing, but do any of Paul’s existing letters hint at what the missing ones might have contained?

- Are there any non-canonical texts that have been argued to have been written by Paul?

- If these letters were probably not written by Paul, then do you think they should be removed from the NT?

- What theological implications are there if these letters aren’t authentic?

Go deeper on this topic

Online course Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Actually Write Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Nearly everyone assumes that the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were written by …. Matthew Mark, Luke, and John. Is that actually likely? Historical scholars… Bart Ehrman · 1 lesson Free courseFree Did Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John Really Write the Gospels? A free lecture on who actually wrote the Gospels, and how scholars can tell. Bart Ehrman · 1 lesson

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Podcast Is the New Testament Actually *Filled* with Forgeries? Podcast Faking It: Is the Bible Full of Forgeries? Podcast Historical Paul: What Scholars Actually Know About Paul's Life, Beliefs, and Personality

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