Questions for Review

1. According to the chapter, why should questions of authorship in the NT not be disconcerting?
2. Briefly discuss the authorship issues of the four Gospels.
3. What is an amanuensis? How many of Paul’s letters make use of one? Who are these secretaries who helped Paul write his letters?
4. How many of Paul’s letters are widely accepted as authentic? Which letters are considered least likely to have come from Paul?
5. What sorts of reasons are given for arguing against the Pauline authorship of some of Paul’s letters?
6. What is the difference between forgery or deception and pseudonymity?
7. According to the chapter, why did the early church reject some pseudonymous writings and not others? List a few of the rejected pseudonymous writings.
8. Of the non-Pauline letters in the NT, which one is almost universally believed to be pseudonymous?
9. Briefly discuss the issue of pseudonymity with regard to the Johannine corpus.
10. When discussing issues of pseudonymity, are we dealing with provable assertions or probabilities? Why does this distinction matter?

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