Forgery and counterforgery : the use of literary deceit in early Christian polemics / Bart D. Ehrman.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 549-574) and indexes.

Forgers, critics, and deceived deceivers -- Terms and taxonomies -- Forgery in antiquity: aspects of the broader phenomenon -- Forgery in antiquity: motives, techniques, intentions, justifications, and criteria of detection -- Introduction to forgery and counterforgery in early Christian polemics -- Early Pauline forgeries dealing with eschatology -- Later forgeries dealing with eschatology -- Forgeries in support of Paul and his authority -- Forgeries in opposition to Paul and his message -- Anti-Jewish forgeries -- Forgeries involving church organization and leadership -- Forgeries involving debates over the flesh -- Forgeries arising from later theological controversies -- Apologetic forgeries -- Lies and deception in the cause of truth.

A comprehensive study of early Christian pseudepigrapha. Ehrman argues that ancient critics-- pagan, Jewish, and Christian-- understood false authorial claims to be a form of literary deceit, and thus forgeries. Ehrman considers the extent of the phenomenon, assesses the criteria ancient critics applied to expose forgeries and the techniques forgers used to avoid detection. Shining light on an important but overlooked feature of the early Christian world, Ehrman explores the possible motivations of the deceivers who produced these writings, situating their practice within ancient Christian discourses on lying and deceit.