Pauline interpolations and forgeries

Pauline interpolations and forgeries are two related phenomena in the textual history of the apostle Paul's writings. First, a number of brief passages within letters widely regarded as authentically Pauline are suspected of being later insertions, usually called interpolations. Second, several canonical letters and a large set of noncanonical writings from the second to fourth centuries present themselves as Pauline but are judged by most modern scholars to be pseudonymous. Together these issues are central to the study of the Pauline epistles, their transmission, and their reception in early Christianity.

Scholars widely agree that seven of Paul's letters are authentic while the Pastoral Epistles are widely assessed as pseudonymous and the authorship of Colossians, Ephesians, and 2 Thessalonians continues to be debated. Evangelical and confessional scholars frequently defend Pauline authorship for the disputed letters by appealing to secretarial practice, shifting audiences, and early attestation. Across Christian traditions the letters retain canonical authority because ecclesial reception, rather than a single authorship verdict, governs their use in liturgy and doctrine.

Following American New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman, ancient Christian "forgery" is the literary act of "making a false authorial claim," which ancient writers judged to be "a form of lying." In broader canonical perspective, Ehrman describes early Christian literature as containing "falsely attributed and forged writings," and he notes that "a fair critical consensus holds" several New Testament letters are not by Paul.