Forgery and Counterforgery
Forgery and Counterforgery: The Use of Literary Deceit in Early Christian Polemics is a 2012 scholarly monograph by American New Testament historian Bart D. Ehrman. Published by Oxford University Press, the volume surveys first- through fourth-century Christian writings that claim false authorship and evaluates how contemporaries received them.
Ehrman applies textual criticism and related historical analysis to define literary forgery in Greco-Roman contexts and to trace how pseudepigraphal texts functioned within early Christian debates. Reviewers described the study as an expansive and rigorous examination of literary deceit in Christian polemics.
Background and publication
Ehrman had previously published on textual change and pseudonymous writing, including The Orthodox Corruption of Scripture and the trade monograph Forged. Forgery and Counterforgery extends that research by analyzing the rhetoric, motives, and reception of pseudonymous composition in Christian polemics.Oxford University Press published the hardcover edition in the United States in November 2012. In October 2012 Library Journal called the book "a comprehensive study" and "a valuable addition to the field of scriptural literary criticism", concluding that it would be "very useful to researchers and lay readers in that field". The review also praised it as "an insightful study of the use and usefulness of forgeries in polemics during the first four centuries of Christianity, and a near encyclopedic survey of the forged texts themselves".
Ehrman has described the volume as his most rigorous academic work and has emphasized that it is not written for a general audience. On his blog he wrote that "of all the books I have written, I am proudest of this one" and reiterated that it is "not a book for general audiences".
Contents
The book is divided into two parts that together span more than six hundred pages of analysis and reference material. Part One surveys forgery in the broader Greco-Roman world and sets definitions, typologies, and detection criteria. Part Two examines Christian materials and situates pseudepigraphy within controversies over eschatology, Pauline authority, relations to Judaism, church order, Christology, apologetic argument, and later doctrinal debates, including cases of counterforgery where one forged writing answers another.| Part | Chapter | Title |
| Part One | 1 | Introduction |
| Part One | 2 | Forgers, Critics, and Deceived Deceivers |
| Part One | 3 | Terms and Taxonomies |
| Part One | 4 | Forgery in Antiquity, Aspects of the Broader Phenomenon |
| Part One | 5 | Forgery in Antiquity, Motives, Techniques, Intentions, Justifications, and Criteria of Detection |
| Part Two | 6 | Introduction to Forgery and Counterforgery in Early Christian Polemics |
| Part Two | 7 | Early Pauline Forgeries Dealing with Eschatology |
| Part Two | 8 | Later Forgeries Dealing with Eschatology |
| Part Two | 9 | Forgeries in Support of Paul and His Authority |
| Part Two | 10 | Forgeries in Opposition to Paul and His Message |
| Part Two | 11 | Anti-Jewish Forgeries |
| Part Two | 12 | Forgeries Involving Church Organization and Leadership |
| Part Two | 13 | Forgeries Involving Debates over the Flesh |
| Part Two | 14 | Forgeries Arising from Later Theological Controversies |
| Part Two | 15 | Apologetic Forgeries |
| Part Two | 16 | Lies and Deception in the Cause of Truth |
Analysis
Ehrman reviews both canonical and noncanonical writings. For each text he evaluates the explicit authorial claim, internal and external evidence for pseudonymity, linguistic and stylistic features, intertextual dependence and source use, manuscript attestation and patristic testimony, proposed date and setting, and the polemical function of the attribution within early Christian disputes.| Text | Focus |
| 2 Thessalonians | forged letters and eschatology |
| Pastoral Epistles | church order and Pauline authority |
| Ephesians and Colossians | authorship and literary dependence |
| 1 Peter and 2 Peter | Petrine voice and testamentary rhetoric |
| Pseudo-Ignatian letters and Apostolic Constitutions | pseudonymous episcopal authority |
| correspondence attributed to Paul and Seneca | fabricated exchange |
| Clementine Homilies and Recognitions | Petrine narrative and anti-Pauline currents |
| Gospel of Peter | docetic passion narrative |
| Gospel of Thomas and Gospel of Philip | sayings composition and sacramental language |
| correspondence of Jesus and Abgar | forged royal letter |
Ehrman defines forgery as a text produced by an author who falsely claims to be a known figure, distinguishing that practice from anonymous writing that later receives a false ascription. He gathers ancient testimonies to authorial deceit, summarizes criteria for detection, and analyzes the motives and literary techniques that forgers used to secure reception. Ehrman argues that surviving discussions by pagan, Jewish, and Christian readers did not treat pseudonymous attribution as a benign convention and that, when detected, such writings were condemned as lies.
Within Christian literature, Ehrman classifies forgeries by polemical function and situates them in disputes over eschatological delay, Pauline authority, relations between church and synagogue, structures of office and leadership, debates about Christ's flesh and nature, defensive apologetic writing, and later doctrinal fights in which forged texts sometimes answer other forgeries. He presents case studies across this range and sets the New Testament writings within that broader landscape.
Reception
Mainstream press coverage highlighted the study's scope and argument. Diarmaid MacCulloch of the London Review of Books called it an "engrossing and learned analysis of early Christian literature" and summarized the core position that "forgery was known as forgery in the ancient world" and designed to deceive. Library Journal judged the treatment "scholarly and thorough" and concluded that the volume is a "valuable addition to the field of scriptural literary criticism", recommending it for researchers and interested lay readers.Specialist reviews examined definitions, evidence, and scope. David Brakke's extended review in The Journal of Religion surveyed about fifty case studies and engaged Ehrman's criteria and historical claims. Einar Thomassen in The Journal of Theological Studies discussed the breadth of the corpus and the analytic category of forgery, assessing points of disagreement while recognizing the study's documentation. Armin D. Baum in Novum Testamentum agreed that ancient readers commonly condemned pseudepigraphy as deceit yet questioned Ehrman's insistence that authenticity always required an author's very words, calling that claim "one step beyond what the numerous relevant sources reveal".
In the Marginalia Review of Books, David Lincicum described the volume as "impressive and wide-ranging", praised its control of sources, and argued that the book sometimes over-reads polemic as an organizing lens while still finding "very little sensationalism" in the presentation.
Forgery and Counterforgery has been cited in later debates about ancient forgery and authorship across biblical and classical fields. Discussions of pseudepigraphy and intellectual deceit in antiquity have engaged Ehrman's definitions, motives, and use of ancient testimony.