Questions tagged [authorship]

Use this tag for questions about the origin of Christian writings, especially scripture.

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Why are the gospel writers called the "Four Evangelists" in traditional church commentaries / studies, but not in modern Study Bibles?

In viewing and scanning theological literature and commentaries of the past centuries, the four disciples who wrote the Gospels were called "evangelists", the "Four Evangelists". ...
ray grant's user avatar
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Does Papias’ vine statement impact on his reliability?

Papias was a church father from 60-130 AD. It is often said that he represents an authentic chain of tradition back to the original apostles as he has connections to either John, or elders related to ...
ellied's user avatar
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Is the authorship of the New Testament Sacred Tradition in the Catholic and Orthodox churches?

For example, is the tradition that the Gospel of Matthew was "written according to Matthew" considered an infallible Sacred Tradition in the Catholic or Orthodox churches?
Terjij Kassal's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
140 views

Did Mark write for Peter

I have been told that Peter could not read or write. Mark wrote all of Peters’s stories and scriptures. How can I determine if this true?
Wayne Embry's user avatar
4 votes
5 answers
268 views

How do Catholics and other Christians respond to the US Bishops' teaching that Matthew was not written by it supposed author?

In its Introduction to the Gospel of Matthew, the website of the US Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) states: The ancient tradition that the author was the disciple and apostle of Jesus named ...
Dan Fefferman's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
628 views

How do non-LDS Christians respond to the stylometry argument for the authenticity of the Book of Mormon?

Multiple sources have put forward this argument. For example, the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies article Stylometric Analyses of the Book of Mormon: A Short History (link) affirms: Abstract The ...
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3 votes
1 answer
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Can This be a Valid Catholic Imprimatur?

Recently, I came across a book published in 2012 which indicates an "Imprimatur" (i.e., permission to print) from Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Archbishop, Archdiocese of Cincinnati. ...
DDS's user avatar
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Is there evidence to support Deuteronomy being written before King Josiah?

this previous question asks for evidence that points to Deuteronomy being written during the reign of King Josiah. A lot of modern scholarship today suggests that Deuteronomy was a much later work, ...
ellied's user avatar
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Why don’t the gospel authors specifically identify themselves?

It seems to be the mainstream scholarship view today that the gospels were originally anonymous, and gained their attributed authorship through church fathers . Regardless of whether you believe this ...
ellied's user avatar
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When was the Gospel of Mark written?

We have a variety of questions on when New Testament texts were composed, such as: When Was The Gospel of Luke Written? When was the New Testament written, and by who? (unfortunately, the posts here ...
Hold To The Rod's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
537 views

Which of the Gospels were written by eyewitnesses and why?

Were the Gospels written by eyewitnesses? Which ones? What do scholars & historians have to say on this? What are the best arguments for the eyewitness authorship of (some of) the Gospels? Even if ...
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2 votes
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Author of the "Imperfect Work" and Where to Find a Copy of It

In the writings of St. Alphonsus Liguori, e.g., Dignity and Duties of the Priest, he often makes mention of the author of the "Imperfect Work" without saying who this author is. I suspect ...
DDS's user avatar
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When was the New Testament written, and by who?

My question is when the New Testament was written and by whom the New Testament was written? I guess strongly that there had been so difficulty in writing the Bible at that time, because there must ...
bak1936's user avatar
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4 answers
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What evidence and authority make The Song of Solomon a work of spiritual inspiration and not an erotic poem?

Is it not true that the place of this book in the Jewish bible was not established until sometime in the early Christian era? If that is so, is it not presumptuous to deem it as being among the so-...
Las Gayle's user avatar
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0 answers
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How does Ehrman support his assertion that the "we" passages in Acts represent a false claim to eyewitness status for those particular events?

A Wikipedia article on the Authorship of Luke–Acts has a quote from Bart E. Ehrman commenting on the stylistic insertions of the "we" passage as indicating a forgery: According to Bart D. ...
Jess's user avatar
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Is the mainstream scholarly view that the Gospels are anonymous works?

The skeptic, Matthew Wade Ferguson, writes the following at the infidels.org website: The mainstream scholarly view is that the Gospels are anonymous works, written in a different language than that ...
Jess's user avatar
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What is the term for God's chosen people who were inspired to write the Bible?

God chose men to write different parts of the Bible. What were these men called?
Ally C's user avatar
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Who actually were writers of the Gospels? [duplicate]

Who actually wrote the Gospels? Take the example of Matthew, is it Matthew who wrote this book himself or did someone consolidate all the materials from what Matthew had?
Moses's user avatar
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Was it and is it a common Christian belief to say that the 5 books of the Torah were written by Moses?

Was it and is it a common Christian belief to say that the 5 books of the Torah were written by Moses? Is there anything in the New Testament or by church fathers (that might be of relevance to ...
barlop's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is the date of final compilation of the books of the Old Testament an integral feature of the Wellhausen Documentary Hypothesis?

So, using the Wellhausen Documentary Hypothesis scholars argue the books of the OT are finally compiled much later than the "Traditional" view. Are the dates for the final edition critical to the ...
Andrew Shanks's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
587 views

Who assigned the gospel authors originally?

According to the theory of the originally anonymous gospels, the titles of the most ancient surviving manuscripts were added later on. I would like to know: For each gospel, how many different, ...
Kantomk's user avatar
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When Was The Gospel of Luke Written?

I have been trying to search this on the web and it seems I keep getting conflicting information. Apparently, modern scholars believe the Gospel of Luke was written in the second century AD. If this ...
JRosebrookMaye's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
355 views

Does John's Gospel explicitly state that it was written by the disciple John?

Despite the traditional ascriptions all four are anonymous, and none were written by eyewitnesses. [Wikipedia] Doesn't John's gospel explicitly state that it was written by the disciple John?
guesty's user avatar
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Does Pope Francis write the books ascribed to him, or are they ghostwritten?

A number of books have been published with Pope Francis as the author, such as The Joy of the Gospel: Evangelii Gaudium in 2013 and Praise Be To You – Laudato Si'; On Care for Our Common Home in 2015. ...
Thunderforge's user avatar
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James first or Paul's letters

Is the letter of James promoting "Faith without deeds . . .is empty" in response to Paul or are the Pauline references to "Faith alone" a response to James? In reading them it seems James might the ...
Jim H's user avatar
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2 answers
459 views

Who documented biblical events before Moses? [closed]

From the creation until the time of Moses, who documented the events? Abraham? Prophets? Priests?
MrChaz's user avatar
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How many authors wrote the Old and New Testament? [duplicate]

I know how many people wrote the Bible, that is, around 40. But what percent of that is Old Testament and what percent is New? Note: I know I could spend half an hour looking through the lists to ...
Mark Deven's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
211 views

What did Protestant reformers think about the date and authorship of the New Testament?

Biblical scholars state that the different books of the New Testament were written between 49 and 120 AD, approximately. This means - rather uncontroversially - that the activity of the Church (i.e. ...
luchonacho's user avatar
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6 votes
4 answers
3k views

Were the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts written by the same person?

Can you please explain why some people would argue that the Gospel of Luke and Acts were written by the same person?
sarah.c's user avatar
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1 answer
492 views

Is Any New Testament Book Undisputed In Its Authorship?

It seems as though every time I turn around, I find that "the majority of scholars" doubt this person wrote this gospel or letter. It seems as though no book of the NT is immune to this doubting and ...
shiningcartoonist's user avatar
-1 votes
3 answers
719 views

Do Christians believe the gospels were written by some of 12 apostles? [closed]

From studying historical new testament the authors claim the gospels were written 50-100 years after Jesus by people that had no eyewitness connection to Jesus or the 12 apostles (instead collected ...
AA Mon's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
980 views

What evidence is there to support Deuteronomy being written during the reign of King Josiah?

I was reading an article today, and the author claimed that King Josiah sponsored the writing of Deuteronomy. Here's the exact quote: In the seventh century BCE, when the Old Testament’s book of ...
Zenon's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
2k views

In what year was the letter to the Galatians written?

I found conflicting sources on the internet: The first source said the Letter to the Galatians was written between 52-55 AD. The second source said it was written between 48-49 AD. Just comparing ...
karma's user avatar
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13 votes
4 answers
2k views

What are the arguments that Acts was written prior to 70 AD?

What are the reasons, whether theological or secular, for concluding that the book of Acts was written prior to 70 AD? Please also view the related question What are the arguments that the book of ...
Cannabijoy's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
638 views

What are the arguments that the book of Acts was written after 70 AD?

What are the major reasons, whether theological or secular, for concluding that the book of Acts was written after the destruction of the temple in 70 AD? Please also view the related question: What ...
Cannabijoy's user avatar
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12 votes
2 answers
4k views

What arguments are given that Ephesians was not written by Paul?

According to the opening paragraph of the article for the Book of Ephesians on Wikipedia, it is not universally held that Ephesians was written by Paul. A source on that site says, Hoehner surveys ...
Andrew's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
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Who wrote the book of Hebrews and is the book complete?

I was recently reading in the book of Hebrews when I realized that I didn't know who was speaking, and I haven't been able to figure it out. I was just reading a commentary that stated it was James, ...
Jinoshio's user avatar
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4 votes
2 answers
3k views

When and by whom was the Exsultet written?

On Wikipedia I found the Latin text of the Exsultet, but it is not clear when exactly it was written, or by whom. What is its origin?
Erel Segal-Halevi's user avatar
17 votes
4 answers
7k views

Among modern critics who believe in the attributed authorship of the Gospels, what are their arguments?

According to the many online lectures by biblical scholars, not to mention entries in Wikipedia and other online sites, whether the experts are on either the liberal side or the conservative side of ...
cool breeze's user avatar
16 votes
2 answers
3k views

Defense of ancient Enoch authorship

According to the Ethiopian and Eritrean Churches, the Book of Enoch was written by Enoch himself around the year 3300 BC. I have seen statements like, "outside of Ethiopia, no one has defended this ...
ThaddeusB's user avatar
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0 votes
1 answer
147 views

What is biblical theology? [duplicate]

My understanding of biblical theology is that it is a theological understanding that is presented by a book of the Bible. Does it automatically become systematic theology when you pull from another ...
David Leathers's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
5k views

Did Matthew the Tax Collector author the Gospel? [closed]

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Matthew 9:9 Did Matthew the Tax Collector ...
Jim G.'s user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
287 views

Why does Isaiah not mention himself after chapter 39?

Why is it that after the 39th chapter of Isaiah that there is no more third person. In addition, if Isaiah composed this book why is it in third person to begin with? Are there three authors to Isaiah?...
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5 votes
1 answer
8k views

Who were Agur and Lemuel?

The book of Proverbs lists different authors. Some are given names (Like Solomon - Proverbs 1:1) while some have no names like "Sayings of the Wise (Proverbs 22:17, 24:23). We also read in Proverbs ...
user10077's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
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For whom did Solomon write Proverbs?

Is there anything in Scripture or Hebrew historical documents that says for whom Proverbs was written? Did Solomon expect his sons to read them or were they for the people of Israel? Please provide ...
user2956947's user avatar
3 votes
6 answers
10k views

Was Bible Revealed to Jesus? (Christian Perspective)

I am asking this question from a Muslim perspective. We are told that Zubur and Injeel (Old Testament and New Testament) were revealed to Moses and Jesus just like Quran was revealed to Muhammad (PBUH)...
TheTechGuy's user avatar
6 votes
3 answers
1k views

Are the Gospels considered anonymous by historians only or by the Catholic Church also?

I have read that the Gospels were anonymous, and much later they were named Mark, Mathew, Luke and John (and Luke, Mark and Mathew very similar compared with John). Now is this more of from a ...
user1361315's user avatar
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11 votes
8 answers
21k views

How did Moses write the events which happened ~2000 years before him?

Except the book of Genesis, I believe that it is possible to make some plausible possibilities on how the books of the Bible were written. Moses wrote about himself, Joshua recorded his conquest of ...
Mawia's user avatar
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8 votes
3 answers
2k views

Psalm 14 and psalm 53 are similar?

Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 are almost identical with little differences. Is there any reason why the same psalm is repeated? Are these psalms composed by the same author?
Mawia's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
320 views

Does specific authorship of a given book of the Bible "matter"? [closed]

Based on a variety of previous questions, it seems that specific authorship of many parts of the Bible are not known for sure. For example (though I realize there are traditions of who wrote what): ...
warren's user avatar
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