Looking for Gold in Mud

Pseudepigraphy is a feature, not a bug, of the generation of the New Testament canon. It is argued here that the common production but unfavorable reception of pseudepigraphy in the early centuries of Christianity and the detection and production of pseudepigraphical literature are all facilitated by the principles of ancient authenticity criticism. Even if the concern shown by ecclesiastical writers over the authentic attribution of works incorporated into an authoritative scriptural collection eventually appears to be overtaken by the centrality of apostolic association, pseudepigraphal or not, a rhetoric of anxiety surrounding pseudepigraphy – with much of its vocabulary drawn from classical authenticity criticism – remains a central aspect of the Christian debate over textual authority and canonicity. Pseudepigraphical practices both impede and drive the canonical process, while pseudepigrapha are both produced and detected by skills learned through ancient educational practices.