Numbers of letters paul wrote including false inscription?

Answer 1

Great question!

One way to approach the question is to determine which Pauline letters were included in The Bible as we know it today, and which ones were not, from an historical perspective.

Noted Reformed scholar J. N. D. Kelly indicates that "The first official document which prescribes the twenty-seven books of our New Testament as alone canonical is Athanasius's Easter Letter for the year 367, but the process [of establishing the canon] was not everywhere complete until at least a century and a half later." (Kelly 1978, p. 60)

As Kelly points out, the development of the canon was a gradual process. Based on St. Athanasius' 367 A.D. listing of the NT canon, earlier writings such as

• Acts of Paul and Thecla (c. 180), and
• Acts of Peter and Paul (c. 200)

were likely considered as not having apostolic authority behind them; i.e. Unless a book could be shown to come from the pen of an apostle, or at least to have the authority of an apostle behind it, it was peremptorily rejected, however edifying or popular with the faithful it might be. (Kelly 1978, p. 60)

The process, as Kelly points out, of ruling out other texts such as

• Apocalypse of Paul (c. 380)

would be completed later in synods and councils.

For example, in 382 Pope Damasus convoked a synod of bishops which identified a list of scriptural books identical to the Council of Trent's (1545-1563) formally defined canon. In 393 the Council of Hippo reiterated the list, as did the First Council of Carthage four years later. The list was given again in 419 at the Second Council of Carthage. (cf. Counting the Canon, by Steven L. Kellmeyer, Catholic Answers Website)

Thus, whether one goes by St. Athanasius' 367 A.D. count, Pope Damasus' 382 A.D. count, the Council of Catharge's 393 A.D. count, the Fist Council of Carthage's 397 A.D. count, the Second Council of Carthage's 419 A.D. count, or the Council of Trent's 1545-1563 A.D. count, one has the following 14 letters in the Pauline corpus:

• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Galatians
• Ephesians
• Philippians
• Colossians
• 1 Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Titus
• Philemon
• Hebrews

REFERENCES

Kelly, J. Early Christian Doctrines, (San Francisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1978.)

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. The New American Bible, (Iowa Falls: IA, World Bible Publishers, Inc. 1991).