Who are the authors of each of the New Testament epistles?

Answer 1

There are twenty-one epistles or letters in the New Testament, including Hebrews. Of these, the only epistles for which the author is really known are the epistles of Paul.

Paul wrote Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians and Philemon. Many scholars believe he also wrote 1 Thessalonians and Philippians.

2 Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy and Titus are sometimes referred to as pseudo-Pauline epistles, as the majority of critical scholars believe that they were written by anonymous authors long after the time of Paul. In fact, 2 Thessalonians 2:2 implicitly tells the reader that forged Pauline letters had been circulating. Whether or not this was a genuine Pauline epistle, this statement certainly warns us that not all Paul's epistles were authentic.

The Epistles of James, Peter, John and Jude were all written pseudonomously. 2 Peter actually includes the text of the Epistle of Jude! Jude, in turn, while intended to be read as if written by Jude in the first century, stands with its readers and refers to the apostles in the distant past.