This paper asks whether the disputed Pauline letters in the New Testament should be used in forming a Pauline theology if they are truly pseudonymous. Increasingly, some evangelicals affirm that you can. However, this paper’s thesis is that you cannot form a Pauline theology from pseudo-Pauline letters.
First, you cannot form a Pauline theology from pseudonymous letters because ancient letters functioned as substitutes for one’s actual physical presence. Various epistolary theorists (e.g., Cicero, Letters to His Friends 12,30,1) in antiquity indicated this was the function of letters. Many epistles in antiquity demonstrate that they serve as substitutes for one’s real presence.
Second, you cannot truly form a Pauline theology from pseudo-Pauline letters because they would usurp the unique and normative authority of the apostles of Jesus Christ, in this case, Paul. Various New Testament texts on the apostles’ authority show this as true (1 Cor 9:1–3; 14:37–38; 2 Cor 10-13; Gal 1:1; 1:11–2:10; Phlm 8; 2 Thess 2:2).
Third, you cannot form a genuine Pauline theology from pseudonymous letters because the NT evidence concerning pseudonymity does not support the practice. The teachings of various NT texts on the subject of pseudonymity do not favor its use (2 Thess 2:2; Rev 22:18–19; the Pauline signatures: 1 Cor 16:21; Gal 6:11; Col 4:18; 2 Thess 3:17; Phlm 19).
Fourth, you cannot form a genuine Pauline theology from pseudo-Pauline letters because the responses of early Christian leaders to pseudonymity show that they thought such writings were deceptive and were consequently rejected for that reason (Eusebius, Eccl Hist 6.12,2ff.; Tertullian, On Prescription Against Heretics 21; Tertullian, On Baptism 17; Origen, On Principles, Preface 8, etc.).
Though some evangelicals (e.g., Bauckham, Marshall) have argued that a Pauline theology can be formed from the so-called pseudo-Pauline letters in the NT, this paper concludes that if those epistles are pseudonymous, then the best that one may do is form a theology based on what someone thought Paul might have said—which is not a genuine Pauline theology. Instead, you would be deriving your theology from letters that have pseudo-recipients, circumstances, and situations that Paul supposedly addressed. Given the cumulative evidence, a genuine Pauline theology simply cannot be formed from pseudonymous letters because they were not written by the apostle Paul. This conclusion is consistent with what this author has shown elsewhere, viz., that pseudonymity was rejected by the early church because such writings were considered fraudulent and deceptive. One ought to reconsider that the disputed Pauline letters in the NT are instead authentic.