Pauline Authorship and the Pastoral Epistles: A Response to S. E. Porter

Abstract

This brief essay suggests an alternative to modern critical orthodoxy which equates historical authorship with canonicity. Rather than settling the issue of authorship on historical grounds, a canonical approach shifts the reference point of exegesis to the biblical Sitz im Leben, where authorship of a document posits it in an authoritative theological tradition. In this case, the Pauline address of the Pastorals locates these letters within (and not outside) the Pauline corpus and so supplies additional details and perspective to the authorized (i.e., canonical) witness of Paul for today's church.