The Pastoral Letters

The Pastoral Letters include First and Second Timothy, and Titus. Although the claim is made that all three letters were written by Paul, the vast majority of scholars believe them to be pseudonymous (written by someone other than Paul). The letters assume an established church, not the missionary movement which was the work of Paul. In addition, religion is about correct belief. One is saved by belief in doctrine, not by faith in the experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

I myself wonder why these letters are part of the Christian canon. It is one thing to name a work after a well known figure to support the ideas of that figure. That was a common practice in the ancient world. These letters go well beyond that. In each case, a deliberate attempt is made to trick the reader into thinking that the letter is from Paul. The author of First Timothy has Paul recall events in his early life (1: 13) while the author of Second Timothy invents what sounds like a farewell speech by Paul (4: 6-8). For me, such deception represents fraud.

All this wouldn’t make much difference except that some controversial ideas are found in these letters. First Timothy was written toward the end of the first century after Paul had died. The historical Timothy was a traveling companion of Paul. We know that the letter was not written by Paul because of the attention to church officers—Bishops, Deacons, and Elders—which did not come until after Paul’s time (3: 1-13). The letter contains a rather nasty polemic against false teachers (1: 3-7). More troubling are some well known teachings about the role of women in the church (2: 8-15). Women are not allowed to teach, or to have authority over men, and will be saved by childbearing. These unfortunate second century views continue to determine policy in some churches today.

The author of Second Timothy congratulates Timothy on being a third generation Christian—his grandmother and mother preceded him (1:5). Obviously this Timothy was not the traveling companion of Paul, and the apostle was not the author of this letter. As I indicated above, this letter contains the famous farewell speech of Paul. “I have fought the good fight to the end. I have run the race to the finish (4:6-8).” The letter is also directed against false teachers (2: 14-26) with an emphasis on correct belief. The one idea of interest to me is the author’s claim that all scripture is the inspired word of God (3:6). People will obviously differ as to the precise meaning of inspired. As I have suggested throughout this blog, the books of the New Testament are very human creations. The deliberate use of deception by the author of Second Timothy helps to make this point.

The historical Titus was a Gentile who Paul converted to Christianity. Paul brought him to the famous meeting in Jerusalem where questions concerning the conditions under which Gentiles would be admitted to the faith were decided. The Titus of this letter is not the one who traveled with Paul to Jerusalem. Again, the letter deals with matters of interest to an established church, rather than the household churches founded by Paul as part of his missionary movement (1: 5-9). The letter contains a vicious attack against false teachers (1: 10-16), and an emphasis on sound doctrine as the path to salvation. Beyond that, the letter offers little else of interest.

I recommend that Church leaders meet together as a Council, and vote these three letters out of the canon. Please read them yourself. You may have a different opinion.