If you’d like to read my earlier posts on this subject, simply click on my name above. The most substantial arguments against Pauline authorship are concerned with issues of increased institutionalization in the Church and questions regarding supposed differences in theology from Paul’s “genuine” epistles. The issue of “institutionalization” is an intriguing one. The Pastoral Epistles – at least 1 Timothy and Titus – describe in greater detail than other of Paul’s letters the role of Bishops, Presbyters and Deacons. This would be the focus of the concern regarding “fr?hkatholizmus” (early Catholicism) that I mentioned in an earlier post. It is true that two of the three Pastoral Epistles spend more time describing the functions of those installed in Church offices, but it is not clear that this represents such a great leap in development as opposed to the normal, and I would argue necessary, evolution in the organizational structure of the Church. For one thing, Paul at the beginning of Philippians sends the letter to the Church at Philippi “with the bishops and deacons” (Phil. 1:1). Whatever the role of these offices at this early stage, they are in existence and will continue to grow and develop through the Christian centuries. Paul as Apostle exercises authority over his churches, as his letters make clear, but Paul was not able to be everywhere at once, even when not imprisoned! But local leadership did exist in Paul’s lifetime, even early in his career (see Paul’s earliest letter:1 Thess. 5:12-13), and Paul desired such leadership also. Harry O. Maier says that “the process of institutionalization was relatively open while Paul was still alive,” but he also states that “we may assume that institutions would have quickly developed to provide the kind of community governance necessary for the continuation of the Church” (The Social Setting of the Ministry as Reflected in The Writings of Hermas, Clement and Ignatius, WLUP, 2002). And the reality seems to be that the sorts of Church offices described in the Pastoral Epistles are still in an early stage of development and flux. The three-fold order of Bishop, Presbyter and Deacon – already assumed by Ignatius of Antioch in the early 100’s – are not clearly defined in our letters. That is, Bishop and Presbyter are not necessarily separate offices, but seem to be terms that describe the same office (Titus 1:5-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 5:17-19). Order in the Church was essential and the fact that Paul was a charismatic leader, either personally or sociologically, does not mean he would forego structure, however slowly or quickly it developed. If he is facing his own death, would he not want to support and mentor his protégés? In my next post I’ll comment on Paul’s writings on women, and conclude my reflections on Pauline authorship. John W. Martens

John W. Martens is an associate professor of theology at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minn,where he teaches early Christianity and Judaism. He also directs the Master of Arts in Theology program at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity. He was born in Vancouver, B.C. into a Mennonite family that had decided to confront modernity in an urban setting. His post-secondary education began at Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas, came to an abrupt stop, then started again at Vancouver Community College, where his interest in Judaism and Christianity in the earliest centuries emerged. He then studied at St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, and McMaster University, with stops at University of Haifa and University of Tubingen. His writing often explores the intersection of Jewish, Christian and Greco-Roman culture and belief, such as in "let the little children come to me: Children and Childhood in Early Christianity" (Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 2009), but he is not beyond jumping into the intersection of modernity and ancient religion, as in "The End of the World: The Apocalyptic Imagination in Film and Television" (Winnipeg: J. Gordon Shillingford Press, 2003). He blogs at  www.biblejunkies.com and at www.americamagazine.org for "The Good Word." You can follow him on Twitter @biblejunkies, where he would be excited to welcome you to his random and obscure interests, which range from the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Timberwolves, to his dog, and 70s punk, pop and rock. When he can, he brings students to Greece, Turkey and Rome to explore the artifacts and landscape of the ancient world. He lives in St. Paul with his wife and has two sons. He is certain that the world will not end until the Vancouver Canucks have won the Stanley Cup, as evidence has emerged from the Revelation of John, 1 Enoch, 2 Baruch, and 4 Ezra which all point in this direction.