The Second Epistle To Timothy

Who is the Author?

The Second Epistle to Timothy is subject to much scholarly debate concerning its author. No other letters in the Pauline corpus face as much contention as the Pastoral Epistles.1 But though these contentions exist, most scholars do argue for Pauline authorship. This position is based on attestation to Paul in the earlier canons of Scripture and by the early patristic figure Irenaeus.2 Much of the disagreement with Pauline authorship did not appear until the nineteenth century, with the emergence of the Baur school. The arguments presented from the Baur school and other later scholars concerned the following issues: historical situation, engagement with Gnosticism, church organization, vocabulary and style, and presentation of theological views and themes. These arguments, however, are invalidated because there is no historical proof for a school of devoted disciples nor that the book is pseudepigraphic. The evidence used to support these conclusions did not account for the ancient practice of using a secretary to write letters; and applying modern-day stipulations to judge these writings is anachronistic.3