Portrait of an Apostle. Gregory S. MaGee

In Portrait of an Apostle Greg MaGee explores the claim that Colossians and Ephesians are works of forgery that use Paul's authoritative status to gain a hearing. This hypothesis is so often restated in recent scholarship that it is arguably the default position in the field, even though the theory is relatively untested. MaGee argues that such a view does not stand up to close scrutiny. Unsuccessful attempts to imitate Paul usually flounder in their portrayals of Paul, as is evident with the pseudepigraphal Epistle to the Laodiceans and 3 Corinthians. Such is not the case with Colossians and Ephesians. This book attempts to demonstrate that interpretations based on the assumption of Paul's authorship of Colossians and Ephesians are consistently superior to interpretations positing that an admirer of Paul wrote the letters.