Short answer
Many scholars say yes. Some letters in the New Testament claim to be by Peter or Paul but were likely written by others in their names. The clearest case is 2 Peter. It opens as the work of Simon Peter, an eyewitness of Jesus. Yet it already counts Paul's letters among "the scriptures", which points to a later time. Most critical scholars also doubt that Paul wrote 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. The early church knew of letters forged in Paul's name, and 2 Thessalonians warns against one. A church elder whose book about Paul went under Paul's name was removed from his office for it. So it was not seen as harmless. The Qur'an warns those who write a book with their own hands and say it is from God (﷾).
Full explanation
2 Peter says it is by Peter
The letter opens with the name Simon Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. It then insists that its writer was an eyewitness. He says he heard the voice from heaven when he was with Jesus on the holy mount.
“Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:”
“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.”
It counts Paul's letters as scripture
Near its end, 2 Peter speaks of "all" of Paul's letters. It says some people twist them, "as they do also the other scriptures". So by the time it was written, Paul's letters had been gathered and were read as scripture beside the Old Testament.
“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”
Ehrman writes that scholars debate the authorship of 2 Peter less than that of any other New Testament book sometimes called a forgery, and that whoever wrote it, it was not Simon Peter. He points to its calling Paul's letters scripture.
Doubted from the start
The church did not agree on 2 Peter for a long time. Around 325, Eusebius, a bishop and the first historian of the church, still listed it among the disputed books. Few critical scholars today think Peter wrote it. Many hold the same view of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, which bear Paul's name.
Eusebius sorts the Christian writings of his day into those accepted by all, those disputed, and those rejected. Among the disputed he lists the letters of James and Jude, the second letter of Peter, and the second and third letters of John.
Ehrman writes that scholars debate the authorship of 2 Peter less than that of any other New Testament book sometimes called a forgery, and that whoever wrote it, it was not Simon Peter. He points to its calling Paul's letters scripture.
Argues that 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus were not written by Paul but by a later follower writing in his name, a view Ehrman reports is held by most critical scholars.
| Letter | Bears the name of | What the evidence shows |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Peter | Simon Peter | Still disputed around 325; few critical scholars think Peter wrote it |
| 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus | Paul | Most critical scholars hold that Paul did not write them |
| To the Laodiceans and the Alexandrians | Paul | Rejected by an early list as forged in Paul's name |
The early church knew about forged letters
2 Thessalonians warns its readers not to be troubled "by letter as from us", a letter falsely in Paul's name. It closes with Paul's own greeting as "the token in every epistle". An early list of the church's books, the Muratorian list, rejects letters to the Laodiceans and the Alexandrians "forged under the name of Paul".
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”
“The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.”
A list of the books read in the church, often dated to the late second century, though some scholars place it in the fourth. It names Paul's letters, then says that letters to the Laodiceans and to the Alexandrians are in circulation, "forged under the name of Paul", and that they and several others cannot be received into the Catholic Church.
Writing in an apostle's name was not harmless
Tertullian, a Christian writer of about 200, tells of a presbyter, a church elder, in Asia. This elder wrote a book about Paul that went under Paul's name. He said he did it out of love for Paul. He was found out and confessed, and he was removed from his office. So the early church did not treat writing in an apostle's name as a harmless custom.
Tertullian says that the writings which wrongly go under Paul's name, and which tell of Thecla, are no licence for women to teach and baptise. He reports that the presbyter in Asia who composed them was convicted, confessed that he had done it out of love for Paul, and was removed from his office.
How Christians answer
Many Christians say the apostles used secretaries, who shaped the wording, so a change of style does not show a different author. Romans names one: Tertius, who wrote the letter down. Others say that writing in a teacher's name was an accepted custom, not a deceit. They add that the church received these letters as scripture.
“I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.”
Eusebius sorts the Christian writings of his day into those accepted by all, those disputed, and those rejected. Among the disputed he lists the letters of James and Jude, the second letter of Peter, and the second and third letters of John.
What the Qur'an says
The Qur'an warns those who write the Book with their own hands and then say it is from Allah (﷾). It says God (﷾) Himself guards the message He sent down. The Qur'an was written down in the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime by the scribes who took it from him.
“Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.”
“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”
Zayd ibn Thabit reports that after many who knew the Qur'an by heart were killed at Yamama, Abu Bakr asked him to gather the Qur'an into one volume, reminding him that he used to write down the revelation for the Messenger of Allah. Zayd collected it from written pieces and from the memories of men, and the finished copy passed from Abu Bakr to Umar and then to Hafsa.
The usual answers
Romans 16:22 — Epistle to the Romans, chapter 16, verse 22
“I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.”
Cited for
Tertius wrote Romans for Paul. A secretary like him explains why 2 Peter and the letters to Timothy and Titus read differently.
The response
Tertius names himself, and Romans is still plainly Paul's. 2 Peter's writer claims to have stood with Jesus on the mount, then counts all of Paul's letters as scripture. A secretary does not explain that.
Where it lands — A secretary changes the wording, not the date of the letter or the name of its author.
Sahih Muslim, Introduction 32 — Muqaddima (Introduction), narration 32
Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak (d. 797 CE) says that the chain of narration is part of the religion, and that without it anyone could say whatever he wished.
Cited for
Muslims have forged reports too. People made up hadith about the Prophet (ﷺ).
The response
They did, and Muslim scholars rejected them. Every hadith had to come with its chain of narrators, and a report was accepted as sound only when that chain was connected through upright, precise narrators. The Qur'an itself was written down in the Prophet's (ﷺ) lifetime.
Where it lands — Islam's scholars checked every report and threw out the forgeries. The New Testament kept letters whose authors the church itself doubted.
Perspectives
Traditional Christian
Peter wrote 2 Peter and Paul wrote the letters to Timothy and Titus. Differences of style come from secretaries, and the church received these letters as scripture.
Paul and Peter used secretaries, so differences of style do not prove a different author.
Rebuttal
A secretary may shape the wording. But 2 Peter's problem is not only style: it already counts all of Paul's letters as scripture, and the church still disputed it in Eusebius's day.
Writing in a teacher's name was an accepted custom in the ancient world, not a deceit.
Rebuttal
The early church did not accept it. 2 Thessalonians warns against a letter falsely from Paul. The Muratorian list rejects letters forged in his name. And Tertullian reports an elder removed from office for a book that went under Paul's name.
The church received these letters as scripture, so their place in the Bible is settled.
Rebuttal
The church was divided over 2 Peter for centuries. Eusebius still listed it among the disputed books around 325. A later vote cannot make Peter the author of a letter he did not write.
The Islamic perspective
Some letters in the New Testament carry an apostle's name, taken by the person who really wrote them. The Qur'an warns against those who write a book with their own hands and say it is from God (﷾).
2 Peter presents itself as the work of Simon Peter, an eyewitness. Yet it counts all of Paul's letters as scripture.
Most critical scholars hold that Peter did not write 2 Peter. They hold that Paul did not write 1 and 2 Timothy or Titus.
The early church knew of letters forged in Paul's name, and rejected them. It removed an elder from office for a book that went under Paul's name.
The Qur'an warns those who write the Book with their own hands and say it is from Allah (﷾). And God (﷾) promises to guard His own message.