New Testament

===Epistles===
The epistles of the New Testament are considered by Christians to be divinely inspired and holy letters, written by the apostles and disciples of Christ, to either local congregations with specific needs, or to [[New Covenant]] Christians in general, scattered about; or "[[catholic epistles]]".

====Pauline letters to churches====
{{Main|Pauline epistles}}
The Pauline letters are the thirteen New Testament books that present [[Paul the Apostle]] as their author.{{Efn|[[Joseph Barber Lightfoot]] in his ''Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians'' writes: "At this point<ref>{{Bibleref2|Gal|6:11}}</ref> the apostle takes the pen from his [[amanuensis]], and the concluding paragraph is written with his own hand. From the time when letters began to be forged in his name<ref>{{bibleref2|2 Thess|2:2||2 Thess. 3:17}}; {{bibleref2|2 Thess|3:17||2 Thess. 3:17}}</ref> it seems to have been his practice to close with a few words in his own handwriting, as a precaution against such forgeries.... In the present case he writes a whole paragraph, summing up the main lessons of the epistle in terse, eager, disjointed sentences. He writes it, too, in large, bold characters (Gr. ''pelikois grammasin''), that his handwriting may reflect the energy and determination of his soul."<ref>{{cite book |last=Lightfoot |first=Joseph Barber |year=1866 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N8ECAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA217 |title=St Paul's Epistle to the Galatians |edition=2nd |publisher=MacMillan & Co |page=217}}</ref>}} Paul's authorship of six of the letters is disputed. Four are thought by most modern scholars to be [[Pseudepigraphy|pseudepigraphic]], i.e., not actually written by Paul even if attributed to him within the letters themselves. Opinion is more divided on the other two disputed letters (2 Thessalonians and Colossians).<ref>[[Jouette Bassler|Bassler, Jouette M.]] (2010). "Paul and his Letters". In Aune, David E. ''The Blackwell Companion to the New Testament''. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 388. {{ISBN|978-1-4443-1894-4}}.</ref> These letters were written to Christian communities in specific cities or geographical regions, often to address issues faced by that particular community. Prominent themes include the relationship both to broader "[[Gentile|pagan]]" society, to Judaism, and to other Christians.<ref>Roetzel, Calvin J. (2009). ''[[iarchive:lettersofpaulcon00roet 0|The Letters of Paul: Conversations in Context]]'' (5th ed.). Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox. p. ix–x {{ISBN|978-0-664-23392-1}}</ref>
*[[Epistle to the Romans]]
*[[First Epistle to the Corinthians]]
*[[Second Epistle to the Corinthians]]
*[[Epistle to the Galatians]]
*[[Epistle to the Ephesians]]<sup>*</sup>
*[[Epistle to the Philippians]]
*[[Epistle to the Colossians]]<sup>*</sup>
*[[First Epistle to the Thessalonians]]
*[[Second Epistle to the Thessalonians]]<sup>*</sup>
[Disputed letters are marked with an asterisk (*).]

====Pauline letters to persons====
The last four Pauline letters in the New Testament are addressed to individual persons. They include the following:
* [[First Epistle to Timothy]]<sup>*</sup>
* [[Second Epistle to Timothy]]<sup>*</sup>
* [[Epistle to Titus]]<sup>*</sup>
* [[Epistle to Philemon]]
[Disputed letters are marked with an asterisk (*).]

All of the above except for Philemon are known as the [[pastoral epistles]]. They are addressed to individuals charged with pastoral oversight of churches and discuss issues of Christian living, doctrine and leadership. They often address different concerns to those of the preceding epistles. These letters are believed by many to be pseudepigraphic. Some scholars (e.g., Bill Mounce, Ben Witherington, R.C. Sproul) will argue that the letters are genuinely Pauline, or at least written under Paul's supervision.

====Hebrews====
The [[Epistle to the Hebrews]] addresses a Jewish audience who had come to believe that Jesus was the [[Messiah in Judaism|Anointed One]] (Hebrew: מָשִׁיחַ—transliterated in English as "Moshiach", or "Messiah"; Greek: Χριστός—transliterated in English as "Christos", for "[[Christ]]") who was predicted in the writings of the Hebrew Scriptures. The author discusses the superiority of the new covenant and the ministry of Jesus, to the [[Mosaic covenant|Mosaic Law Covenant]]<ref>{{Bibleref2|Heb.|1:1–10:18}}</ref> and urges the readers in the practical implications of this conviction through the end of the epistle.<ref>{{bibleverse|Heb.|10:19–13:25}}</ref>

The book has been widely accepted by the Christian church as inspired by God and thus authoritative, despite the acknowledgment of uncertainties about who its human author was. Regarding authorship, although the Epistle to the Hebrews does not internally claim to have been written by the [[Paul of Tarsus|Apostle Paul]], some similarities in wordings to some of the Pauline Epistles have been noted and inferred. In antiquity, some began to ascribe it to Paul in an attempt to provide the anonymous work an explicit apostolic pedigree.<ref>[[Harold W. Attridge|Attridge, Harold W.]] (1989). ''Hebrews''. Hermeneia. Philadelphia: Fortress. pp. 1–6.</ref>

In the 4th century, [[Jerome]] and [[Augustine of Hippo]] supported [[Authorship of the Pauline epistles|Paul's authorship]]. The Church largely agreed to include Hebrews as the fourteenth letter of Paul, and affirmed this authorship until the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. The letter to the Hebrews had difficulty in being accepted as part of the Christian canon because of its anonymity.<ref>[[William L. Lane|Lane, William L.]] (1991). ''Hebrews 1–8''. Word Biblical Commentary series, Vol. 47A. Dallas, Texas: Word Books. p. cliv.</ref> As early as the 3rd century, [[Origen]] wrote of the letter, "Men of old have handed it down as Paul's, but who wrote the Epistle God only knows."<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250106.htm |author=Eusebius |title=Church History, Book VI |chapter=Chapter 25}}</ref>

Contemporary scholars often reject Pauline authorship for the epistle to the Hebrews,{{sfn|Ehrman|2004a|p=323|ps=: "Scholars in the ancient world went about detecting forgeries in much the same way that modern scholars do. They looked to see whether the ideas and writing style of a piece conformed with those used by the author in other writings, and they examined the text for any blatant anachronisms, that is, statements about things that could not have existed at the time the alleged author was writing (like the letter reputedly from an early seventeenth-century American colonist that mentions "the United States")- Arguments of this kind were used by some Christian scholars of the third century to show that Hebrews was not written by Paul or the Book of Revelation by John the son of Zebedee. Modern scholars, as we will see, concur with these judgments. To be sure, neither of these books can be considered a forgery. Hebrews does not claim to be written by Paul (it is anonymous), and the John who wrote Revelation does not claim to be the son of Zebedee (it is therefore homonymous). Are there other books in the New Testament, though, that can be considered forgeries?"}} based on its distinctive style and theology, which are considered to set it apart from Paul's writings.{{sfn|Powell|2009|pp=[https://archive.org/details/introducingnewte00powe/page/431 431–32]}}

====Catholic epistles====
The [[Catholic epistles]] (or "general epistles") consist of both letters and treatises in the form of letters written to the church at large. The term "[[Catholic (term)|catholic]]" ([[Koine Greek|Greek]]: καθολική, ''katholikē''), used to describe these letters in the oldest manuscripts containing them, here simply means "general" or "universal", and does not imply that they are not accepted as canonical by non-Catholic Christians. The authorship of a number of these is disputed.
* [[Epistle of James]], written by an author named "James", often identified with [[James the Just|James, the brother of Jesus]].
* [[First Epistle of Peter]], ascribed to the [[Saint Peter|Apostle Peter]].
* [[Second Epistle of Peter]], ascribed to the Apostle Peter, though widely considered not to have been written by him.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fornberg |first=Tord |translator-last=Gray |translator-first=Jean |year=1977 |title=An Early Church in a Pluralistic Society: A Study of 2 Peter |url=https://archive.org/details/earlychurchinplu0000forn |url-access=registration |type=Thesis |series=Coniectanea Biblica, New Testament Series 9 |location=Lund |publisher=Gleerup |page=14 |isbn=9789140044372 |oclc=1244729487}}</ref>
* [[First Epistle of John]], ascribed to [[John the Apostle]].
* [[Second Epistle of John]], ascribed to John the Apostle.
* [[Third Epistle of John]], ascribed to John the Apostle.
* [[Epistle of Jude]], written under the name of [[Jude, brother of Jesus|Jude, the brother of Jesus and James]].