72 stanley e. porter
wholly fabricated context. such a position results in what has been called
double pseudonymy, that is, there is both a non-Pauline author and a
non-authentic audience represented within the letter.18 more than that,
attempts to locate the Pastoral epistles within the post-Pauline era are of
necessity circular—at least as circular, if not more so, than an argument
based upon the Pastoral epistles in relation to the Pauline chronology. Per-
sonal references are said to reflect the fact that the letter either contains
authentic fragments or includes actual reminiscences that are still perti-
nent to the writing of the letter; or purported elements of early Catholi-
cism are said to fit within a context in which there was a rise of ecclesial
institutionalization for which this is evidence; or purported gnostic ele-
ments within the letters are said to provide support for locating the letters
within an early second-century context of opposition to gnosticism. in
other words, once the Pastoral epistles are separated from any Pauline
chronology, they become doubly pseudepigraphal and, in fact, more diffi-
cult to locate within the Pauline and early church chronology than if they
were located within it. as a solution to the issue of Pauline pseudepigra-
phy of the Pastoral epistles, appeal to Pauline chronology does not solve
the issues, but it raises more unresolved issues.
Post-Acts 28 Release for Composition
the second position to consider with regard to Pauline chronology is that
the Pastoral epistles were written in a period after Paul’s release from
imprisonment in rome as recorded in acts 28 and up to and including a
second roman imprisonment that led to his death. there are two major
factors that have motivated the notion that Paul composed the Pasto-
ral epistles after his release from roman imprisonment in acts 28 and
before his death during a second roman imprisonment. the first is the
same major issue that first generated theories regarding pseudonymous
authorship—Pauline chronology. this does not mean that issues regard-
ing content, style, and theology are not important, however, because they
do play a role in this and the following positions, as will be observed
below, but they are not primary. the second major factor is some church
tradition that indicates that Paul may have been released from prison and
18 stanley e. Porter, “exegesis of the Pauline letters, including the deutero-Pauline
letters,” in Porter (ed.), Handbook to Exegesis of the New Testament (leiden: Brill, 1997),
503–53, here 539. see david g. meade, Pseudonymity and Canon (Wunt 39; tübingen:
mohr siebeck, 1986), 127, who uses the term “double pseudonymity.”