"Letters from Paul" Were Written by Someone Else 200 Years Later

The books of the Bible attributed in the Bible to Paul have been doubted for at least a thousand years. Evidence by scholars is that readers of the Bible before a thousand years ago did not even consider they were actual letters written by an actual Paul. Back then it was almost universally understood written material was penned by people other than the name used. In the case of lectures or literature in general, they knew a published and circulated "letter" was written as literature to be widely circulated but never sent as a letter.

A powerful case that the Paul "letters" were written as persuasive religious literature was made in a new book I am reading. It is The Letters of Paul in their Roman Literary Context; Reassessing Apostolic Athorship by Nena E. Livesey. Livesey is a Professor Emerita at the University of Oklahoma. (I must warn my hard copy cost $100 from Barnes and Noble. Maybe there is a cheaper source.) 

Professor Livesey meticulously follows how the Paul letters have been regarded since books and other literature has discussed them. Readers who follow the Paul stuff know some letters the Bible claims were written by Paul are divided into those "generally believed" to be from the pen of Paul and those most believed to have been written by others. However, agreement on this is far from universal even among the most fervent Christians and Christian scholars. 

Livesay writes that up until about 1800, none of the "letters" were not regarded as history nor as written by someone named Paul. Instead they were considered general lectures and writing to believers about the faith by unknown authors. Those using the name "Paul" were not trying to deceive, they knew readers at the time would see their writing as being in the common style then. Readers then did not regard the authors as imposters because they also knew the popular style of that day. Starting about 1800, however, a series of well know writers in the faith began treating the "Paul" writing as history which it was never intended to be. These writers were fervent Christians and concluded the Paul letters had to be historical documents because they spelled out the faith so correctly. The writers then used the letters to confirm what the faith is supposed to believe, circular reasoning. 

The Paul letters were in a style not used at the time they were supposed to have been written. The Paul travels and new churches are internally inconsistent and could not have happened. Instead, everything in the letters point toward unknown authors writing about 200 years after the alleged life of "Paul."