Amsler, Frédéric <br/><br/>
Pseudepigraphy and apocryphal literature: Revisiting an ancient practice in the light of cultural memory 

 -  2016.<br/>							 
<br/><br/> 9 
<br/><br/> Pseudepigraphy is a complex concept that continues to provoke discussion amongst scholars as to whether or not it contains an element of deception. Maurice Halbwachs’ cultural memory approach supports the hypothesis that in first century Christianity pseudepigraphy is not an intent to deceive, but a deliberate choice made by a group whose identity became more important than the actual eyewitness testimony, because the historical memory of Jesus of Nazareth had faded with time, sustained by a doctrine that needed to be established in written form, and that was legitimated through the use of pseudonyms.