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General epistles are books in the New Testament in the form of letters. They are termed "general" because for the most part their intended audience seems to be Christians in general rather than individual persons or congregations as is the case with the Pauline epistles. However, 2 John and 3 John are included in this group despite their addresses respectively to the "elect lady", speculated by many to be the church itself, and to "Gaius", about whom there has been much speculation but little in the way of conclusive proof as to his identity.There has been considerable speculation as to the authorship of these works. All but the most conservative scholars tend to believe 2 Peter to be a pseudonymous forgery, but these scholars are adamant in their defense of its authenticity and place in the Biblical canon. Protestant Conservatives tend to attribute the books of James and Jude to Jesus' younger half-brothers, while Roman Catholics and others who hold to the doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity of MaryThe Perpetual Virginity of Mary is a Catholic doctrine of faith which states that Mary, the mother of Jesus, remained an actual virgin, implying both "virginal disposition" and "physical integrity", before, during, and after the birth of Jesus. This inclu see this, obviously, as hereticalHeresy according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a "theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church.
Listed in order of their appearance in the New Testament, the General Epistles are:
- Epistle of JamesThe Epistle of James is a book of the New Testament, best known for its teaching that " faith without works is dead" (James 2:26 KJV). Authorship The author identifies himself in the opening verse as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ".
- First Epistle of PeterIn Christianity, the First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. Doubt has been cast of the Second Epistle of Peter since early times, but this First Epistle was accepted with less difficulty into the Biblical canon. The author identifies himse
- Second Epistle of PeterThe Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible. The opening verse identifies itself as having been written by Simeon Peter, who has been identified with Saint Peter, although nowhere else in the New Testament is he referred to as
- First Epistle of JohnThe First Epistle of John is a book of the Bible New Testament. It the fourth of the catholic or "general" epistles. It was traditionally held to have been written by John the Evangelist, and probably also at Ephesus, and when the writer was in advanced a
- Second Epistle of JohnThe Second Epistle of John is a book of the Bible New Testament. It is addressed to "the elect lady," and closes with the words, "The children of thy elect sister greet thee;" but some would read instead of "lady" the proper name Kyria. Of the thirteen ve
- Third Epistle of JohnThe Third Epistle of John is a book of the Bible New Testament. It is addressed to Caius, or Gaius, but whether to the Christian of that name in Macedonia ( Acts 19:29) or in Corinth ( Romans 16:23) or in Derbe (Acts 20:4) is uncertain. It was written for
- Epistle of Jude
Additionally, some scholars include the anonymous Book of Hebrews as falling within this group; its traditional title is derived from its contents, not a specific address within the letter. Old tradition ascribed it to Paul, but its writing style makes this extremely unlikely, and almost no modern scholar accepts this idea currently.
See also: Epistle
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