theological grounds for rejecting the pastorals, namely their teaching about the goodness of creation (cf. 1 Timothy 4:1 ff.). The question remains whether Marcion knew these three letters and rejected them as Tertullian says, since in 1 Timothy 6:20 "false opposing arguments" are referred to, with the word for "opposing arguments" being "antithesis", the name of Marcion's work, and so a subtle hint of Marcion's heresy. However, the structure of the Church presupposed is less developed than the one Ignatius of Antioch (who wrote ) presupposes, as well as the fact that not only is "antithesis" itself a Greek word which simply means "opposing arguments" but as it has been noted, the attack on the heretics is not central to the three letters. Late in the 2nd century there are a number of quotations from all three pastoral epistles in Irenaeus' work Against Heresies. The Muratorian Canon () lists the books of the New Testament and ascribes all three pastoral epistles to Paul. Eusebius () calls it, along with the other thirteen canonical Pauline epistles, "undisputed". Exceptions to this positive witness include Tatian, as well as the gnostic Basilides. Possible earlier allusions are found in the letters from Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (), Ignatius to the Ephesians () and Polycarp to the Philippians (), although it is difficult to determine the nature of any such literary relationships. Date Modern scholars generally place its composition some time in the late 1st century or first half of the 2nd century AD, with a wide margin of uncertainty. The term Gnosis ("knowledge") itself occurs in 1 Timothy 6:20. If the parallels between 1 Timothy and Polycarp's epistle are understood as a literary dependence by the latter on the former, as is generally accepted, this would constitute a of 130–155 AD. Likewise, there are a series of verbal agreements between Ignatius and 1 Timothy which cluster around a 14 verse section in 1 Timothy 1. If these parallels between Ignatius and 1 Timothy represent a literary dependence by Ignatius, this would move the date of 1 Timothy even earlier. However, Irenaeus (writing ) is the earliest author to clearly and unequivocally describe the Pastorals. The earliest known writing of 1 Timothy has been found on Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 5259, designated P133, in 2017. It comes from a leaf of a codex which is dated to the 3rd century. Outline Content The epistle opens