Editing First Epistle of Peter (section)

==Context==
The Petrine author writes of his addressees undergoing "various trials" (1 Peter 1:6), being "tested by fire" (which is not a physical reference but a metaphor for [[spiritual warfare]]; 1:7), maligned "as evildoers" (2:12) and suffering "for doing good" (3:17). Based on such internal evidence, biblical scholar John Elliott summarizes the addressees' situation as one marked by undeserved suffering.{{Sfn | Elliott | 2000}}{{Page needed |date= April 2022}} Verse [[1 Peter 3:19|3:19]], "[[Spirits in prison]]", is a continuing theme in Christianity, and one considered by most theologians to be enigmatic and difficult to interpret.<ref>{{Citation | work = Christian Monthly Standard | url = http://www.christianmonthlystandard.com/index.php/preached-to-the-spirits-in-prison-1-peter-318-20/ | title = Preached to the spirits in prison: I Peter iii:18–20}}.</ref>

A number of verses in the epistle contain possible clues about the reasons Christians experienced opposition. Exhortations to live blameless lives (2:15; 3:9, 13, 16) may suggest that the Christian addressees were accused of immoral behavior, and exhortations to civil obedience (2:13–17) perhaps imply that they were accused of disloyalty to governing powers.<ref name= "ReferenceA"/>

However, scholars differ on the nature of persecution inflicted on the addressees of 1 Peter. Some read the epistle to be describing persecution in the form of social [[discrimination]], while some read them to be official persecution.<ref>{{cite book|last1= Mason|first1=Eric F.|last2= Martin|first2=Troy W.|title= Reading 1–2 Peter and Jude : A Resource for Students|date=2014|publisher=Society of Biblical Literature|location= Atlanta, GA |isbn= 978-1-58983737-9 |pages=16–17}}</ref>
[[File:Authentic_Leaf_of_a_Geneva_Bible_1578_-_Translation_of_the_Bible_used_by_many_Protestant_Reformers.jpg|thumb|English translation of 1 Peter from the 1578 [[Geneva Bible]].]]
===Social discrimination of Christians===
Some scholars believe that the sufferings the epistle's addressees were experiencing were social in nature, specifically in the form of verbal derision.{{Sfn | Elliott | 2000}}{{Page needed |date=April 2022}} Internal evidence for this includes the use of words like "malign" (2:12; 3:16), and "reviled" (4:14). Biblical scholar John Elliott notes that the author explicitly urges the addressees to respect authority (2:13) and even honor the emperor (2:17), strongly suggesting that they were unlikely to be suffering from official Roman persecution.  It is significant to him that the author notes that "your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering" (5:9), indicating suffering that is worldwide in scope. Elliott sees this as grounds to reject the idea that the epistle refers to official persecution, because the first worldwide [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution of Christians]] officially meted by Rome did not occur until the persecution initiated by [[Decius]] in AD 250.

===Official persecution of Christians===
On the other hand, scholars who support the official persecution theory take the exhortation to defend one's faith (3:15) as a reference to official court proceedings.<ref name= "ReferenceA" /> They believe that these persecutions involved court trials before Roman authorities, and even executions.{{Citation needed |date=October 2016}}

One common supposition is that 1 Peter was written during the reign of [[Domitian]] (AD 81–96). Domitian's aggressive claim to divinity would have been rejected and resisted by Christians. Biblical scholar Paul Achtemeier believes that persecution of Christians by Domitian would have been in character, but points out that there is no evidence of official policy targeted specifically at Christians. If Christians were persecuted, it is likely to have been part of Domitian's larger policy suppressing all opposition to his self-proclaimed divinity.<ref name= "ReferenceA"/> There are other scholars who explicitly dispute the idea of contextualizing 1 Peter within Domitian's reign. Duane Warden believes that Domitian's unpopularity even among Romans renders it highly unlikely that his actions would have great influence in the provinces, especially those under the direct supervision of the senate such as Asia (one of the provinces 1 Peter is addressed to).<ref>Warden, Duane. "Imperial Persecution and the Dating of 1 Peter and Revelation". ''Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society'' 34:2. 1991</ref>

Also often advanced as a possible context for 1 Peter is the trials and executions of Christians in the Roman province of Bithynia-Pontus under [[Pliny the Younger]]. Scholars who support this theory believe that a famous [[Pliny the Younger on Christians |letter]] from Pliny to Emperor [[Trajan]] concerning the delation of Christians reflects the situation faced by the addressees of this epistle.<ref name= "ReferenceB">Knox, John. "Pliny and I Peter: A Note on I Peter 4:14–16 and 3:15". ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' 72:3. 1953</ref><ref>Downing, F Gerald. "Pliny's Prosecutions of Christians: Revelation and 1 Peter".  ''Journal for the Study of the New Testament'' '''34'''. 1988</ref> In Pliny's letter, written in AD 112, he asks Trajan if the accused Christians brought before him should be punished based on the name 'Christian' alone, or for crimes associated with the name. For biblical scholar John Knox, the use of the word "name" in 4:14–16 is the "crucial point of contact" with that in Pliny's letter.<ref name= "ReferenceB" />  In addition, many scholars in support of this theory believe that there is content within 1 Peter that directly mirrors the situation as portrayed in Pliny's letter. For instance, they interpret the exhortation to defend one's faith "with gentleness and reverence" in 3:15–16 as a response to Pliny executing Christians for the obstinate manner in which they professed to be Christians. Generally, this theory is rejected mainly by scholars who read the suffering in 1 Peter to be caused by social, rather than official, discrimination.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferguson |first=Everett |title=Persecution in the Early Church: Did You Know? |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-27/persecution-in-early-church-did-you-know.html |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=Christian History {{!}} Learn the History of Christianity & the Church |language=en}}</ref>