1 Peter: Identity and Community in Christ

This course will introduce students to the text of 1 Peter and to issues surrounding its interpretation. A range of scholarly approaches to interpreting 1 Peter will be introduced, and issues explored will include authorship and date, the use made of texts from the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the social and ecclesial contexts of the first readers. Careful attention will be paid to the theological perspectives and convictions expressed in the letter, with particular concern for (i) questions of Christology, and (ii) the identity that 1 Peter asserts for its readers and its consequences for their communal relationships with wider Greco-Roman society. The latter will be explored principally through a focus on the nature of the church as the people of God, as expressed in the use of motifs that traditionally denoted aspects of Israel's identity, such as diaspora (1:1), priesthood (2:9), and living as resident aliens and strangers (2:11). The author's understanding of the implications of their new identity in Christ for the behavior of the first readers will be studied. This course also aims to assist students in apprehending the relevance of 1 Peter in contemporary contexts.