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  • From: "David Inglis" <david AT colonialcommerce.com>
  • To: corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Re: Did Paul know Peter's travel locations?
  • Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2002 00:06:50 -0400


Richard Fellows wrote:

> Dave,
>
> I think it is very likely that some of the Christians in Rome traced their
> faith to Peter. He may have visited Rome when he went to 'another place'
> (Acts 12:17). The fact that Luke does not specifically mention that
> the 'another place' is Rome, may be because he did not want to have to
> embark on an explanation of how Peter's converts had been involved in
> disturbances in Rome. In any case, some from Rome and elsewhere heard
> Peter's preaching in Jerusalem (Acts 2:10,14), and "those who welcomed
> his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were
> added" (Acts 2:41 NRSV). So it is very plausible that Peter was, in a sense,
> the apostle to Rome, whether he visited them in person or not. He may have
> communicated with them by letter, for example to tell them not to call
> anyone unclean, following his vision.

Richard,

I don't buy your argument here. In the first place Acts 2:4 says that
*all* 12 apostles "were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to
speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them." In other words, it
wasn't just Peter. In the second place, the crowd contained "Parthians,
Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near
Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and
Arabs." (Acts 2:9-11) Even though Peter then addressed the crowd on his
own, to take this and suggest that Peter was therefore in some way the
apostle to Rome is pure speculation. Also, mis-quoting from what you
wrote to me below: "I see no reason to assume that Peter ever wrote a
letter to Corinth. It is an unnecessary assumption."

> The Corinthians' knowledge of Cephas, therefore probably originated with
> those Roman Christian Jews who moved to Corinth from Rome after having been
> expelled by Claudius in 49. Prisca and Aquila were not the only believers
> to move from Rome to Corinth. Some of the others opposed Paul, and were
> behind the problems that Paul addresses in 1 & 2 Corinthians (see my last
> e-mail). I see no reason to assume that Peter ever went to Corinth. It is
> an unnecessary assumption.

Your point is valid. The references to Peter actually really only show
that some of the Corinthians knew Peter (although there is no indication
that these were people from Rome), not that he was actually in Corinth.
Indeed, 1 Cor 3:6 indicates that Paul planted the church in Corinth and
Apollos then followed him, but does not mention Peter, so I withdraw my
suggestion about Peter actually being in Corinth. IMHO this then does
make it likely that the Corinthians knowledge of Peter comes from Rome,
but unless I've missed something, there is no real evidence to back this
up.

Dave Inglis
david AT colonialcommerce.com
3538 O'Connor Drive
Lafayette, CA, USA




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