The Gospel of Peter

What is The Gospel of Peter?

The Gospel of Peter is a writing found in 1886 by a French archeologist named Urbain Bouriant. He found what remains preserved in the dry sand of Egypt. The fragments detail a first-person account of Peter a week prior to the passion week, then details his time during and after. The date of the paper is debated, but most scholars assume the early to mid-2nd century which is fairly early for such a document. 

An Issue With The Gospel of Peter:

One of the largest issues is the text is a clear pseudepigrapha text. A pseudepigrapha text is written in the name of someone but is not actually that author. This is usually done to promote one's ideas. The primary reason scholars assume this is because it was written far after Peter had died. Peter died in the year 64 AD. How could he have written a document most scholars assume was written in the early to mid-2nd century? It simply is not possible unless Peter was a zombie which seems rather improbable. 

Works Cited:

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Gospel of Peter". Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Apr. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gospel-of-Peter. Accessed 30 November 2022.

Kirby, Peter. "Historical Jesus Theories." Early Christian Writings. 2022. 30 Nov. 2022 <http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/1clement-hoole.html>.

O'Connor, Daniel William. "St. Peter the Apostle". Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Aug. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Peter-the-Apostle. Accessed 30 November 2022.

Strobel, Lee. The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1998 (P. 27).