The letter opens with these words: 'From Peter, apostle of Jesus Christ'. Almost at the end of the letter we read this: 'I write you this brief letter with the help of Silas (Silvanus), whom I regard as a faithful Christian brother' (5: 12).

Christian tradition has upheld what the opening of the letter states, that the man who sent this letter intended for the churches scattered over Asia Minor, was Peter, leader of the original twelve apostles, who ended his life in Rome. In 5: 13 greetings are sent from 'your sister church in Babylon' and we know that both Jews and Christians referred to the city of Rome by the pseudonym of 'Babylon'. The power and evil that had once been associated with ancient Babylon, the conqueror of Judah, had become associated with Rome. According to tradition, Peter died a martyr's death in Rome before the reign of the emperor Nero ended in A.D. 68. Peter's letter could have been written in the last years of his life, perhaps just before or just after the attack on the Christians in Rome by Nero who tried to put the blame on them for the fire which destroyed a large part of the city in A.D. 64.

The traditional view has, however. been questioned by some scholars on the following grounds: (i) that the letter is written in Greek much more polished than might be expected of a Galilean whose mother tongue was Aramaic, (ii) that it does not give the impression of coming from someone who had the close personal relationship with Jesus which Peter had, according to the records of the gospels and (iii) that it gives the impression of having been written when the Church was facing organized, official persecution from the Roman authorities at a time long after Nero's mad attack on the Christians of one church. Organized persecution of the Church by the Roman authorities did not begin until the last years of the first century A.D. We should look at each of these points.

(i) Undoubtedly the Greek in which the letter is written is fluent and polished but if we regard the actual expression of the letter as the work of Silas (Silvanus, see 5: 12) an explanation can be offered from our knowledge of Paul's co-worker. Silas is the Greek and Silvanus the Latin form of the same name, and we may identify the man who had this name with an important Christian in the early Church. He was sent from Jerusalem with the letter which was to be circulated to the Gentile churches (Acts 15:22, 27, 32). He became a co-worker with Paul (Acts 15:37--40, 16; 2 Corinthians I: 19; Acts 17, 18:5). The opening verse of each of the letters to the Thessalonians names Silas, along with Timothy, as joining with Paul in writing to the Christians in Thessalonica (l Thessalonians 1:1 and 2 Thessalonians I :1). Acts 16:7 indicates that Silas, like Paul, had Roman citizenship. Silas, there-fore, was not only a co-worker with Paul, but a co-writer, and almost certainly the man who wrote out the letter sent on behalf of the Church from Jerusalem as well as being entrusted to deliver and explain it (Acts 15:22-23 and 32). Such a man would have been a very capable secretary for Peter, able to polish what was dictated to him.

(ii) The intention of the letter is to strengthen Gentile Christians who are facing hostility from those around them, not to describe the sender's personal relationship with Jesus during his earthly ministry. In fact, the letter contains a number of references which indicate that the sender had a considerable knowledge of Jesus' life and teaching. For example, he states that he was a witness of Jesus' sufferings (5: I) and in 5:2 there seems to be a recollection of the commissioning of Peter to be an apostle in John 21: 15-17. In the moral teaching of the letter, there are distinct recollections of the sayings of Jesus as recorded in the gospels.

(iii) Generally, the various references in the letter to suffering and hostility from others can be taken to refer to a hostile, pagan environment rather than to organized, official persecution from the Roman authorities. It is possible, however, that 4:12 and 16 indicate something more violent; the original Greek in 4: 12 means 'testing by fire'. In 2: 13-17 the readers are instructed to respect the emperor and those in authority, as part of their duty as Christians, and this does not indicate that state authority is opposed to the Church.

After considering the points raised by critical scholars about the author-ship of the letter, we do not think they are strong enough to set aside the traditional view that the content of the letter came from Peter, who acknowledges the help of another Christian, Silas, in the writing of it. The teaching of the letter contains nothing which could not be attributed to Peter in Rome towards the end of his life. The kerygma of the early Church is apparent and the use of the Jewish Scriptures is notable.

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