First off, I just wanna say that I’m glad nothing else bad happened yesterday. So I hope that the world and the internet can resume a place or normality for the next few days 🙏

And look, I know that my biblical “scholarship” comes totally out of left field when compared to the rest of my blog. But I’m just gonna say it: this stuff gets hits. And I’m not claiming to be the next Bart Ehrman. But I’ve always said that at my core I’m a historian. And that’s what this blog is. It’s not never ending shitposting or deranged ramblings. It’s history. And when I die, which I stated yesterday will probably be by firing squad, this is how people will remember me.

So let’s explore the topic at hand: the death of Peter and Paul by the hands of Christians in the first century CE. I’m not saying that that’s what happened. I’m saying that’s a claim. And I’m not saying it’s a good claim, but it does provide a few interesting points.

The passage often pointed to as evidence is in Ist Clement chapter 5. For those who don’t know, 1st Clement is one of the earliest Christian texts not found in the New Testament. It was written in the late first century. Because I’m a proud graduate of Reddit University, I often rely on the scholarly work of my peers. So this excerpt is pulled directly from Reddit in both the original Greek and English translation:

“διὰ ζῆλον καὶ φθόνον οἱ μέγιστοι καὶ δικαιότατοι στύλοι ἐδώχθησαν καὶ ἕως θανάτου ἤθλησαν λάβωμεν πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν ἡμῶν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἀποστόλους· Πέτρον, ὃς διὰ ζῆλον ἄδικον οὐχ ἕνα οὐδὲ δύο ἀλλὰ πλείονας ὑπήνεγκεν πόνους, καὶ οὕτω μαρτυρήσας ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὸν ὀφειλόμενον τόπον τῆς δόξης. διὰ ζῆλον καὶ ἔριν Παῦλος ὑπομονῆς βραβεῖον ὑπέδειξεν, ἑπτάκις δεσμὰ φορέσας, φυγαδευθείς, λιθασθείς, κήρυξ γενόμενος ἔν τε τῇ ἀνατολῇ καὶ ἐν τῇ δύσει, τὸ γενναῖον τῆς πίστεως αὐτοῦ κλέος ἔλαβεν, δικαιοσύνην διδάξας ὅλον τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ τέρμα τῆς δύσεως ἐλθὼν· καὶ μαρτυρήσας ἐπὶ τῶν ἡγουμένων, οὥτως ἀπηλλάγη τοῦ κόσμου καὶ εἰς τὸν ἅγιον τόπον ἀνελήμφθη ὑπομονῆς γενόμενος μέγιστος ὑπογραμμός“.

“Because of envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars have been persecuted and contended unto death. Let us set the good apostles before our eyes. Peter, who because of unrighteous envy, not once or twice but endured many afflictions and having borne witness went to the due glorious place. Because of envy and rivalries, steadfast Paul pointed to the prize. Seven times chained, exiled, stoned, having become a preacher both in the East and in the West, he received honor fitting of his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, unto the boundary on which the sun sets; having testified in the presence of the leaders. Thus he was freed from the world and went to the holy place. He became a great example of steadfastness.”

Agreed that if Peter and Paul’s deaths were a result of state persecution from the Romans, as is often believed, this would be an odd way to describe it. Additionally, you can read a larger explanation of this theory here from Chrissy Hansen and there’s an academic paper floating around from a guy named David Eastman (that I didn’t read).

There’s a few reasons why I find this theory interesting. First off, in my view,, it provides a greater insight into early Christianity as socio/political movement which mainstream scholars often fail to explore. I agree with JD Crossan that the Jesus movement was a response to Roman power and authority. While there was little distinction between religion and politics in the ancient world, I still think when movements spring up against power…and there were many in Judea where the Jesus movement hailed from…that factions come along and turn on themselves, sometimes with violent consequences. That’s the nature of radical politics and I think first century Christianity would have been no different. Secondly, as Hansen pointed out, this solves a great mystery in the New Testament as to why there’s no account of the death of Paul (or Peter) from the author of Luke-Acts, with the implication being that in order to portray Christianity as a unified front, the author omitted the story altogether.

If true, then this puts the nail in the coffin of Jonathon Bernier’s earlier dating of the Gospels. If you recall, I reviewed Bernier’s book Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament a few years ago. I think I was intrigued by his arguments but felt that too much of it hinged on Luke-Acts being completed BEFORE the death of Paul which is Bernier’s explanation for why there’s no account in the New Testament. Today, I think Luke-Acts was certainly aware of Josephus, which would date it post-90CE, presumably well after Paul’s death. BUT, as Bernier’s arguments highlighted, the omission of Paul’s death (as well as the first person passages in Acts) need explanation from scholars, none of which I have found totally convincing.

But before I get on board with the explanation that Peter and Paul were killed by competing Christians, I require more evidence. An opaque passage in Ist Clement and a few omissions only hints at something. It doesn’t explain it. Which leads us to a huge problem in biblical studies particularly regarding the New Testament era: there’s too much we don’t know. The people leading this movement weren’t educated. Outside of Josephus and the NT itself, there’s little chronological account. Regarding the Jesus movement and archeological evidence, there’s been little slam dunk discoveries, if any. And the sad part is that there probably never will be. If any does appear, it would take at least a decade to authenticate and it would still be subject to controversy and debate. In short, none of this will be settled in our lifetimes.

So all of this is open to interpretation and speculation. The possibilities are endless. We know Paul was itinerant. Perhaps his ship sunk and all of his remains have been consumed the Mediterranean Sea. Maybe that’s why there’s no account; because no one knows what the fuck happened to him! Maybe Peter dropped dead of a heart attack in the middle of the desert? We just don’t know folks 🤷‍♂️

Probably never will.