Page "First Epistle of Peter" Paragraph 2

Graham Stanton rejects Petrine authorship because 1 Peter was most likely written during the reign of Domitian in AD 81, which is when he believes widespread Christian persecution began, which is long after the death of Peter.

Many scholars also doubt Petrine authorship because they are convinced that 1 Peter is dependent on the Pauline epistles and that is was written after Paul ’ s ministry because it shares many of the same motifs espoused in Ephesians, Colossians, and the Pastoral Epistles.

One theory used to solve the mystery behind the authorship of 1 Peter, is the " secretarial hypothesis ", which suggests that 1 Peter was dictated by Peter and was written in Greek by his secretary, Silvanus ( 5: 12 ).

John Elliot, however, suggests that the notion of Silvanus as secretary or author or drafter of 1 Peter represents little more than a counsel of despair and introduces more problems than it solves because the Greek rendition of 5: 12 suggests that Silvanus was not the secretary, but the courier / bearer of 1Peter.

On the one hand, some modern scholars are convinced that the language, dating, literary style, and structure of this text makes it implausible to conclude that 1 Peter was written by Peter ; according these scholars, it is more likely that 1 Peter is a pseudonymous letter, written later by one of the disciples of Peter in his honor.

On the other hand, some modern scholars argue that there is not enough evidence to conclude that Peter did not write 1 Peter.

For instance, there are similarities between 1 Peter and Peter's speeches in the Biblical book of Acts.

Ultimately, the authorship of 1 Peter remains contested.