Page "First Epistle of Peter" Paragraph 20

Also often advanced as a possible context for 1 Peter is the trials and executions of Christians in the Roman province of Bithynia-Pontus under Pliny the Younger.

Scholars who support this theory believe that a famous letter from Pliny to Emperor Trajan concerning the delation of Christians reflects the situation faced by the addressees of this epistle.

In Pliny's letter, written in AD 112, he asks Trajan if the accused Christians brought before him should be punished based on the name ‘ Christian ’ alone, or for crimes associated with the name.

For biblical scholar John Knox, the use of the word “ name ” in 4: 14-16 is the “ crucial point of contact ” with that in Pliny ’ s letter.

In addition, many scholars in support of this theory believe that there is content within 1 Peter that directly mirrors the situation as portrayed in Pliny ’ s letter.

For instance, they interpret the exhortation to defend one ’ s faith “ with gentleness and reverence ” in 3: 15-16 as a response to Pliny executing Christians for the obstinate manner in which they professed to be Christians.

Generally, this theory is rejected mainly by scholars who read the suffering in 1 Peter to be caused by social, rather than official, discrimination.