The apostle Peter is surpassed in importance in the Christian religion only by Jesus and perhaps the apostle Paul. However, sources of information concerning him are limited to the New Testament². There are no references to him in any contemporary secular or religious documents. According to the gospels Peter figured prominently in three significant events, the denial of Jesus, his ordination, and walking on water. Because they are so well known throughout Christendom, these events deserve close scrutiny. First, let us consider Peter's denial of Christ.

Of all of the New Testament stories, that of Peter’s denial (Mark 14:66-72 and parallels) is one of the most well known. In summary it says that following Jesus’ arrest by agents of the chief priest, Peter was identified by three people as being one of Jesus’ followers. Peter vehemently denied this accusation rejecting Jesus in the process. After the third denial a cock crows for the second time, and Peter suddenly remembered Jesus predicting that he would deny him three times err the cock crows twice (Mark 14:3). Peter wept. This story has provided the text for many sermons and Sunday School lessons, but did it really happen?

Paul discusses his jurisdictional dispute with Peter in Galatians, considered by most Bible scholars to be authentic³. His failure to mention Peter's denial of Christ is highly significant. Paul's position as leader of the Christian community at Antioch had been challenged by Peter. As part of his defense Paul calls Peter a hypocrite (Gal. 2:11-13). In that regard, the denial coupled with Matthew 10:33 where Jesus warns, "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven," would have been a powerful argument he could have used against Peter. Paul's silence in this matter stands as reliable evidence that the denial story is a late Christian forgery.

In Hebrews 6:4-6 we are told that denial of scripture is an unforgivable sin. Once scripture is rejected there can be no second chance. Therefore, the author of Hebrews could not have been aware of the story of Peter's denial because if he had he surely would have made an exception for it. Thus, we have more evidence of forgery.

In Matthew 16:17-19 Jesus personally appoints Peter to be his earthly successor and to found his church. In fact, the recognition by the Roman Catholic church of Peter as the first pope is based on this passage. But there are problems, big problems. First, although it stands as an act of the utmost importance to Christianity, not only is the ordination of Peter not mentioned in the other gospels, it is mentioned nowhere else in the entire New Testament. Excluding this passage, Jesus made no attempt to establish a church. His eschatological expectations seem to reduce to absurdity such a project. He prophesied that the world would end within the lifetime of his contemporaries⁴ so why would he go to the trouble of building churches? In fact, the use of the word "church" suggests a level of organization acquired only at a much later period. Second, although Mark and Luke do not contain the ordination, they do contain duplicates of Matthew 16:16 and Matthew 16:20, the verses immediately preceding and following the ordination. Third, not only does Peter not refer to the ordination in his dispute with Paul, he never mentions it in 1st & 2nd Peter, the epistles he allegedly wrote.

First and Second Peter are strangely silent regarding some very important events in which, according to the gospels, he figured prominently. Peter was a close confidant of Jesus throughout most of his ministry. Yet, the only mention he makes of this important association is a brief statement in 1st Peter 5:1. Perhaps Jesus' most amazing miracle was walking on water. Peter played an important part in it and even walked on the water with him (Matthew 14:29). Yet, for some strange reason, Peter never mentions this astounding feat in either of his epistles.

The fact is that 1st & 2nd Peter are recognized forgeries. According to Burton L. Mack⁵ both epistles bear the unmistakable marks of second century authorship and erudition. Mack points out that these epistles fit well with other Christian literature of the mid-second century, and scholars have traditionally assigned them a date of between 124 CE and 150 CE. After all, Peter was an illiterate fisherman from Galilee (Acts 4:13) whose native tongue was Aramaic not Greek, the language in which the epistles were originally written.

Peter, if he existed at all, is believed to have died about 67 CE⁶. According to the church father, Tertullian⁷, writing more than 140 years after the alleged event, he was crucified in Rome. However, Tertullian also claimed, in the same paragraph, that the Apostle John came out unharmed after being plunged into a vat of boiling oil, so Tertullian's veracity is highly questionable.

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1 Compiled by Louis W. Cable.

2 The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1975, vol. 14, p. 153.

3 Wells, G. A., The Historical Evidence for Jesus, p. 21.

4 Cable,  L. W., Did Jesus Lie? on this web site. See also, "On the Horns of an Eschatological Dilemma, "The Freethought Exchange #13, page 19.

5 Mack, Burton L., Who Wrote the New Testament?, p. 208.

6 Webster’s II - New Riverside University Dictionary, 1984, Biographical Entries, p. 1409.

7 Early Carthaginian Christian leader (160? -230?).