Ethics in 1 Peter

Many refer to 1 Peter as an exegetical stepchild within the New Testament; that is, it does not receive the same attention as the Pauline writings, the Gospels, or the Johannine literature. Yet Martin Luther held the First Letter of Peter to be essential to one's own salvation. In keeping with the tradition of Reformation-inspired New Testament theology, and building on the work of John H. Elliott, Elritia Le Roux highlights an affinity between the theology of Mark and the theology of 1 Peter. Ethics in 1 Peter elaborates particularly the similar ways that Mark and 1 Peter handle Christology and the ethics that flows from it. Le Roux argues that both the Gospel of Mark and the First Letter of Peter Christology (specifically Christ's passion) lay a foundation for an ethics of suffering.

""Le Roux's comparative study of the relationship between Christology and an ethics of suffering in Mark and 1 Peter opens up new possibilities for understanding the implicit ethics of the collection of documents we know as the New Testament. It is densely referenced, balanced, and methodically sound, a must-read especially for those who are interested in the ethics of the New Testament.""
--Ernest van Eck, Department of New Testament Studies, University of Pretoria

""In a rich study alert to historical contexts, with wide-ranging exegetical-thematic focus and close reading, and attentive to a convoluted history of interpretation, Le Roux shows upon important affinities between 1 Peter and Mark's gospel. An ethics of suffering which develops from a specific Christology not only forms the basis for her engaging argument, but also provides the rationale for her cogent position on the interconnections between these documents.""
--Jeremy Punt, Stellenbosch University


Elritia Le Roux is Research Associate in the Department of New Testament Studies at the University of Pretoria. Her work has appeared in HTS Theological Studies and Verbum et Ecclesia. Le Roux is an ordained minister in the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk.