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o To begin one must examine Peter's early life before the fateful day when he was introduced to the [[Messiah]]. It is true that the Bible is somewhat silent on the issue of Peter's early life. Indeed the Gospels mention very little of [[Jesus]]' own early life, and even less of the lives of his disciples. No specific date is available for the birth of Peter. One may assume that since he was running a fishing business when he met Jesus that he was "in his early thirties, born, like Jesus, some time before the turn of the century," (Thiede). Regardless of when he was born his original name was Simon or Symeon (Cullmann). If his name was Symeon which is "used of Peter...only in Acts 15.14 and II Peter 1.1" (Cullman), then it is clear that his parents named him with a Hebrew name. It has been supposed the Simon was merely a transliteration of the Hebrew name Symeon, however, a strong case can be made for Simon being Hellenistic because it was already attested to in Aristophanes' plays (Cullman).
{{opinionarticle}}
''By [[User:Cpark|Calvin Park]]'', December 2003,
{{rtoc}}
Peter the Apostle has been looked to throughout church history as a model. [[Roman Catholicism | The Roman Catholic church]] has claimed St. Peter as the first [[Papacy | Bishop of Rome]], thereby lending legitimacy to the modern day papacy. Peter is widely considered to have been among the "inner circle" of [[Jesus]]' disciples (ex. Mark 5.12).
==Early Life==
According to the [[John | Gospel of John]], Peter was from the city of [[Bethsaida]] (1.44). He was also the son of a certain Jonah, or perhaps John (Cullmann). Bethsaida was raised to the status of city by Phillip the Tetrarch, he was a Hellenizer who furthered Graeco-Roman culture throughout his area of influence (Thiede). It may then have been quite likely that Peter was acquainted well with Hellenistic culture and the Greek language. It may also be safely assumed that Peter had some knowledge of both Aramaic and Hebrew, as well. It is also likely that he had received the standard education that any Jewish male might have in the first century which consisted of education in reading, writing and, of course, memorization of the [[Torah]] (Thiede). It may also be possible that Peter had some connection to the [[Zealots]] (Cullmann). The Johannine account gives some reason to believe that before his introduction to Jesus he may have been among the disciples of John the Baptist (Cullmann, John 1.35-42). Finally it must also be mentioned that several passages explain that Peter had a wife (Mark 1.30; 1 Cor. 9.5).
Peter's life has been examined, from his humble beginnings in a back water province of the Roman Empire, to his meeting with the Son of the Living God, to his death, presumably, in the capital of the greatest of the ancient empires. Throughout his life Peter proved to be a man of faith; he stepped out on a wind-tossed sea to be with his Lord. He was often quick to act and slow to think in his early years, showing him to be a man of action. He had no qualms about cutting off the ear of someone who came to take his Lord away from him. Yet, many years later, it can be seen that Peter had matured a great deal and that, although he remained a man of both faith and action, he had brought these into at least some type of balance. Perhaps it is this human struggle and maturity, this humanity, that makes Peter one of the most interesting Biblical characters to study.
==Sources==
* <i>The Anchor Bible: The Epistles of James, Peter and Jude</i> by Bo Reicke
* <i>Simon Peter: From Galilee to Rome</i> by Carsten P. Thiede
{{returnto}} [[Apostle Peter]]
