Gawen

From Bible Gateway:

1 Peter 5
To Elders and Young Men
1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed:

Many scholars say there were no eyewitness accounts. So is the above a lie?

NOGO

Right!

I guess today's Jehovah Witnesses were all there when the Biblical God chatted with Moses.

Amaleq13

The opinions of scholars aside, the Gospel stories themselves seem to deny the claim. None of them depict Peter as witnessing any of the suffering associated with the crucifixion.

badger3k

On the one hand, it could be a lie (for whatever reason). On the other, it could be metaphorical, where "witness" is used more in the sense of a supporter or someone who is testifying their belief. I have no idea what the original word was, nor the meaning(s) of the term, so I can't even tell if "witness" is a good translation.

Diogenes the Cynic

The Greek word is martus, which means "witness" but can mean it in some broad or figurative ways, such as one who "bears testimony," "confirms" or "offers proof." It can also mean "martyr" (that's where that word comes from, actually).

badger3k

Thanks for the info.

Gawen

To continue, 1 Peter is allegedly written when? And I never thought of the:
The point was brought up yesterday by a friend at work...that Peter witnessed Jesus first hand.

Amaleq13

According to Peter Kirby's website:

"If the letter is authentic, it was written between 60 and 66 C.E., with most who consider it authentic favoring the period before Nero's pogrom against the Christians. If the letter is inauthentic, it was likely written between 70 and 90 C.E., as argued by Elliott and Brown above. But some scholars such as W. G. Kümmel suggest the end of Domitian's reign (90-96 C.E.), contemporary with Revelation's supposed date (a time of persecution), while others such as N. Perrin believe it was written under Trajan (because Pliny's letter attests to persecution against Christians in Asia Minor then). In reply, the majority of scholars contend that the Christians being addressed were not enduring widespread persecution under Roman authority but rather harassment and ostracization by their neighbors."

Taken literally, I don't see how it can be reconciled with the Gospel stories.

judge

The gospels clearly indicate Peter was a witness of the suffereing leading up to the crucifixion though.

Therefore even if Peter was not present at the crucifixion (and I'm not saying he was or wasn't) then he was still a witness of the suffering.
The trial in Gesthemene is another example.
Peter was a witness to this suffering as well.

Diogenes the Cynic

There was a trial in Gethsemane?