The Life and Witness of Peter

I am in a group study that is using the book and our own Bible translation. It was a surprise that this book is written at the level of seminary students. Very heady at times, but it also makes you think. I have learned many historical details.The 20 ladies in my class are making lists each week of the words none of us have ever seen before, usually 4-6, depending on the length of the chapter.

After finishing Helyer's 'The Witness of Jesus, Paul, and John', which I highly recommend, this volume caught my eye. I was not disappointed. Helyer presents a strong historical background for Peter the man and Apostle. Perhaps because there is less for 'modern critics' to analyze, there is less of the 'Experts now agree that Paul wrote X, Y and Z, but probably didn't write A, B and C', so to speak. I don't put a lot of stock in 'modern critics'. What the book does is give the reader a serious background in Peter, his work in the early church, his epistles and illuminates much of Mark's narrative. There are other books and certainly other authors plumbing the depths of Peter. But this is a good choice to add to your personal library. Recommended.

While the author has obviously conducted a great deal of research, the book comes across as more of a PhD thesis. While full of information, it is not an easy read and should only be attempted by those seeking serious and scholarly pursuits. The addition of questions at the end of each chapter lends the book to Bible study groups. However, be ready for an intense scholarly discussion.

This book is inciteful to the apostle Peter's convictions, especially as it helped the early church develop its Christology along with Paul. Helyer displays various options on interpreting some of the controversial pericopes of the two letters attributed to St. Peter with fairness and rationale. This book also gives beneficial treatment as to how the early came to view Peter as the "rock".

A much-needed book. Peter often gets lost and overshadowed by Paul. This book helped bring Peter back into the light and was a refreshing read!

I got this book for my 1 peter class, and I loved it! Was very easy to read and easily understood. Loved that the content was thorough and well thought out.

good quality well constructed

I am enjoying this book.

The church small group which I am part of plans to study the apostle Peter next. We plan to consider what the key events in his life show about him and how they apply to us. To help me prepare to lead the study, I ordered from Amazon.ca three books recommended by it on Peter. On reading The Life and Witness of Peter, I was tempted to use it for the study instead of my own material. Why? As observed in comments at Amazon.ca and Amazon.com, it is well-researched, conservative, and highly readable. As well the questions at the end of the chapters should prompt enlightening discussion. Although because of my doubting that all members of our group would buy and use the book I’ve decided not to use it in our study, I’ll certainly be making use of it in preparing to lead our study.