1 Peter 1 Footnotes

1:3-9 Karl Marx complained that religion was the opiate of the people. Did Peter support the comfortable life of oppressors by pacifying the suffering with the idea of a heavenly inheritance in the next world?

In answering this question, we must recall that Peter himself suffered as a Christian; the tradition that he died for the faith is likely accurate. What we find in 1 Peter, therefore, are not the words of someone with power telling those who are suffering to endure injustice because heaven awaits. We hear the words of someone who suffered along with those he taught. The early Christians did not have political power; they were at the mercy of governing authorities if the latter turned against them.

What Peter wrote provides no justification for injustice. We distort Peter’s words if we say to those suffering under our authority, “Don’t worry about suffering. You will be rewarded in heaven.” On the other hand, Marx’s objection assumes that the heavenly hope is not real. Millions of Christians throughout history have suffered and have had no prospect of worldly happiness. Peter’s words provide genuine comfort to all believers who face oppression, for they remind us that unspeakable joy awaits those who belong to Jesus.