Expert: Sal - 6/22/2005

Question
Hi Sal,

I believe St. Peter died in Rome, but how do we prove this to disbelieving Protestants? What evidence do we have? Regarding the Book of Mormon, when do Mormons claim it was written and when do non-Mormon scholars believe it was written?

Thanks,

Les

Answer
Dear Les:

Good to hear from you again. I hope all is well with you.

The evidence that St. Peter was in Rome is overwhelming. Even Protestant scholars admit to this fact. Protestant Adolph Harnack put it well when he said, “To deny the Roman stay of Peter is an error which today is clear to every scholar who is not BLIND. The martyr death of Peter at Rome was once contested by reason of Protestant PREJUDICE.”

Early Christian writers all agree that Peter went to Rome and was martyred there. No one disputed the fact until the 13th century. Then it was the heretic Waldensians that made the claim without evidence. This was done in a vain attempt to deny what had been so obvious for the 13 previous centuries, that Peter was the first Pope and bishop of Rome.

Papias wrote in 140, “Peter came (to Rome)… and by his keys opened in the city of Rome the gates of the heavenly kingdom.”

Peter, himself, may have alluded to his being in Rome when he wrote, “The Church that is in Babylon…sends you greetings” (I Peter 5:13). “Babylon” was a code word used for Rome by Christians in the first century. Peter's fellow Apostle, St. John, also used the code word “Babylon” when referring to Rome. “On her forehead was written a symbolic name, ‘Babylon the great'…drunk with the blood of God's holy ones…Here is a clue…the seven heads are seven hills (Revelation 17:5-9). The “seven hills” is an obvious reference to Rome which is built on seven hills.

The most damning evidence against the position that Peter was never in Rome is the fact that Peter's remains have been discovered buried in Rome. They were discovered under what is now the high altar of St. Peter's Basilica.

The Mormons claim that the Book of Mormon was written in the 4th century. However, scholars agree that it was written in the 19th century. Joseph Smith took much material from other works that did not exist in the 4th century and incorporated it in what became the Book of Mormon-a purely fictional work.

Thanks for the question.

God Bless,
Sal