Abstract
Did some early Christian groups worship the emperor or other Graeco-Roman gods? In his essay ‘Going All the Way? Honouring the Emperor and Sacrificing Wives and Slaves in 1 Peter 2.13-3.6’, Warren Carter has proposed a provocative reading of 1 Pet. 2.13–3.6, arguing that this author exhorts the audience to participate in cultic sacrifices to the emperor as part of a strategy to overcome the social-prejudice currently faced by the audience. In this article I offer an analysis of Carter’s position, as well as offer a detailed response to his argument. I begin by responding to his suggestions regarding Paul, the Apocalypse of John and the Governor Pliny. This is followed by a detailed look at two specific strands of evidence in 1 Pet. 1.18 and 4.3 and the audience’s experience of suffering, which indicate that Carter’s thesis is mistaken.
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