The Role of Emotion in 1 Peter

Abstract

This revised Durham University 2016 dissertation by Katherine Hockey, written under the supervision of John Barclay, examines the role of emotions in the rhetorical discourse of 1 Peter. It argues that “emotions are not a manipulative moving force that is separate from logical argument, but in themselves communicate logically and can be deployed to alter an audience’s interpretation of events, promote systems of value, influence goals, and, consequently, shape behavior” (p. 3). The emotion terms that Hockey explores are joy, distress, fear, hope, and shame.The study consists of five parts. Part one (chs. 1–2) introduces the work. Chapter 1 surveys the state of NT studies regarding emotions. Chapter 2 lays out the theoretical foundations. Hockey defines “emotion” not simply as a feeling but as a process that includes several components, not least the cognitive. Her work focuses on the object, appraisal, and action-tendency of an emotion. Hockey also considers emotions to be cultural constructs. Consequently, she argues that the study of emotions is important because emotions “can be used to construct or enforce a symbolic universe” (p. 37). Part two (chs. 3–4) examines the study of emotions in antiquity. Chapter 3 outlines the Stoic philosophy of emotion, validating her approach. Her investigation of “emotions in 1 Peter in terms of object-directedness, evaluative judgments, and action-tendencies” is not anachronistic because such ideas were also investigated by the ancients (p. 85). Chapter 4 looks into the rhetorical use of emotions by Aristotle, Quintilian, and Cicero, confirming the importance of engaging the audience’s emotion so as to persuade them to adopt a certain course of action. Part three (chs. 5–6) analyzes 1 Peter with regard to emotions that focus on the present experience, namely, joy and distress. Chapter 5 exegetes 1 Pet 1:6–8, noting that it exhorts readers to rejoice despite suffering. Chapter 6 probes 1 Pet 4:12–13 and its call to rejoice in suffering. Part four (chs. 7–9) interrogates 1 Peter for emotions that focus on a future expectation, namely, fear, hope, and shame. Chapter 7 analyzes passages that focus on fear and hope. It shows how these texts encourage fidelity toward God, presenting him as the believer’s only object of fear and hope. Chapter 8 explores the motif of shame, determining that believers should not be ashamed of their Christian identity. Unbelievers who reject Christ, however, will face God’s shaming judgment. Chapter 9 concludes this work. Hockey reminds us that 1 Peter uses emotions to build and reinforce a distinctly Christian worldview. “The positive or negative presentation of each emotion creates an emotional regime for the believers, which subsequently produces the boundaries for their understanding of self and other” (p. 253).Hockey’s dissertation is significant. First, it is a welcome addition to the limited number of studies investigating emotions in the NT. As of this year, there are only a handful of monographs in this field, and her work is the first thorough investigation of the rhetorical function of emotions in a NT epistle. Second, it is an important reminder that “emotions and ethics cannot be separated because emotions, through their evaluation of an object’s goal congruence, drive action” (p. 257). Third, it is a fine example of careful scholarship. Part two, with its overview of the Greco-Roman study of emotions in antiquity, is especially helpful. It provides a theoretical framework and guards against the imposition of modern categories into her analysis of emotions in 1 Peter.There are, however, a few areas in which her work may be improved. First, her discussion on the temporal force of ἀγαλλιᾶσθε (pp. 120–21) could be made richer and more compelling if she used aspect theory in her argumentation. Second, her exegetical work could be tighter, for there are several areas where it is not apparent how her investigation impinges on the role of emotions in 1 Peter. Third, the distinction between parts three and four of her work is not clear. She labels part three as “The Present Experience” and part four as “Future Expectation.” Part three focuses on joy and distress, part four on fear, hope, and shame. It is however not clear why joy and distress should focus only on the present, for Hockey herself notes that the cause of joy consists of goods that are “beyond temporal constraints, being eternal in nature” (p. 128). Moreover, it is also not clear why fear, hope, and shame should only focus on future expectations, for Peter exhorts his readers not to be ashamed in “their current persecution” (p. 240). These comments do not negate the significance of Hockey’s work. Her contribution is commendable. I trust that it will spur others to further the investigation of emotions in the NT.