A live question · two directions · no dead ends
Did Peter's life reflect belief that Jesus rose?
Open the strongest case, cross-examine every claim, and follow each reply until the reasoning reaches bedrock.
Start with an argument-
Peter loudly testified that Jesus resurrected
Peter publicly testified to his conviction that Jesus resurrected from the dead, and we have no reason to think he was lying. (It is worth noting that Peter proclaimed Jesus's resurrection with an intense boldness and confidence, and attributed this confidence to a particular life changing experience: having seen the resurrected Jesus appear to him.)1
- For example, consider in Acts (which is generally historically reliable).
Acts 4:13, 19 -- Now as [certain Jewish rulers, including Annas, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander] observed the confidence of Peter and John [at their hearing]… they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered… “…by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. …we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
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Peter bet his life itself
Peter bet his life itself on the truth of Jesus's resurrection.
This page discusses 3 evidences:
- Peter proclaimed "Jesus rose!" to crowds that stoned "heretics"
- Ignatius (c. AD 110) testified of Peter's willingness to bet his life on it
- Peter did end up dying for his belief in Jesus's resurrection
This is a good reason to agree that Peter's life reflected sincere belief in Jesus's resurrection. Why? Because people are disinclined to bet their life on something being true which they don't actually believe is true.
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Peter bet just about everything valuable in his life
Peter bet just about everything valuable in his life (his own comfort, time, physical well-being, etc.) on the truth of Jesus's resurrection.
This page covers 4 reasons to agree:
This is relevant because people are disinclined to make these sorts of sacrifices for things they don't believe in.
- We know this because Peter was a member of the Jerusalem church, and he along with all the apostles would have known that it was largely their insistence of Jesus's appearing to them that resulted in so many coming to faith. This is relevant because Peter and the apostles were seeing these friends (and presumably family) enduring great sufferings both physically and socially (e.g., breaking up families) for the sake of spreading the Gospel.
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All the apostles in general were not lying