Peter "Hot Tempered"?

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Judas_Thaddeus

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I’m just curious about the kind
of person St. Peter was, based
on a few sources.

First, and most significant, there did
seem to be a rivalry (FOR A TIME)
between Peter and Paul, I THINK.

Second, and far less significant, the Gospel of
Mary and Pistis Sophia (GNOSTIC TEXTS),
present Peter as a very hot tempered man.
Granted, what Gnosticism says a-
bout Peter bears little weight on the
subject, just a curious observation.
 
The Gnostic “Gospels,” such as they, are garbage; just disregard them.

We don’t know much about Peter’s disposition, obviously, or even Jesus’, because it is not really relevant to salvation. From what we can glean from Scripture he seems to have been a pretty ordinary guy. He did not regard himself as very well-educated or particularly intelligent. He had a very uncomplicated faith in Christ which impressed our Lord. He was probably illiterate. And he was most likely deeply wounded by the betrayal and apprehension of Christ; I suspect that his denial of Christ was probably motivated less by cowardice (which is what it is often attributed to) than by a sense that it was all over and that he may as well go back to that fishing gig he used to have. As Pope he was probably not the clearest or most consistent thinker, hence the necessity of the Council of Jerusalem. His epistles, in contrast to the high theology and Christology of Paul, speak of a simple and practical faith.

John attributes to Peter the act of attacking Malchus with a sword and thus cutting off his ear; the other three evangelists record the same act but are silent as to the identity of the attacker. From the Gospels Peter is often acting spontaneously in this sort of way, piping up, for instance, to declare his intention not to allow Jesus to be arrested (to which he responds “Get behind me, Satan!”). So maybe that is where the “hot-tempered” thing comes from, if anywhere.
 
I think it’s maybe fair to call him hot-tempered. He doesn’t just deny knowing Jesus, but does so with profanity–Matt 26:73-75. He cuts off the high priest’s [edit: assistant’s] ear. He was a sailor/fisherman–a ‘salty’ occupation, no pun intended. He was the leader of the fishing group, despite probably being younger than Andrew. He was an alpha-male, a red-neck, and a man of action. A man’s man.

Hot tempered…hot headed…meah…
 
Peter would have been on a regular diet of creatine and whey protein if he could. That’s the impression I get from the gospels.
 
I don’t think he was hot tempered, I think he was just classical human at the time, a fisherman with very little knowledge about things and very impulsive. And I don’t see any rivalry between him and Paul, if you read the bible the actual rivalry was between john and him. Haven’t you noticed john wad constantly bad mouthing peter?
 
capablanca911 said:
I think it’s maybe fair to call him hot-tempered. He doesn’t just deny knowing Jesus, but does so with profanity–Matt 26:73-75. He cuts off the high priest’s [edit: assistant’s] ear. He was a sailor/fisherman–a ‘salty’ occupation, no pun intended. He was the leader of the fishing group, despite probably being younger than Andrew. He was an alpha-male, a red-neck, and a man of action. A man’s man.

Hot tempered…hot headed…meah…
Click to expand...
You know who you will meet at the Pearly Gates when you die, right? 😛
 
**Important to Note: I am not downing Peter if he did have a short temper or whatever. 🙂
**
 
He grabbed that sword pretty quick though. John 18:10 -Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear.

He was also a fearful man, in light of all that occurred, myself, I don’t find that odd, I figure if he wasn’t in fear, he would be insane.

Luke 22:31-34

[31] "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.

[32] But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

[33] But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”

[34] Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
 
Peter was a father, husband, homeowner and ran a successful fishing business. He was an extremely hard worker, fishing on the open water of the Sea of Galilee all night long.

And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Luke 5:5)

The Sea of Galilee is notorious for sudden wind storms that can churn up the water very quickly. These were brave men who worked very hard to make a living for their family.

Peter lived with his mother inlaw, showing that he was a faithful Jew, taking care of the elderly as was his responsibility under the Jewish law. He was a faithful Jew, and had great faith in the power of the name of Jesus.

*And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38)

But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." (Acts 3:6)*

Peter revered the Holy Name.

Yes, Peter was short tempered, hot headed and prone to knee jerk reactions but don’t forget that Peter learned how to be docile to both the Holy Spirit and his fellow Apostles. In the quote above he is obedient to Jesus. When Paul rebukes him to his face later in Acts he submits and realizes that he is wrong. The word “meek” in the Bible means teachable. This is Peter - meek - teachable.

Jesus promised the Church that what happened to him would happen to the Church. They would be scourged, persecuted, and killed. If you look at the Book of Acts, you can see that the same thing which happens to Jesus happens to Peter. Jesus is stabbed in the ribs with a spear. Peter is hit in the ribs by an angel. Peter experiences the same things that Jesus experienced all through the book of Acts. This was Jesus’ promise. Yet Peter keeps going in spite of being beaten and thrown into jail.

And don’t forget what happened at the end of his life. He knew he was about to die and so he put on other clothing so as not to stand out and ran away. A short time after he left he changed his mind and went back, knowing that he was to be martyred. He "was martyred for the faith, crucified like Jesus was.

“Turning back” was Peter’s final act. Peter won the crown and white robe of martyrdom, and leads the Noble Army of Martyrs.

And he was the only human being ever, besides Jesus, who walked on water. No one else dared to even get out of the boat, He stepped out. At least he tried! Peter is the one who stood up to speak at Pentecost. They were cowering in the upper room with the doors locked for fear of the Jew and it is Peter who walks out into the street, in defiance of the authorities, and speaks out boldly. Jesus picked the right man.

Calling him a redneck or comparing him to someone who is on steroids isn’t right. He is a Saint, Pope, Apostle and Martyr. We can’t even get out of bed on time.

-Tim-
 
I prefer the word “impulsive” over “hot tempered.” At least, when I’m feeling most like Peter, that’s how I hope people describe me. :o
 
Yes, impetuous and less hot tempered. Peter seemed most like what some of us depending on our gifts don’t want to admit resemble more – in our striving to follow the Lord.

He was the one who acted first and was reactionary; that lent to both his strengths and weaknesses while on the road to perfection. He professed correctly who Christ was, recognizing it first vocally. He opposed Christ’s passion openly without understanding. He spoke of not denying the Lord first. He drew his sword in the garden only to be reprimanded. He leapt out of the boat, after Christ’s resurrection, to swim to shore.

I don’t think he was hot headed, he seemed mercurial, as he hid and denied our Lord.
Until Pentecost, Peter seemed sure of the Lord but unsure of himself.

John and James were the sons of Thunder. They seemed to be the ones imperfect in their hot headedness, they wanted to punish the town that insulted Jesus.

One Priest has reflected how you can read John and still see that St. John is thundering in the very first line, given who his audience was.

When comparing the way Peter behaved in Acts compared to the way he did in Mark? it’s hard to say he was just one characteristic, and we can see why he was chosen as Prince of the Apostles, because he had many weaknesses, yet by the grace of God, was the most heroic and meekest of men in his episcopal duties and in his martyrdom, as Timothy touches upon in his helpful post.

I heard from a priest or one of the apologists I think on the radio, that Peter loved Jesus the most , even though John was called the beloved by Jesus.
( I believe that is accurate, based on how Peter jumped into the water to go to Jesus while the rest just watched :rotfl: )
 
TimothyH said:
Peter was a father, husband, homeowner and ran a successful fishing business. He was an extremely hard worker, fishing on the open water of the Sea of Galilee all night long.

And Simon answered, "Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets." (Luke 5:5)

The Sea of Galilee is notorious for sudden wind storms that can churn up the water very quickly. These were brave men who worked very hard to make a living for their family.

Peter lived with his mother inlaw, showing that he was a faithful Jew, taking care of the elderly as was his responsibility under the Jewish law. He was a faithful Jew, and had great faith in the power of the name of Jesus.

And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38)

But Peter said, "I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." (Acts 3:6)

Peter revered the Holy Name.

Yes, Peter was short tempered, hot headed and prone to knee jerk reactions but don’t forget that Peter learned how to be docile to both the Holy Spirit and his fellow Apostles. In the quote above he is obedient to Jesus. When Paul rebukes him to his face later in Acts he submits and realizes that he is wrong. The word “meek” in the Bible means teachable. This is Peter - meek - teachable.

Jesus promised the Church that what happened to him would happen to the Church. They would be scourged, persecuted, and killed. If you look at the Book of Acts, you can see that the same thing which happens to Jesus happens to Peter. Jesus is stabbed in the ribs with a spear. Peter is hit in the ribs by an angel. Peter experiences the same things that Jesus experienced all through the book of Acts. This was Jesus’ promise. Yet Peter keeps going in spite of being beaten and thrown into jail.

And don’t forget what happened at the end of his life. He knew he was about to die and so he put on other clothing so as not to stand out and ran away. A short time after he left he changed his mind and went back, knowing that he was to be martyred. He "was martyred for the faith, crucified like Jesus was.

“Turning back” was Peter’s final act. Peter won the crown and white robe of martyrdom, and leads the Noble Army of Martyrs.

And he was the only human being ever, besides Jesus, who walked on water. No one else dared to even get out of the boat, He stepped out. At least he tried! Peter is the one who stood up to speak at Pentecost. They were cowering in the upper room with the doors locked for fear of the Jew and it is Peter who walks out into the street, in defiance of the authorities, and speaks out boldly. Jesus picked the right man.

Calling him a redneck or comparing him to someone who is on steroids isn’t right. He is a Saint, Pope, Apostle and Martyr. We can’t even get out of bed on time.

-Tim-
Click to expand...
I feel like Peter is an “underrated” Saint. I always hear people mentioning this Saint and that Saint, but what about Peter?

In a way he feels the most “human” out of them all and one of the easiest to look to as an example.
 
Well, Peter wasn’t the most merciful of popes, either. In Acts 5:1-11, when it was found out that Ananias and his wife Sapphira had sold a piece of property and kept a portion of the proceeds, instead of giving all of the money, Peter punished both of them with death. :eek:
 
janeway529 said:
Well, Peter wasn’t the most merciful of popes, either. In Acts 5:1-11, when it was found out that Ananias and his wife Sapphira had sold a piece of property and kept a portion of the proceeds, instead of giving all of the money, Peter punished both of them with death. :eek:
Click to expand...
.
That was God who struck them down. That’s how we know that the God of the New and Old Testament are one in the same, and the heresy of Marcionism was a crock. God was merciful to us in reading that event, demonstrating his justice. God will not be mocked.

I think Peter rebuked a similar offender in Simon Magus, and essentially said, " You will die with your money" if he doesn’t repent and Simon Magus was frightened and asked for Peter’s prayers. Whether he was sincere or not we don’t know because Simon Magus became the face of the gnostics.

Can you imagine if the Pope rebuked and anathematized someone in this fashion,* “. . .how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…” *and they dropped dead supernaturally. Talk about media circus! :eek:
 
GangGreen said:
I feel like Peter is an “underrated” Saint. I always hear people mentioning this Saint and that Saint, but what about Peter?

In a way he feels the most “human” out of them all and one of the easiest to look to as an example.
Click to expand...
Maybe he’s overlooked sometimes, because he’s known for denying Jesus, and it’s a painful reminder of our own denials.
 
Veridical16 said:
Can you imagine if the Pope rebuked and anathematized someone in this fashion,* “. . .how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit…” *and they dropped dead supernaturally. Talk about media circus! :eek:
Click to expand...
That same action wouldn’t be as effective today as in their time. Reminds me of the last lines of the Gospel reading for today, “They have Moses and the Prophets…if they do not listen to them, neither will they listen to even one who has been raised from the dead.”
 
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