The Language and Logic of Virtue in 2 Peter 1:5–7

Abstract

Although the polemical development of 2 Peter mirrors interaction between Stoic and Christian moral thought-worlds, the moral grammar of the Stoa employed by the writer in 2 Peter 1 expresses a distinctly Christian qualification. The readers are reminded that a profession of faith without ethical fiber is wholly incommensurate with their gracious calling. The rhetorical effect created by the progression and climax of the catalog of virtues in 2 Pet 1:5–7 can be understood to reflect a concrete situation in which there has been a fundamental ethical breakdown. In addressing this crisis the writer appropriates paraenesis and a standard hortatory device to underscore the necessity of the moral life.