Dr. Travis Williams discusses the dangerous conditions for Christians in the Roman Empire at the time of the writing of I Peter during the second session of the Theologian-in-Residence series.

The dangerous conditions for early Christians in Asia Minor living in a world where their religion was effectively illegal were explored during the second session of the Theologian-in-Residence lecture series at Tusculum College.

Dr. Travis Williams, assistant professor of religion at Tusculum, is leading the annual series, a study of New Testament epistle of I Peter. The annual lecture series is sponsored by the college with partial funding from Ron Smith.

In the lecture series, Dr. Williams is focusing on the “why” of I Peter – why it was written and why it was written in a certain manner. “We need to understand the social situation to be able to understand why the letter was written,” he said.

Biblical scholars are of a consensus that the epistle was written in response to persecution of the early Christians in the Roman provinces in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The letter of I Peter was written as a circular letter to be read and distributed to a number of churches in Asia Minor.

In looking at the historical context of I Peter, early Christians were facing persecution for their behavior in a society in which religion, the worship of the traditional Greek and Roman gods and of the Roman emperor, was a part of almost every facet of life.

In I Peter 4, the author tells his readers that because they no longer live the way they did previously, those who live around them are surprised they no longer join them in their “wild, reckless way of living,” but heap abuse on them.

What the early Christians were not doing goes back to their Christian identity, Dr. Williams said. Some Christians stopped going to the Roman Games, which often included the punishment of criminals by animal mauling, the meetings of voluntary associations and meals. He explained that the meetings of voluntary associations involved the worship of the gods and the meals, which could be for a celebratory occasion, were often held in the temples to the Roman gods and often involved heavy drinking and other debauchery.

Christians also did not worship the Roman emperor. However, he said, what caused more issues for early Christians was not worshiping the traditional gods of the Greek and Roman pantheon, which led to them being blamed for natural disasters by their neighbors. There are incidents recorded in which church meetings were interrupted by people coming in and trying to force the Christians to make sacrifices to the gods, he noted.

Another cause of the persecution was in the legal realm, as Christianity became effectively illegal as some point in the first couple of centuries of the church, Dr. Williams said. “While no laws prohibited Christianity, a Christian could still be tried and executed for being a Christian.”

The nature of that legal persecution has been misunderstood by Biblical scholars, Dr. Williams said. The prominent scholarly position is that the persecution at the time of I Peter was localized, sporadic and not governmental, but rather harassment from the general population. That position is based on a premise that official Roman government persecution did not begin until around 250 C.E.

However, Pliny, a provincial governor in Asia Minor who ruled in about 112 C.E., 50 years after the writing of I Peter, sent a letter to the emperor Trajan about what to do about people who are accused of being a Christian before him in court. Pliny mentions in his letter that he has not attended any trials of Christians, which indicates that they have occurred previously, and seeks Trajan’s guidance.

Pliny tells Trajan he has executed those who have declared they are Christians and let those who recanted go free. Trajan responds that he has done correctly, but also tells him not to seek out Christians to arrest them, but handle cases as they are brought before him. Williams noted that Pliny asked for the emperor’s guidance on almost every question, so he must have felt confident to have Christians executed without seeking approval from the emperor.

In the time of Paul, Christians were charged with disturbing the peace rather than for being Christians. During Paul’s time, Christianity was seen as a sect of Judaism by Roman authorities and was protected somewhat.

However, Dr. Williams said, something had changed by the time of Pliny, a change that came during the reign of the emperor Nero, who ruled before I Peter was written.

Nero had a plan to tear down buildings in parts of Rome that had become slums and rebuild these areas, but this plan met resistance. However, Nero had his henchmen torch buildings in these areas anyway, but the fires spread and burnt large portions of the city. The emperor needed a scapegoat, Dr. Williams explained, and Christians, a group that was already disliked, became that scapegoat.

Christians were charged with the fire and executed, he said. Nero was known for tying Christians to poles at his dinner parties and setting them on fire for entertainment as well as light for the parties.

While it was dangerous for Christians, there were some safety nets for them during the time of I Peter – it could be expensive for someone to bring a charge against them due to travel to where a governor was holding court and if a person recanted their faith, their accuser could face execution for bring a false accusation.

The types of persecution that people faced could also differ by their status in society. For example, a slave could face harsh treatment such as beatings by their owner with no recourse as slaves had no rights. A believer who was the wife of an unbeliever, he said, might face divorce and lose their children or be beaten by her husband who had the legal right to do whatever he wished to his wife.

About 85 percent of people in Asia Minor lived in poverty and the loss of even one or two customers by a small businessman who becomes a Christian might mean that his family goes hungry, he might eventually lose his business and go to the poor house to pay his debts. A person of that held a place of position who became a Christian might face losing that respected place in society and be charged as a Christian in court by his former colleagues.

Dr. Williams will continue his study on Tuesday, Feb. 18, with a session exploring the social strategy of I Peter and how the epistle responds to the persecution. The series will conclude on Tuesday, Feb. 25, with a look at the function of good works in the text.

The sessions begin at 10 a.m. in the Chalmers Conference Center in the Niswonger Commons on the Tusculum College campus. There is no charge to attend the lecture series, but reservations are required as lunch is provided in the college’s cafeteria. For more information or to register, please call 423-636-7304 or email eestes@tusuclum.edu.

Dr. Travis Williams provides an introduction into the study of I Peter, which is the focus of this year’s Theologian-in-Residence lecture series.

Understanding the world of early Christians, the importance of I Peter and a social-scientific reading of the New Testament epistle were among the topics discussed Tuesday during the first session of the Theologian-in-Residence lecture series at Tusculum College.

“The main purpose for this series is not looking at what I Peter teaches but why it says what it says,” said Dr. Travis Williams during the lecture. “That is a deeper question and a more important question.” Dr. Williams, assistant professor of religion, is leading the annual lecture series, now in its 24^th year and sponsored by Tusculum College with partial funding from Ron Smith.

While I Peter is not one of the most studied books of the New Testament, it is an important part of the Bible, Dr. Williams said.  The epistle is key in understanding the legal status of Christians in the First Century and provides an important glimpse into the formation of Christian identity in the early church, he explained The book is also one of the earliest attempts by a Christian author to construct a response to anti-Christian prejudice as he encourages his readers to do good.

People often visualize the authors of Biblical texts as theologians who wrote in seclusion as they awaited inspiration from God. However, Williams said, “Biblical authors were influenced and shaped by their world. It is important for us to step back and look at that world.”

A way to do that is through a social-scientific reading of the Bible, he noted. In the 1980s, Biblical scholars began to draw on the social sciences to provide a new lens for interpreting texts, to look at the social and cultural context of the scriptures to better understand the world in which they were originally written and read.

The book of I Peter was written around 65 – 67 C.E. from Rome to Christians in the provinces in Asia Minor, an area that is now found primarily in modern day Turkey. The epistle is a circular letter shared with different churches in the area, Williams explained.

Most Biblical scholars agree that I Peter was written in response to persecution and that this persecution was local, sporadic and took the form of general harassment and antagonism by the general populace, he noted This position comes from a view that the first governmental persecution came in 250 C.E. under the rule of Decius.

However, Williams said, he disagrees with this position because through his study he has discovered evidence that does not fit the “official” and “unofficial” categories used by most Biblical scholars to classify persecution. For example, historical accounts of the governorship of Pliny include incidents when individuals were brought into court on the charge of being a Christian by another citizen, not by the government. The Christians who did not recant their faith were executed.

A way to read I Peter to try to understand what led to its writing is mirror reading, Williams said. Mirror reading is a method to try to piece together both sides of a conversation from a one-sided document. Combining the information provided by I Peter with the historical accounts of the Greco-Roman world of the time, it is possible to put together a broad picture of what early Christians faced and what their suffering was like, he said.

The details of that persecution will be the focus of Dr. Williams’ next session on Tuesday, Feb. 11. The series continues on Feb. 18 with a session exploring the social strategy found in I Peter and will conclude Feb. 25 with a look at the function of good works in the New Testament epistle.

The sessions begin at 10 a.m. in the Chalmers Conference Center in the Niswonger Commons on the Tusculum College campus. There is no charge to attend the lecture series, but reservations are required as lunch is provided in the college’s cafeteria. For more information or to register, please call 423-636-7304 or email eestes@tusuclum.edu.

Mike Verna, left, nominated Codie Fleming, at right, for “Student of the Block” honors at Tusculum College because of not only his hard work for the college’s Information Systems Department but also his dedication to the school.

Codie Fleming has been named “Student of the Block” for Block Four of the fall 2013 semester at Tusculum College for his hard work in the Information Systems Department and his dedication to the college and being part of its community.

Fleming, a senior from Bradenton, Fla., who is majoring in business administration with a concentration in general management, was recognized Friday, Jan. 31, in a brief ceremony in the Niswonger Commons. The “Student of the Block Award” is presented by the Tusculum Office of Student Affairs and was established to recognize individuals who excel in their academic endeavors, campus involvement and/or athletic performance. The award is selected from nominations made by faculty and staff members, and plaques telling about the honorees are displayed in the Niswonger Commons and other campus buildings.

Mike Verna, computer systems administrator at Tusculum, nominated Fleming for the award. Fleming has worked for the Information Systems Department for four years and has been a conscientious and hard worker for the department. He has also been of significant assistance to the department in its efforts to install wireless servers across campus, Verna continued.

Although Fleming’s work for the department is deserving of recognition, Verna said, he also nominated Fleming because of his dedication to Tusculum and becoming part of the college community.

During his time at Tusculum, Fleming has been active on campus. He has served as president and vice president of the Anime Club, one of the largest student organizations on campus, and as vice president of the Student Government Association. He has also been a member of Student Support Services.

Working in Information Systems, Fleming is close to his fellow staff members and has come to know many people across campus. “Faculty and staff have been kind to me since I’ve been here. I have talked to everyone on campus at least once since I’ve been here, and they were always helpful whenever something needed attention,” he said.

Fleming was drawn to working with Information Systems because of the skill and knowledge he already had about computers and software installation. However, working in the department has given him new perspective about his knowledge and work ethic. “Working in the Information Systems department has shown me how bad my work ethic was my freshman year,” he said. “They have been lenient with teaching me new skills and improving what I already knew.”

After graduating in May, Fleming’s ultimate objective is to attend graduate school, earn a master’s degree in computer science and become a chief technology officer. In addition to his professional aspirations, he also wants to become a connoisseur of blacksmithing, leatherworking, improving his origami skills, and someday becoming a professional gamer.

His best advice for incoming students at Tusculum College is to persevere no matter how many times you may not succeed at something. He said that all his professors have made a significant impact on his life and his most memorable course was Renaissance Arts because of the opportunities to travel to Italy, Germany and Sweden.