Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion Will Explore Early Christianity through the Lens of Pompeii

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WACO, Texas (Nov. 4, 2015) – The Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion will host a symposium entitled “Light from an Entombed Town: Pompeii and Early Christianity” from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, in Cox Lecture Hall.
The symposium will provide insight into Christianity’s earliest days through the lens of Pompeii in the first century. As archeologists have uncovered Pompeii over the years, remains of Pompeiian culture and early Christianity have shed light on an initial movement of Christians.
“We now have access to an urban context that derives from the time when early Christianity was finding its feet,” said Bruce Longnecker, Ph.D., professor of early Christianity and Melton Chair of Religion at Baylor. “Historians of early Christianity are beginning to capitalize on the enormous treasures that Pompeii has to offer in terms of shedding light on the settings and situations that the first urban Christians took for granted but are often lost to us.”
Symposium Schedule:
• 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., morning session, “Growing Up Female in the Pauline Church: What Did She Do All Day?,” Carolyn Osiek, Ph.D., Brite Divinity School; and “Spaces in the Insula of the Menander and Potential Christian Meetings,” Peter Oakes, Ph.D., University of Manchester
• 10:45 a.m. to 12:50 p.m., mid-morning session, “Envisioning Pompeii Fulleries as Early Christian Meeting Places,” Edward Adams, Ph.D., Kings College London; “Viewing Violent Roman Domestic Art and Hearing Paul Preach Christ Crucified,” David Balch, Ph.D., Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary; and “The Protection of the Cross Deity in Pompeii and Beyond,” Bruce Longnecker, Ph.D., Baylor University
• 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., afternoon session, “Reflecting on Today’s Proposals,” Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, Ph.D., University of Cambridge
Click here to register for the event. Cox Lecture Hall is located on the first floor of Armstrong Browning Library, at 710 Speight Ave.

by Bethany Harper , student newswriter, (254) 710-6805
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