Theologian in Residence Features Robert E. Knott

The ninth annual Theologian-in-Residence Program, held this February, featured Tusculum College President Robert E. Knott, who spoke on the history of Christian Thought.

In part one of the series, Knott discussed the earliest manifestations of Christian doctrine and reviewed the latest findings of scholars who study the Qumran documents. These documents, commonly referred to as the Dead Sea Scrolls, are the oldest versions known of parts of the Christian Bible.

"The scrolls were essentially the library of the people who lived at Qumran," Knott said. Knott said that the Qumran residents, the Essenes, had withdrawn from Hebrew society in the years immediately preceding the birth of Jesus, because of their rejection of "Maccabean appropriation of the priesthood." The Maccabees were a militant group of Jews who controlled Palestine from 142 B.C.E. to about A.D. 50.
Knott also discussed the rise of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, the Reformation, and recent developments in Christian thought.

An able scholar in addition to his work in higher education administration, Knott holds the Bachelor of Science in mathematics and the Master of Arts in philosophy and religion from Wake Forest University. He earned the Bachelor of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was ordained in the Presbyterian Church and served a pastorate in Winston-Salem, NC. In 1975, he earned the Ph.D. in Higher Education-Philosophy from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

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