In the first video, David explores the person of Saint Peter. He searches for information about the man, the disciple of Jesus who then became one of the greatest Christian leaders in Rome. The video considers documents and traditions, as well as the artifacts of art in Rome. He looks at Peter’s life as a fisherman, and then David also asks a key question: why did Peter join Jesus, who clearly had conflict with Rome? With this overview, I will review some of the key aspects of the film, critiquing and affirming the conclusions and approach while offering some of my own reflections.

In the first place, David looks at biblical documents but also gives credit to other sources of information. It does not seem that he has a criteria by which to rank or evaluate these sources. Thus seeming legends of Peter in Rome, his power and personality, seem to stand on equal footing with the Bible and other ancient documents. I do not necessarily think that David should have favored the former, but it seems a bit careless and uncritical to use the evidence in the way he did. However, his aim was also just to present information and generate thought. So I understand the less rigorous approach.

His concern with Rome appears in his key question about following Jesus. I appreciate this overarching theme and how he continued to return to it. He took seriously the relationship between the Romans and Jesus’ claims, something that other historians often down play or overlook. However, he draws on its significance and even creates a creative perspective towards the man of Peter. Overall, I enjoyed the video and found it informative. However, I think that the biblical text deserves a bit more attention, especially regarding why Peter followed Jesus.

Ancient Rome: BBC Video 2—Saint Peter
In the second video, David continues to explore Saint Peter. He has established conclusions from his first video, namely about Peter’s character. He was a bit compulsive and slightly wild. This contrasts with the composed and charismatic figure of Jesus who started the movement of Christianity. David asks how Peter could have taken the lead in following Jesus after his death. And he also considers whether Peter was actually martyred in Rome as the first pope.

David does a solid job of assessing the character of Peter. This time, he also works with the New Testament a lot, lending credibility to his study. He sees how Peter was not a composed and controlled man like Jesus. Neither did Peter always have respect in the way that Jesus gathered from his followers. Yet Peter nevertheless takes charge of the Christian movement, or so David claims. I do not necessarily agree with this claim. While Peter did have a prominent role in the church, I do not know that those texts presented in the video actually mean that he was to fill the shoes of Jesus. What about Paul? What about John? These figures demand an explanation, one more than the video offers.

In regards to the status and death of Peter as pope, I find this less interesting. It is a controversy that has been long going between the Catholic Church and other groups. However, it does pertain to Rome and the religious community at large, especially as we consider the man of Peter. So, the video remains consistent with its theme and question. Overall, the BBC offers an intriguing historical approach to the Saint known as Peter. Despite its faults, I would recommend this to keen historians and Bible readers.