A Tale of Two Tombs

A Tale of Two Tombs

Our tour group gathered beneath a canopy at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem, listening to our guide on a beautiful, shirt-sleeve day. To one side, we could hear the singing of another church group gathered near the tomb, and to the other side was the cacophony of the...

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The Jerusalem Model: Legoland for Bible Geeks

The Jerusalem Model: Legoland for Bible Geeks

  “It’s even better than Legoland,” said actor Hugh Bonneville of Downton Abbey fame in the PBS show, Jesus: Countdown to Calvary. Bonneville made the comment while viewing a massive model depicting what the city of Jerusalem looked like in the first...

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Mary Magdalene’s Giant Leap

Mary Magdalene’s Giant Leap

Hanging in our basement, next to a Lego model of the Apollo 11 lunar lander, is the front page of a Chicago Tribune, dated July 21, 1969. The headline: “GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.” Last year, the United States celebrated 50 years since that incredible day when Neil...

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Gethsemane and the Way of the Press

Gethsemane and the Way of the Press

We reached the Garden of Gethsemane after hiking down a winding, slippery road on the Mount of Olives, east of the Temple walls in Jerusalem. The pavement was so treacherous and the road so steep that we had to hold on to handrails as we weaved our way down. But we...

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It’s Not Easy Being Big

It’s Not Easy Being Big

The life of a giant is no piece of cake. I recently listened to a book about the making of the classic movie, The Princess Bride, which featured a humongous actor known as André the Giant. André was a gentle giant, according to the book’s writer, Cary Elwes, who...

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At the Gates of Hades

At the Gates of Hades

We had just stepped off of the bus at the Dan archaeological site in northern Israel when our guide told us to quickly turn around. So our tour group hustled back onto the bus because there had been an incident very close to this site at the border between Israel and...

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Dead Sea Walking

Dead Sea Walking

Walking into the Dead Sea is like trying to walk across a polished floor in roller skates. When I arrived at the Dead Sea in Israel this past March, I figured I would simply stroll across a sandy beach and stride into the saltiest body of water in the world. Nothing...

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From God’s Restaurant to Mars Hill

From God’s Restaurant to Mars Hill

The sky was as blue as the Aegean Sea when my wife and I left our hotel and hiked off to visit the Parthenon, the ancient ruins of a temple that has stood at the heart of Athens for about 2,500 years. Before we climbed the winding slope leading up to the Acropolis,...

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The Artist Every Christian Should Know

The Artist Every Christian Should Know

Most people have heard of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael, although some primarily know them as the names of the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Their true fame came from being four of the greatest Italian artists in history. If they ever add a fifth...

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Why Herod the Great Was Not So Great

Why Herod the Great Was Not So Great

With the Olympic games of 2016 still fresh in my memory, I was surprised to learn recently that just before the time of Jesus, Herod the Great rescued the Olympic games and made sure they continued to be played on various Greek islands. He did this because he loved...

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History by the Slice