W. P. Schmidt When was the last time you walked in the fields, no houses or people, no cars and streets in sight? Just walking, looking at the fields, the trees, maybe some horses, and the beautiful skies, clouds, and the sun spreading its beautiful colors. I like walking in the fields whenever I get a chance. At the end of summer, when our little family visits the grandparents in their countryside house, I like to take some bags and roam the fields, seeking fruits. When our teenage daughter saw me going out like this, she said: “Daddy is going into the fields like an 18th century man.” In the eyes of a young teen, growing up with smartphones, TikTok, Instagram, etc., seeing me, living without these gadgets, preferring to walk in nature, I look like an 18th century man! She doesn’t have to go back that far in history.…
Konrad Fernandez Most of us know of the three wise men who follow the guiding star, and visit the child Jesus with gifts. In 1895 Henry Van Dyke wrote this beautiful short novel called “The Story of the Other Wise Man.” What’s the story about? This fourth wise man also sees the same signs in the heavens and sets out to find the Child Jesus; carrying his gifts of a Sapphire, a Ruby, and a very precious Pearl. But nothing goes as planned. He misses his rendezvous with the other three wise men because he is delayed helping a dying man. Now, to cross the desert alone he needs camels and supplies and sells one of his treasures to buy them. He arrives late in Bethlehem after saving the life of a child using another of his treasures. In the meantime, the child Jesus has left Bethlehem. And after many…
The fact that Jesus lived on this earth and that he died by crucifixion is academically well established also by ancient sources outside of the Bible. There are historical evidences, dating back to just a little over 20 years after His death, which is much less time than the first biography of Alexander the Great, written about 400 years after his death! What about the resurrection? Perhaps the most remarkable reference to Jesus outside the Bible can be found in the writings of Josephus, a first century Jewish historian. In the “Testimonium Flavianum”, the relevant portion declares: About this time, there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he ... wrought surprising feats.... He was the Christ. When Pilate ...condemned him to be crucified, those who had … come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the…