I’ve written a lot recently about the fact that there are few evangelical elites and the various reasons for that.
But today I have a positive example of an evangelical Christian doing scholarship at the elite level. He’s T. C. Schmidt, a professor at Fairfield University. Schmidt did his Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Yale and is a scholar of early Christianity.
His relatively new book is Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (free download). The product of over a decade of research, this academic book makes the case that the Testimonium Flavianum - a passage about Jesus in the work of the ancient Jewish historian Josephus - is original and authentic. The scholarly consensus for 100 years is that it was edited by later Christians.
Schmidt uses a variety of research methods to argue for its authenticity. The research is so compelling that top level Josephus scholars are writing major reviews. And the world’s leading scholar of Josephus believes that Schmidt’s arguments are very strong.
We discuss his book, but also what it takes for evangelicals to do scholarship that makes an impact at the highest levels of their field - and what the broader evangelical ecosystem can do to support this kind of scholarly endeavor.
Be sure to also check out the Institute for Christian Reflection, where Schmidt is a scholar in residence.
