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,...
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...
The Jesus Boat
Two fishermen, brothers Moshe and Yuval Lufan, trudged along the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel—the same body of water where Jesus’s disciples cast their nets. Moshe and Yuval kept their...
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...
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...
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...
The Philistines! A Major New Find Announced
I like the way that NPR begins its report on a major new archaeological discovery:
"There's no denying the Philistines have taken some guff over the past, well, thousands of years. After all, they're one...