Yale PhD | Princeton University Visiting Fellow at the James Madison Program (2025-2026) | Fairfield University Associate Professor

Joined March 2025
Today is the US launch of Josephus and Jesus: New Evidence for the One Called Christ (Oxford). The book, however, is already SOLD OUT! Oxford is printing new copies. Due to a generous donor, you can get a free digital copy at josephusandjesus.com
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T.C. Schmidt retweeted
Pir Natal (Christmas mat) from the Asmat people of Indonesian Papua. Showing Mary giving birth in a traditional Asmat forest camp. Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
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T.C. Schmidt retweeted
Happy to announce I built a Greek/English reader site with all the surviving plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, & Aristophanes. Multiple translations for each play; click to parse & define for any Greek word; full Greek & English search. greekdrama.johnhboyer.com
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Professor Daniel Schwartz of Hebrew University has just published in the Journal of Jewish Studies a 24-page review article on my book, *Josephus and Jesus*. liverpooluniversitypress.co.… Professor Schwartz is the first academic reviewer, to my knowledge, to state his disagreement with my conclusions about the authenticity of Josephus's testimony about Jesus (the Testimonium Flavianum), but he is still complimentary, he writes: “To conclude: although Schmidt's erudition and arguments are impressive, I still tend to believe that the TF proclaims Christian beliefs.” He also adds that I provide “a detailed and well-informed study of some details of Judaean prosopography of the first century, one that is valuable for its own sake.” I am honored that such eminent scholars have taken so much time in responding to my book. Daniel Schwartz, Steve Mason, and James Carlton Paget have combined to write over 50 pages in their academic reviews. What is more is the fact that all three have approached the task with admirable clarity and charity, having understood and fairly portrayed my arguments. Mason stated that my arguments for authenticity were “strong” and Paget wrote that my argument is the “best case” hitherto made for authenticity. I am gathering and going through all the reviews thus far written and am finding them very stimulating. I hope to incorporate them into some kind of second edition or follow-up article in the future.
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Typical room in the gorgeous Capitoline Museum
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My Josephus and Jesus book is now freely available on archive.org archive.org/details/isbn-978…
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Magnificent, life size *centaur* in bronze, at the Capitoline museum.
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I'm very much looking forward to being part of the Tyndale House World of the Bible conference on Saturday October 24th. Live stream tickets are available tyndalehouse.com/event/wotb/…
I look forward to attending (rather than speaking at) the Tyndale House World of the Bible conference on Saturday 24 October in Cambridge, which is also available on livestream worldwide. Hear about the New Testament, William Tyndale and the date of Christmas from Dirk Jongkind, Tony Watkins and Tom Schmidt. Link below.
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Happy to report that RealClearReligion.com has linked to the Wall Street Journal op-ed "Unlocking the Josephus Code" about my book. Thank you to everyone who has linked to it. @RealClearRelig
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T.C. Schmidt retweeted
Think of it as a reversal of “The Da Vinci Code.” A professor of religious studies has written a work of genuine scholarship that affirms Christian traditions with a new interpretation of an ancient text. My latest: Unlocking the Josephus Code wsj.com/opinion/free-express… via @WSJFreeEx
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John Miller writes: "Think of it as a reversal of “The Da Vinci Code.” Instead of a bestselling novel by Dan Brown that presents make-believe research to dispute the story of Jesus, a professor of religious studies has written a work of genuine scholarship that affirms Christian traditions with a new interpretation of an ancient text."
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Second century tomb inscription from Ostia Dis Manib(us). L(ucius) Caecilius Ianuarius fecit sibi et suis, libertis, libertabusque posterisq(ue) eorum et ex istis nati qui fuaerint (!) For the souls departed. Lucius Caecilius Januarius saw to (the making of this tomb) for himself, for his family, his freedmen and freedwomen, their descendants and whoever is born of them.
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Beautiful friezes in the Capitoline museum celebrating Emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius. No one was there!
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