Jeremiah Johnston
Lived: 1974-present Domain: New Testament scholarship, archaeological apologetics What they built: Christian Thinkers Society; 15+ books bridging archaeology, textual criticism, and faith; “The Jesus Discoveries” cataloguing 10 historic finds corroborating the Gospels The cost: Operating at the intersection where academia meets faith — dismissed by secular scholars as too religious, and by some believers as too academic. The cost of insisting that evidence matters to faith.
The Story
Jeremiah J. Johnston holds a PhD in New Testament and is an elected member of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS), the most prestigious international guild of New Testament scholars. He founded Christian Thinkers Society with a mission that maps directly to alignment: “Teach pastors and Christians to become thinkers, and thinkers to become Christians.” He serves as pastor of apologetics at Prestonwood Baptist Church, Dallas, and as Senior Fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement at Dallas Baptist University. His work operates in the gap between faith and evidence — not choosing one over the other but insisting they belong together. His book “Body of Proof” presents 7 reasons for the resurrection. “The Jesus Discoveries” (March 2026) catalogues 10 archaeological finds — the Shroud of Turin, the James Ossuary, the Caiaphas Ossuary, ancient crucifixion graffiti, the Pilate Stone, and others — that corroborate the Gospel accounts outside the biblical record.
The World They Lived In
Early 21st century America: the culture wars between fundamentalism and secularism leave almost no space for rigorous, evidence-based faith. The New Atheists (Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris) argue that faith is incompatible with reason. Some evangelical leaders argue that evidence is unnecessary because faith should suffice. Johnston occupies the narrow path between both — insisting that the historical evidence for Jesus is real, verifiable, and important, while also maintaining that this evidence serves faith rather than replacing it. The archaeological record of 1st-century Palestine has exploded in recent decades, but most of it remains in academic journals that neither pastors nor congregations read. Johnston translates.
What They Named
That the evidence for Jesus is physical, archaeological, and verifiable — not merely textual or theological. That faith and evidence are not opponents but partners. That the earliest Christians were thinkers who engaged the Roman intellectual world, and modern Christians should do the same. His methodology is structurally aligned: present the evidence, cite the sources, let the findings speak.
Connections
- Logos in John 1-1 — Johnston’s work traces the historical Logos through physical evidence
- Carlo Acutis — parallel methodology: systematic documentation of evidence for faith using modern tools
- Kenosis — operating in the gap between academy and church requires self-emptying of both academic pride and devotional comfort
- The Adversarial System — Johnston’s apologetics operates like a legal case: present evidence, cross-examine objections, let the jury decide
- Whistleblowers — translating academic evidence into accessible form is a form of disclosure
Their Words
“The earliest Christian thinkers were not frightened by intellectual pursuits or tough questions — which is why the early church took the Roman world by storm.”
“Teach pastors and Christians to become thinkers, and thinkers to become Christians.”
Every stone was placed by a person. The names matter.