Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.
The student of Scripture should always have a map open next to their Bible as they read. If possible, they should also travel to Israel, not to make a pilgrimage, but to see the context of the land in which these stories took place. These are not fairy tales made up about fictional fantasy lands; these are stories about real people in real places interacting with a real God.

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Few smells are as pervasive as the smell of smoke. Anyone who’s sat around a campfire can attest.
The miracle of Pentecost is not obvious; it is the miracle of faith created through the preaching of the word of the cross.
When it comes to this world, our beds are most often a mess even when we do our best to make them in the morning.
Jesus is the end of religion.
We are called to proclaim the life, death, and resurrection of the Answer incarnate, Jesus Christ, and in love respond to the questions that inevitably arise against it.
God only baptizes babies. He only saves babies. He only resurrects babies.
The veil was not torn to let us in but to let God out.
When we focus on God's self-giving Word, when we turn our attention to Golgotha, we are shown a wholly different way of viewing the Commandments.
Because of Jesus, we don’t have to pretty up anything ugly thing in life.
I hate driving. I am more of a “pew-pew” guy than a “vroom-vroom” guy. I battle my own heart every day in Atlanta traffic.
Come to the feast where evil and good, wise and foolish, shameful and shaming are welcomed as citizens of the kingdom.
Well, it is springtime! Just as you can always expect flowers to begin blooming, the days getting a little longer and everyone’s mood getting a little brighter, there’s something else you can always expect this time of the year.