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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It’s strange that we’ll stuff our mouths today with a bird whose life preaches against us. For consider the turkeys, which neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
The Garden of Eden proved to be the first battlefield between God and his submissive people.
True freedom, Luther discovered, is found in Jesus crucified who sets us free.
Christians are Christians not because of anything that they have done but because of everything Christ has done for them.
This old preacher, Zechariah, didn't abolish holiness. He spread it out. He pushed it beyond the boundaries of the temple.
The flower of youth, as lovely as it is, cannot withstand the hot winds of time. There is a beauty, however, that remains.
The word which typifies my understanding of what makes male friendships so central to the concept of masculinity is philia.
One thing is for certain: my day was heaven compared to his. My minor headaches nothing compared to whatever he was going through.
Being a Christian is hard because it’s easy.
There is no pain like the pain of being mistreated by those who, above all others, you expect to love you unconditionally.
I have my list. It may seem strange to you, but, when I think about my own death, I often think in terms of positive failures.
Today the Spirit whom unfaithful David prayed the Lord would not take from him Pours himself into sinners that they might sing of the faithful love of their Husband.