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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You have been invited to bring God’s grace to people who are dying for want of it.
God’s telling a joke. And after we’re done laughing at this silly divinity, we realize that the true joke is on us.
In an age when families are already fractured beyond comprehension, are we seriously going to separate parents from children in the one service in which God himself is present to unite us to himself and one another?
The greatest joy of Lent is failing at it only to find Jesus has already done it for us.
The Law must attack because nothing outside of Christ can enter Heaven—nothing!
Only Jesus’ absolute absolution can satisfy a troubled conscience.
“Church is set free in Christ, in short, to revel in her irrelevance to the ways of the world’s power and wisdom.
I cannot recall how many times I sang along to this theme song, punching and kicking as a kid in the 80s. But much of my desire to join the Marine Corps had its genesis in the 80s cartoon “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.”
Jesus’ sacrificial death is the perfect sacrifice because He is sinless, the spotless Lamb, and it is for you.
That is why the church has to offer Super Bread and Super Wine, so that God can see that we are Super Christians.
A good place to start is to work hard at loving those no one else seems to love. I can’t think of a more Christ-like action.
God has given us a way out of our plight of “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” It is the way of the cross.