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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Heaven is yours now.
This article is written by guest contributor, Christopher J. Richmann.
He represents our likeness, fulfills it, and so has the prerogative to reproduce his likeness in us.
Sin is a heavy thing to bear. Its jacket is shame, its medals are guilt.
The opponents of Father Brown thought that debunking the fake resurrection of Father Brown would discredit the good news of Christ's resurrection. The truth, however, is the other way around.
He declared you what you might not always feel you are, but what you were from the moment he knew you, before you were you, when he foreknew you.
Sometimes, we get prayer dementia. We can’t remember what we were going to pray for, we can’t put the words together, and, frustrated, there is nothing we can do but sigh and groan.
There is no AA for legalists. At least not officially. But there ought to be, and it should be called your local church.
We are the fruit that grows from the branch, which extends from the trunk of the tree, which is rooted in the soil that it grows out of, which is all Christ.
The more I got to know Dr. Rosenbladt, the more I saw that he wasn’t a man divided.
Anyone could tell he enjoyed teaching theology and loved his students.
God never delights in seeing his children struggle or suffer. But God does desire that we trust him no matter what the circumstances might look like.