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.
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.
The word of assurance given to Moses at Sinai echoes through eternity on the lips of the Savior, untroubling troubled souls with the good news that there is one who walks the paths of life with you, and soon he’s coming to bring you to himself.

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The real power of his hymn comes from the fact that Bonhoeffer does not offer a rosy picture of life or any of the tropes so typical of cheap piety that tell us that everything is always right, that things happen for a reason, and that we should try to stay positive.
Should we have more victories over our sin? Probably. But can we be honest and admit that we don't have as many as we'd like?
A truly Christian work is it that we descend and get mixed up in the mire of the sinner as deeply as he sticks there himself.
Jesus Christ has finished his work of delivering you from the consequences of your sins and the brokenness of this fallen world.
What is supposed to be given by Christ through us for neighbor is used up by us, twisted for our righteous gain.
All God's fatherly goodness and mercy is concrete and real, born of a virgin, crucified for our trespasses, raised for our justification.
Our righteousness and the righteousness of our neighbor have nothing to do with what we eat or do not eat.
I’d like to offer a short reflection on the theme of “worldliness” as it appears in his later work and how that’s connected to an item of his Lutheran heritage: the theology of the cross.
Naturally each individual forgets the beam in his own eye and perceives only the mote in his neighbor’s. One will not bear with the faults of the other; each requires perfection of his fellow.
My earliest memory of seeing a cartoonist drawing of Adam and Eve was in the waiting room at the pediatrician’s office. I probably had the flu. Sitting with my mom- I was waiting for the nurse to come and call our name. Also, I was hoping that I wouldn’t get a shot.
I love the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. So much is communicated in those few verses.
We live because Christ did not remain in the grave but rose to life.