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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My Song Is Love Unknown is a Lenten hymn written by Samuel Crossman and John Ireland. For this particular arrangement we've added a chorus which reads: "oh, Your grace has made a way. Oh, your love has conquered this grave. Oh, Your love made known to me, and to the world, Your love I'll be." The goal with this chorus was to continue the personal tone of the song particularly emphasizing the redeeming work of Christ in our lives.
"Ragged" written by Gretchen Ronnevik is now available for purchase from 1517 Publishing
This is an excerpt from the introduction of Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted written by Gretchen Ronnevik (1517 Publishing, 2021), 122-125. Now available for preorder.
God leads us to the refuge that’s more secure and safe than any man-made thing, more than anything we own, more than anything that owns us.
Now, if there were another way to heaven, doubtless, he would have made it known to us.
This is an excerpt from the introduction of Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted written by Gretchen Ronnevik (1517 Publishing, 2021). Now available for preorder.
It’s God’s love that sets us free to love in the first place.
"Vocation: The Setting for Human Flourishing" by Michael Berg is now available for purchase
This is an excerpt from Vocation: The Setting for Human Flourishing written by Michael Berg (1517 Publishing, 2021). Available for purchase this Tuesday!
God loves you no matter what. Loves you no matter how many times you have screwed up. Loves you to death, he does.
This is an excerpt from Vocation: The Setting for Human Flourishing written by Michael Berg (1517 Publishing, 2021). Now available for preorder.
In Defense of Christian Ritual is now available for purchase from 1517 Publishing