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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The only one truly blessed of God, who in himself is God’s incarnate makarios, surrounds himself with a multitude of the accursed, the non-makarios.
The fact that the LORD answers Job is a great gift of love and mercy, but He does not provide the answers Job seeks.
Despite what the Pharisees believed and advertised, Jesus was not intent upon deconstructing the fundamental tenets of the Old Testament law. Actually, he proceeds to do just the opposite.
God's new planting will keep the ancient Messianic covenantal promise alive and bring it to fruition.
This is the first direct promise of the Seed who will reunite all mankind to God by defeating Satan on the Cross.
Does Isaiah find himself in the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple, or is this taking place in the Heavenly Temple? Perhaps we might say the answer is “Yes.”
You and I have a God who pardons all our wrongdoing by taking all of them onto himself. He doesn’t zap us into oblivion at the first sign of rebellion.
There is no life when one is separated from the Promised Land because that will be the place where God will send His Messiah.
What is it, though, that makes bedtime so fraught with anxiety?
We confess the ascension of Christ every Sunday in the words of the both the Apostles’ and the Nicene Creed.
Israel is all the people who believe in the LORD and gather at His throne. It is no longer a national distinction, it is one of faith.
This Psalm identifies who the people of the Covenant are, and who they are not, and orientates them in relationship to the LORD God.