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.

All Articles

Stories like Onoda’s offer an interesting parallel to our life in the Gospel.
Martin Luther is not–or, at least should not–be the object of our affection.
These new texts and manuscripts, while not altering the message of the text, can give us better insight into particular historical and grammatical issues.
The central affirmation of the Reformation stands: Through no merit of ours, but by His mercy, we have been restored to a right relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of His beloved Son
The story of these faithful Christians serves to highlight the roles of both Africa and martyrdom in the early church and today.
Nothing, not pain, hurt, resentment, bitterness, or hopelessness can separate us from God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.
What follows is a little crash course in how to read Calvin with respect, for our benefit, and with an eye to how we keep Reformation giants at a proper historical arms distance.
These three: to judge, to avenge, and to glory, have been taken from us, and no person should share in them.
It was reported that Hus died singing, “Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me.”
We can’t all afford to travel the world, but the more we read from outside our own context, the bigger we see the world.
Our righteousness and the righteousness of our neighbor have nothing to do with what we eat or do not eat.