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 “mystery of faith” entails the article of faith: Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, and, finally, his Parousia.
Children are not meant to carry crowns. They are not meant to rule. The burden crushes them in slow, invisible ways.
Protestants, in my view, don’t suffer from a Goldilocks problem. They have an arrogance problem.
We don’t need another brand. We need a people who remember who they are. And that’s us, Gen-X.
When you step into the Lord’s house, he gives you a liturgical imagination to see with eyes of faith all of his goodness and grace.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
This is the second installment in the 1517 articles series, “What Makes a Saint?”
What I was missing—what so many are missing—is a Church that doesn’t just speak about Christ, but delivers him.
So Christ is risen, but what now?
In Christ, you are bound. Bound to mercy. Bound to grace. Bound to a God who won’t let you go. And because of that, you are free—gloriously, joyfully free.
The Church needs mystics again. Not fringe figures, but saints ablaze with love.
Forgiveness from Jesus is always surprising to us.