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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Have you ever received a gift for which you were less than thrilled, but you had to pretend you really liked it so as not to offend the giver?
A part of our series on Luther's, Heidelberg Disputation.
We’re going to take a little bit of time going through John’s description of the resurrected and exalted Jesus and its significance.
This a part of our series on Luther's, Heidelberg Disputation
This a part of our series on Luther's, Heidelberg Disputation
We’re living in the end times. We have been since Pentecost. The earliest Christians believed it, and what’s more, that is what the apostles teach us in Scripture.
My biggest criticism of Peterson’s mantra is that it seems to be exclusively a message of Law in a world in desperate need of grace.
A part of our series on Luther's, Heidelberg Disputation.
Only because He is an outsider can he afford the costly fee insiders could never afford no matter how hard they work.
This is the seventh installment in our special series on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation. Translation of Theses 13, 14 and 15 by Caleb Keith.
This is the sixth installment in our special series on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation. Translation of Theses 11 and 12 by Caleb Keith.
Last week we talked about what happens when the Triune God shows up, and how we practice this every week in Sunday worship with the Trinitarian invocation, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”