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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Defy the world with its “oughts” and “shoulds,” for in Christ, it is finished.
The seemingly small, the particular, the previously overlooked, magnifies in importance.
The death and resurrection did indeed really happen. They are accomplished historical facts, and by them, so too is the forgiveness of our sins and justification before God.
This article is written by guest contributor, Aaron Boerst
The opponents of Father Brown thought that debunking the fake resurrection of Father Brown would discredit the good news of Christ's resurrection. The truth, however, is the other way around.
A truly Lenten mindset sees the season as preparatory for the resurrection life of Easter as opposed to the mortification of Good Friday.
What if the dissonance in this calendrical coincidence can be harmonized into a deeper melody?
Christ's resurrection does not merely negate the bitterness of sin; it changes it into a source of divine sweetness, embodying the promise of a new life for us and a restored existence overshadowed by heavenly hope.
My goal here isn’t to selfishly reflect on all the reasons I will miss Rod because I know that if you are reading this, you may miss this man, too.
A “good death” and “good life” are not accomplished through personal striving but are grasped by faith in the promises of God.
Theology and history go hand in hand in the real person of Jesus Christ, making the truth of the Gospels profoundly human and powerfully meaningful.
We know that death does not have the last word in Christ.