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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“Standing firm in the confession we share should not exclude us from inviting others into it.”
Come to the feast where evil and good, wise and foolish, shameful and shaming are welcomed as citizens of the kingdom.
Jesus is the great Houdini of the grave for us. And through His death, He gives us the Great Escape from death that leads to the great joy of the Resurrection.
In elementary school, children are taught that America was a destination for Christians in search of religious freedom. But that’s not the truth.
You have been invited to bring God’s grace to people who are dying for want of it.
God’s grace and freedom announces the truth to us about ourselves. We need a real Savior.
The victory of Christ is hidden in the crosses we bear as Christians following Him to our own personal Golgothas.
God is for us in His foolish, scarred Word and Wisdom. Nothing is against us, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.
Only Jesus’ absolute absolution can satisfy a troubled conscience.
How does that sit with you? It frightens me. Naked, exposed in the eyes of the One to Whom I must give account?
“Church is set free in Christ, in short, to revel in her irrelevance to the ways of the world’s power and wisdom.
That is why the church has to offer Super Bread and Super Wine, so that God can see that we are Super Christians.