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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A promise was made to my older brother roughly 50 years ago. He was just an infant and had no idea that this promise was being set upon him.
Being a Christian is hard because it’s easy.
I am not one of those people who can put together a jigsaw puzzle without using the picture on the box.
Jesus takes that burden away in the “I forgive you and them” and gives us His “light” burden.
What we see in the face of this God is not a loathing expression. We find the face of a compassionate man who knew all about shame himself.
A crisis of faith always occurs when we begin to believe that God has betrayed us.
Either one of those verses alone is scary; but both of them together are terrifying!
I'm in the middle of a series on Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
As the story unfolds we see Luther’s Heidelberg theses on display, even before the Fellowship leaves Rivendell.
Faith does not require that we always Hoorah what the Lord does. God wants children, not brown-nosers.
At our churches must remain focused on the deep kick, the real deal, the thing itself. I’m not the first on this site to remind us that this is Christ himself.
He has wandered away into the darkness of his doubting, got lost in his grief, confused by the pains he’s suffered. It happens. Shepherds sometimes become lost sheep as well.