CrossExamined Blog
Tackling today’s toughest questions, these posts explore topics on God, morality, science, and culture.
Whether you’re a skeptic or believer, each article challenges your worldview and sharpens your thinking. Engaging, thought-provoking, and unapologetic, this is a place to dig deeper and follow the truth wherever it leads.
The False Dilemma of Worldly Philosophies
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 One of my goals as a Christian and as a tenured full professor of philosophy and religion at our nation’s largest research university (ASU) is to help Christian parents and students […]
Top 5 Apologetic Books for a Graduate
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics[Editor’s note: This article was originally posted in May 2025 at Is Christianity True?] We are in the midst of graduation season and some of us either have a graduate or know a graduate who is going to be headed off to college in just a couple of months. How can we help prepare them […]
Early Church Persecution, and its Evidential Value: Part 2
4. Is the NT True?[Editor’s Note: This blog was originally a single article. For the purposes of reposting it at Crossexamined, it has been divided into two parts. Click here for part 1. [Excerpt from Part 1:] In this article [series], I . . . discuss the evidence that the apostles did in fact encounter hardships, dangers and persecutions […]
Early Church Persecution, and its Evidential Value. Part 1
4. Is the NT True?The argument from Christian persecution was developed most fully by William Paley, in his 1794 book, A View of the Evidences of Christianity.[1] Indeed, Paley devotes the first nine chapters of his book to defending the thesis “that there is satisfactory evidence that many professing to be original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in […]
How The Multiverse Theory Could Challenge Your Child’s Faith
2. Does God Exist?What comes to mind when you hear the word “multiverse”? Do you (a) cringe, (b) hink of your kid’s favorite Marvel movie, or (c) do you cock your head like a confused (but very cute) puppy? In case you chose “c,” the term “multiverse” refers to a theory that we live in one of many […]
Class Guide: How to Avoid Filth
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsAs students around the country get ready to go back to school, our universities are eagerly awaiting their next round of freshmen. If you’re a parent or student, you will need to know how to find classes that help you become wise and lead a virtuous life. As a professor, I can provide you with […]
Why Demanding Extraordinary Evidence Makes Little Sense
3. Are Miracles Possible?, 4. Is the NT True?Many skeptics approach “the evidence” for Christianity with a closed mind. Hobbled by a number of presuppositions, they typically end up where they begin: convinced that God simply would not have made himself so difficult to detect. Many will back up their position with a challenge – because Christian claims are so “extraordinary,” they say, […]
What is the Role of A Priori Knowledge?
2. Does God Exist?A priori reasoning originates from a Latin word which means, “beforehand.” Knowledge gained from experience is called a posteriori, and knowledge that doesn’t require experience is called a priori.[1] Our primary concern here is with factual knowledge. For example, Little Italy is located in New York on the East Coast of the United States, Plato lived in Athens, Greece, […]
Why Philosophical Proofs For God Are Better Than “Scientific” Proofs
2. Does God Exist?Let me first say that I think the “scientific” proofs for God’s existence are very good, as far as they go (I’ll explain why that word is in quotes later). Since middle school one of my hobbies has been backyard astronomy. I am very familiar with the intelligent design arguments from cosmology and biology. They […]
When Propaganda Wears a Habit: Why Apologists Must Guard the Truth
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsNote: The original version of this article was published on Dr. Orr’s Substack. The present version has been substantially revised and adapted by the author. When Tucker Carlson aired the episode Here’s What It’s Really Like to Live as a Christian in the Holy Land (2025), the optics were powerful. His guest, Mother Agapia Stephanopoulos, […]
What is the Meaning of Life?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsAncient philosophy began when people started thinking about ultimate reality. These early philosophers proposed theories about the ultimate elemental stuff which everything else comes from or is made of. Some of the early theories were earth, air, fire, or water. One ancient philosopher, Democritus, even suggested that everything is made up of tiny particles he […]
Answering Stephen Law’s Evil God Challenge
2. Does God Exist?If you’ve followed the problem of evil at the popular or academic level, then there’s a good chance you’ve come across the rather interesting objection from Stephen Law which he terms the “Evil God challenge.” In essence he contends that skeptics can reverse any efforts from theists to explain God’s goodness in spite of the facts of […]
Four Ways that Middle Knowledge Helps to Explain Unanswered Prayer
Theology and Christian ApologeticsCountry singer Garth Brooks popularized the song, “Unanswered Prayers.” The song recounts how he prayed to have the love of a young woman earlier in his life. His prayer, however, was declined. While he didn’t understand why God did not allow him to have the love of this young woman when he was young, he later […]
What’s Left of ‘My Body, My Right’?
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics[Editor’s Note: This blog was originally posted in 2014. While the general argument is still as relevant as ever, a lot has changed in the cultural landscape since then, most notably the 2022 Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Plus, time-sensitive statistics are relative to 2014.] The right to privacy just might be the most […]
Let’s Help Harvard Understand Intelligent Design
2. Does God Exist?, 3. Are Miracles Possible?Last week, my wife and I spent an afternoon at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, in Cambridge, MA, near where we live. We both were generally impressed by the exhibitions, particularly the dinosaur section, and would recommend the museum to anyone visiting Boston. I was, however, quite disappointed to see this notice at the […]
Sending Your Kids to College on F.I.R.E. for Their Faith!
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsIf you are the mom of a soon-to-be-college freshman, hang on. You will survive! But the more important question might be: Will your child survive college. . . spiritually? Even if he or she has checked all the boxes associated with growing up in the church, there’s always the possibility that their faith will end […]
A Trinitarian Moral Argument
Theology and Christian Apologetics[Editor’s Note: The following blog is a scholarly article presented, in full, with only minor formatting edits. It is longer, and more academic, than what we normally publish at Crossexamined.org, but we think you can handle it 😉. Crossexamined does not necessarily endorse every philosophical or theological position represented in blogs and articles like this, […]
59 Reasons Men Should Speak Out Against Abortion Part 2
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsIf you are a pro-life man, like me, then you’ve heard a hundred times that men need to shut up about abortion. Apparently, we men have no right to talk about abortion unless, perhaps, we’re voicing pro-choice solidarity. #girlpower. In part 1 of this series, we looked at 25 reasons why men should still speak […]
Why Biblical Authorship Matters: A Test Case
4. Is the NT True?On April 14th 2025, Christianity Today published an article entitled “Was Jesus Crucified with Nails?” In the article, the author asserted that it was likely that Jesus was not nailed to the cross but was instead tied to the cross with ropes. He argues this by appealing to an authority, a professor from Gordon College, who has […]
59 Reasons Men Should Speak Out Against Abortion
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsIf you are a pro-life man, like me, then you’ve heard a hundred times that men need to shut up about abortion. Apparently, we men have no right to talk about abortion unless, perhaps, we’re voicing pro-choice solidarity. #girlpower. Why should men be silent? – The “No Womb, No Say” Position Just being honest […]
Not My Jesus: A List Of Christological Heresies
Theology and Christian ApologeticsJesus Of Nazareth Is the most disputed character in history. Most of the world’s religions incorporate him into their teaching, whether as a morally perfect prophet (Islam), a divine manifestation (Baha’i), or a reincarnated god (Hinduism). Buddhists believe he is a grace-giving demigod or even a Buddha. Christian cults like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the […]