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.
A Disturbing Trend
1. Does Truth Exist?, Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsA disturbing trend is rising. People are calling for Trump’s assass1nation.[1] Political discourse has shifted from divisive and shrill, to radical and violent. Meanwhile, there have been four confirmed attempts on the president’s life, one of them missed by mere inches. This is getting out of hand. Ironically, the same people calling for violence […]
The Myth of the Dark Ages
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsWe have all heard about the “Dark Ages” between 500 AD and 1500 AD. Some common descriptions include: “There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as the Dark Ages.”[1] – Ruth Hurmence Green (1915-1981, a notable atheist with the publication of her book The Born Again Skeptic’s Guide to the Bible). […]
33 Defenses for the Resurrection of Jesus: Part 2
3. Are Miracles Possible?[Editor’s Note: In part 1 of this series on the Resurrection, Brian Chilton laws out five lines of evidence for the resurrection in the Acronym: RISEN – Records of Jesus’s resurrection, Irritating details about the resurrection that show its truthfulness, Sightings of the risen Jesus, Early testimony about the risen Jesus, and the Newfound faith […]
The Real Issue and the Christian Philosopher
2. Does God Exist?Human beings are rational animals, according to Aristotle. As animals, human beings are sensible beings who have sensations and movements (in contrast to plants, which are living beings without true sensation and self-initiated movement). But human beings are not just any kind of animal. We have a special quality that separates us from animals, plants […]
33 Defenses for the Resurrection of Jesus
3. Are Miracles Possible?, 4. Is the NT True?I told someone recently that Easter (aka., “Resurrection Sunday”) is my favorite holiday. It holds a greater prominence for the child of God than even Christmas. Up until the commercialization of Christmas, Easter was the central holiday for the Christian. One of my good friends recently stated that her pastor called Easter the “Super Bowl […]
Do the Resurrection Narratives Contradict? A Reply to Dan McClellan
3. Are Miracles Possible?, 4. Is the NT True?Dan McClellan is a Biblical scholar who has taken to creating YouTube content. He has a popular channel, with 127,000 subscribers at the time of this writing. He often produces short videos responding to conservative scholars and apologists. Unfortunately, McClellan often comes across as incredibly condescending towards conservative scholars, with a rhetorical tone that is, […]
Archaeology and Jesus’ Tomb
4. Is the NT True?Every Easter, we Christians gather to remember and celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. During the Easter Season, however, there are times when we tend to hear more skeptical portrayals of the resurrection story. For example, In How Jesus became God, Bart Ehrman argues that the empty tomb was just a created story by the first […]
10 Historical Facts About Jesus From Non-Christian Sources
4. Is the NT True?If you have ever been involved in religious discussion on Facebook or Twitter, you have probably come across some version of the comment below: I just think it’s interesting that the only book that even talks about Jesus is the Bible! I’m not even sure we can prove he actually existed. Although this assertion […]
Guards at the Tomb: Historical Inquiry and Resurrection Apologetics
4. Is the NT True?Scripture reports that there were guards at the tomb of Jesus (Matt. 27:62-66). This historical claim has been either much discussed by some apologists, but largely dismissed or ignored by others despite its potential significance in resurrection narrative. Dismissing the Guard Evidence For example, here is William Lane Craig answering a question about the guards […]
Why It Is Appropriate For God to Judge Us On Our Beliefs
Theology and Christian ApologeticsFor many atheists, no amount of argument will ever convince them that a loving God could consign any of his creation to Hell. I have often encountered this challenge, which usually sounds something like this: “It does not matter how just, kind, and generous they have been with their fellow humans during their lifetime. […]
Defense of the Immaterial Soul
Theology and Christian ApologeticsThe human body is a marvelous and complex system. Of special interest is the cellular mechanism of the body. Every 7-10 years, the cells of the body replace themselves, to the point that the body is essentially new every decade.[i] While the DNA remains the same over the course of a person’s life, the […]
Is Guidance Control COMPATIBLE with Divine Determinism?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsSTRATTON: Dear ChatGPT, Guidance control is a concept from philosophy, particularly in discussions of free will and moral responsibility. It refers to the capacity of an agent to guide their behavior in a way that reflects their reasons, values, and intentions. In the context of free will, guidance control is often contrasted with what is […]
4 Good Things That Go Bad When They Are Idolized
Theology and Christian ApologeticsIn recent years, Joshua Harris announced that he and his wife are separating AND that he is no longer a Christian. In case you missed the whole I kissed Dating Goodbye craze in the late 1990’s, let me summarize: Joshua Harris was a prominent voice in purity culture (which Amy Davison has been blogging about here and here.) In his early 20’s, […]
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and its Evidential Value, Part 2
4. Is the NT True?[Editor’s Note: In part 1 of this series on the evidential value of Paul’s conversion, Dr. Jonathan McLatchie established that (Proposition 1) The accounts in Acts substantially represent Paul’s own conversion testimony, and (Proposition 2) Paul was not plausibly sincerely mistaken. In this second installment, McLatchie tackles the remaining two propositions, showing that Saul’s conversion to Apostle […]
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and its Evidential Value, Part 1
4. Is the NT True?An argument for Christianity that seldom receives adequate attention is the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (also known as Paul) on the road to Damascus. There exist three accounts of Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts — in chapters 9, 22, and 26. The argument from Paul’s conversion has been laid out in most […]
Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Faith, Part 2
Theology and Christian Apologetics[Editor’s Note: In “Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Faith, part 1” Miguel Rodriguez raised the question of how should we handle our doubts. He proposes we do Christian apologetics. He then defines “apologetics,” and points out how doubt can be a sign of a living faith. Doubt can be healthy. In this second installment, […]
Gen Z, Atheism, and The Problem of Evil
Theology and Christian ApologeticsGeneration Z is the generation born from 1999 to 2015. They are the successors of Gen X (born 1965-1980) and Gen Y, also known as Millennials (b. 1981-1998). The dates are approximations and arbitrary creations of sociologists and scholars studying generational trends. The Barna Group alongside the ministry Impact360 has conducted as study of Gen Z’ers called […]
Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Christian Faith
Theology and Christian Apologetics“Why is there evil and suffering in this world?” “No one naturally can resurrect from the dead after three days. It’s impossible.” “The Bible was written by fallible men thousands of years ago, how can I be sure that what I have is what was written?” “How can I know that Christianity is the one […]
Can Christianity Really Be The Only Means of Salvation Part II
Theology and Christian ApologeticsMany skeptics believe that all religions are basically the same. If there is an afterlife, they surmise, all that will be required for admission is that you live a “good” life and be “sincere” about your beliefs. My last post offered reasons from the observation of nature that should cause the skeptic some concern. […]
How to Raise Kids to Research Like a Pro
Theology and Christian ApologeticsIf you hang around parents long enough you’ll find that there are certain “mommy moments” that we moms all share. Kid running down the street naked? Check (mostly for boy moms…). An embarrassing family secret shared with the entire elevator by your darling little chatterbox? You betcha. And it’s practically a Christian mom rite-of-passage […]
Christianity and Abortion, Part 2: The Early Church’s View of Abortion
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsIn Part 1 of this series on abortion, we discussed that abortion has been practiced for millennia. It is nothing new although the means of destroying a child in the womb have varied. We also briefly looked at why abortion has been a human preoccupation throughout history. For philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, they firmly believed […]