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.
4 Ways Parents Bore Their Kids Out of Christianity
Apologetics for ParentsBy Natasha Crain The highlight of my summer was a family RV vacation to Kings Canyon National Park. Behind our campground flowed a gorgeous river that I returned to multiple times over the course of our trip. Each time I went, I sat and pondered the “big questions” of life. There’s something about the majesty […]
12 Reasons to Trust The New Testament
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Bob Perry If you claim to believe the Bible, you better be able to trust that what it says is true. Trusting the Bible means knowing two things. First, that the original authors recorded historically accurate information. And, second, knowing that the Bible we have today contains what the original authors wrote down. “Textual […]
Jesus’s Understanding of Human Nature in Luke 17
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton Some have claimed that Jesus was not a theologian. Granted, he did not sit down and write out a systematic theology book. However, the teachings of Jesus denote a deep theology that resonated with his understanding of God, Jesus’s own identity, God’s judgment, and of God’s salvific plan. In addition, one can […]
5 Steps Every Christian Should Take When Talking with Skeptics about Miracles
3. Are Miracles Possible?, AtheismBy Jeremy Linn When talking with skeptics about the resurrection of Jesus, it seems obvious to go straight to the historical evidence for the resurrection. But for many skeptics, there is an intellectual barrier that needs to be broken down before historical evidence can even be considered. The barrier is: A strong skepticism towards miracles. I […]
There Is No Rise Unless He Is Risen
3. Are Miracles Possible?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Alex McElroy If you are creating a building, the structure is important, but the foundation is most important. If a rock goes through the window, it can be replaced. If there is a leak in the roof, it can be patched. However, if there is a crack in the foundation, the building will be […]
Why the Gospel of Thomas isn’t in the Bible
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Ryan Leasure There’s a common refrain among liberal scholars that says the church suppressed dozens of Gospels. The reason they say? It’s because those books share scandalous information about Jesus that the church wanted to hide. They didn’t want the world to know sketchy details like Jesus tortured other kids as a child or […]
Respectfully Engaging with Hindus
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Mikel Del Rosario Let’s talk about respectfully engaging with Hindus. Why? More than a billion people around the world say they’re Hindus. That’s about 15 percent of the world. So if you haven’t met someone at least interested in some aspect of Hindu culture, you may soon. The more we engage with our neighbors, […]
Is It Biblical to Have an Evidential Faith?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix Introduction Is biblical faith blind or reasonable? This is one of the most hotly debated questions between believers and unbelievers. While most who say that faith is blind are unbelievers, I have also heard many Christians claim this as well. The claim is that faith and reason are at odds with one […]
What Christian Parents Should Learn from Marty Sampson Losing Faith
Apologetics for ParentsBy Natasha Crain My blog has been quiet since earlier this year because I was finishing my next book (Talking with Your Kids about Jesus; March 2020). Now that I’ve turned it into the publisher and my kids are heading back to school, it’s time to resume blogging! I debated what my first post should […]
Can We Be Good Without God?
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Ryan Leasure This past weekend, two mass-scaled shootings transpired on American soil. El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio experienced unspeakable carnage. Two men, fueled by hatred for mankind, slaughtered dozens of innocent people in cold blood. In response, people of all stripes spoke out against these atrocities. Men and women, democrat and republican, Christian […]
How Do We Know The Truth Is Out There?
1. Does Truth Exist?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Bob Perry There are two kinds of truth. One depends on our opinion of things. This is called subjective truth. The other depends on the way the world actually is. This is called objective truth. Most people never think about the difference between the two. And that makes any discussion of the concept of […]
An Argument From Cancer
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Robby Hall Natasha Crain wrote a great article last year on what an apologist does when they believe they have cancer. Little did I know at the time that 6 months later, I would get the news: Stage 2 colon cancer. I’ve tossed back and forth about writing this, but I felt two points […]
God & Evil: A Rapid-Fire Response
2. Does God Exist?, Atheism, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Timothy Fox The problem of evil (pain or suffering) is probably the number one argument against the existence of God. While it is definitely not a problem that can be answered quickly and simply, I’d like to offer some short, rapid-fire responses that can be used to begin a deeper discussion: Free will – […]
Voltaire’s Prediction, Home, and the Bible Society: Truth or Myth? Further Evidence of Verification
Atheism, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Daniel Merritt Editor’s Note: Previously, we ran an article that featured Dr. Merritt’s research into the story concerning Voltaire’s prediction that the Bible would not be read in a century and the use of his facilities as a Bible repository. After running the article, Dr. Merritt came across further evidence verifying this story. This […]
Yale computer science professor David Gelernter expresses doubts about Darwinism
Philosophy of Science, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Wintery Knight How did life begin? I had to learn about David Gelernter when I was doing my Masters in computer science. We studied his book “Mirror Worlds”. A few weeks ago, I blogged about his impressions of the difficulty in forming a simple protein by chance – something that naturalistic mechanisms would have […]
Safeguarding Yours from the Modern Cult of Experts
Philosophy of Science, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Terrell Clemmons [Although this essay was written at another time, Cross Examined considers its content to be current and relevant to share] Few years ago, Current Biology, a research journal published by Cell Press, carried an article titled, “The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism across the World.” The report, authored by seven […]
No, The Argument from Miracles Has Not Been Debunked (Pt. 2)
3. Are Miracles Possible?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Erik Manning Is the argument from miracles hopelessly fallacious? Stephen Woodford, AKA ‘Rationality Rules,’ believes so. In his popular YouTube video ‘The Argument From Miracles-Debunked’ Woodford says the argument from miracles commits four major fallacies. In my last post, I looked at Woodford’s first two objections saw that they didn’t really hold up under […]
Responding to NY Times Article Saying the Concept of God is Incoherent
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy J. Brian Huffling In a NY Times article titled “A God Problem: Perfect. All-powerful. All-knowing. The idea of the deity most Westerners accept is actually not coherent,” Peter Atterton argues, well, that the concept of God is not coherent. Atterton describes God in the classical sense as his subtitle suggests. He argues that such a […]
What Every Apologist Needs to Know About 1 Peter 3:15
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Mikel Del Rosario Rules of Engagement 1 Peter 3 is about Apologetics and Cultural Engagement What should our interactions with people look like as ambassadors of Jesus? Peter talks about both apologetics and cultural engagement in 1 Peter 3—the chapter where you find that famous apologetics memory verse, 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV): But in […]
What Biblical Books are Included in the Earliest Canonical Lists?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Ryan Leasure There are two opposing ways to view the history of the canon. One would be to believe that the church, in its entirety, uniformly accepted all twenty-seven books of the New Testament as canonical from the very beginning. The other would be to suggest that the canon didn’t exist until an arbitrary […]
Should Christians Abandon Social Media?
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsBy Luke Nix Introduction With all of the recent news of various social media platforms purposefully hiding and censoring Christian and politically conservative content in the name of “diversity” and “tolerance,” many people have abandoned Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other popular social media outlets in protest. While I have been tempted to do the same, […]