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.
Book Review: Welcome to College
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix. Introduction With today’s culture ever-increasingly becoming hostile to the Christian worldview, it is vitally important that we prepare our children for the challenges they will encounter to what they believe. Jonathan Morrow wrote a book several years ago that focuses specifically on a Christian’s journey through college. He recently updated this volume […]
Are Religious Discussions Important?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton An old adage claims that the two worst conversations to have with a person involve religion and politics. Since people hold deep emotional feelings pertaining to these two issues, the logic of the cliché claims that the two topics must be avoided. However, these two topics are arguably the most important topics […]
What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?
Culture CrossExamined, Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsAs Frank quite often says, the new religion in America is the religion of sex, an old religion resurrected. The leading topics of controversy and conversation today are Abortion and the LGBTQ agenda. In this dialogue, our dear friend, colleague, and CIA Instructor Dr. Sean McDowell has a critical discussion with Matthew Vines about “What […]
Reference Guide to the Biblical Symbolism of Colors
CrossExaminedBy Brian G. Chilton Understanding portions of Scripture, particularly prophecy and apocalyptic literature, requires the reader to understand the symbolic meaning of the devices used by the prophet or apostle. Last week, I posted a reference guide describing the symbolic meaning of various numbers. In Revelation, John describes Jesus’s appearance as having hair as “white […]
Should God Reveal Himself More Clearly?
2. Does God Exist?, AtheismBy Al Serrato God gave us free will so that we can freely choose Him, for freedom of choice is essential to love. But, the skeptic counters, many people do not believe God is real. Why doesn’t God reveal himself more clearly? This question has considerable surface appeal, as it plays on our intuitive sense […]
Can You Have Purpose Without God?
AtheismBy Luke Nix Introduction One of the more convincing reasons to believe that atheism is false comes from man’s desire for life to have purpose. If there is no designer behind the universe, life in general, and our individual lives in particular, have no ultimate purpose, no goal to guide our decisions, no finish line to […]
The Identity Argument for the Soul
Substance Dualism, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton C.S Lewis once wrote “You don’t have a soul, you are a soul. You have a body“.[1] Most Christians believe that we are not merely physical bodies, but that we are immaterial entities that live inside our bodies. We are embodied spirits. This view is known as Substance Dualism. The Bible very clearly teaches substance dualism (see, for […]
God Behaving Badly? – Destruction of the Canaanites
CrossExaminedBy Timothy Fox This is the second article in my series God Behaving Badly? where I address passages of the Bible where God seems to do some immoral things. In the introductory article, I discussed what it means for an action to be immoral, that it goes against some moral code. However, I argued that God is the […]
Should Christians Stay Silent? No!
CrossExaminedShould Christians Stay Silent? No! Rarely a day goes by (and sometimes an hour) that I don’t receive personal criticism through Twitter, email, Facebook, or some other medium. I have chosen to speak publicly on controversial topics like religion and sexuality, and so I have come to expect it. But to be honest, it still […]
A Through Guide to the Non-Canonical Gospels
4. Is the NT True?Many years ago, when I first became interested in Christianity, I encountered a book at a local bookstore entitled, The Lost Books of the Bible. As a new investigator of the claims of the New Testament, I was immediately intrigued. “What?” I thought, “There are books about Jesus that were lost?” I couldn’t help but […]
How do Atheists Justify Human Rights?
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsChristians and atheists often disagree over politics and human rights. However, while Christians have a foundation for supporting their political positions, atheists unwittingly steal from God in order to argue for some of their political rights, whether it’s abortion, same-sex marriage, government healthcare or whatever. How so? By what objective standard are abortion, same-sex marriage, […]
Can We Impose Our Preferences On The External World?
1. Does Truth Exist?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Arthur Khachatryan We are subjective creatures. We have a consciousness that provides us with an internal reality, one we experience within of our inner self. We have private preferences, opinions, fears, and biases, which are very real in our thoughts and reflect in our actions. This internal reality is immediate and cannot be overthrown, at […]
The Canon Conspiracy
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Timothy Fox I’ve always been intrigued by conspiracy theories. New World Order, Illuminati, stuff like that. Christianity has its own share of conspiracy theories, like the existence of “lost” gospels suppressed by the Church. However, we all must wonder why the Bible contains the books that it does. What if there really are texts […]
Reference Guide to Biblical Numerology
CrossExaminedBy Brian G. Chilton Early Apostolic Church Fathers (100-451 AD) recognized that Scripture had four layers of interpretation. They used a method called quadriga which held the following layers: 1) Literal (sensus historicus), 2) Allegorical (sensus allegoricus—texts hold symbolic meaning), 3) Tropical/moral (sensus tropologicus or sensus moralis—broader moral lessons), and 4) Anagogical (sensus anagogicus—mystical, metaphorical sense). Often numbers are […]
If Evolution Were True, What Would Happen To Adam And Eve?
CrossExamined, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton If evolution were true, what would we Christians do about the Bible’s teachings on Adam and Eve, their relationship with sin’s entrance into the world, and the doctrine of original sin? As I’ve argued in several blog posts on this website, I believe Christianity and Evolution are compatible, and many of the […]
Why Can’t God Just Forgive Us?
Islam, Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton Some non-Christians, mainly Muslims, ask why Jesus had to die on the cross in order for us to be saved. “Why does God need a blood sacrifice?” They’ll ask, “Why can’t He simply just forgive us?” This objection was recently posed to me in the comment section in another article in this […]
Why Should Christians Care About Logic?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Andrew Cabrera I was at a Christmas party a few years ago and someone walked up to me and began talking to me about my views on God. At one point in the conversation he asked the age-old question, “Can God make a rock so heavy that he himself can’t lift it?” Among other […]
Why Evil Disproves Atheism
Atheism, Theology and Christian ApologeticsHow can a good God exist when there is so much evil in the world? Many people doubt the existence of God because of the existence of evil. But evil doesn’t disprove God—evil disproves atheism! How so? Evil can’t exist on its own, it only exists as a parasite in good. Evil is like rust […]
What Happens to Our Souls When We Die?
CrossExamined, Theology and Christian ApologeticsThere are many good reasons to believe we, as humans, are more than simply physical bodies. Humans are “soulish” creatures; we are living souls united to physical bodies. Even without the guidance of Scripture, there are good reasons to believe our lives will not end at the point of our physical death. The existence of […]
Yes, Women Need Apologetics, But More Importantly, Apologetics Needs Women
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Hillary Morgan Ferrer 1 Peter 3:15 says that we are to give a ready defense for anyone who asks for the hope that is within. 2 Corinthians 10:5 says that we are to “demolish arguments that set themselves up against the knowledge of God.” Now with words like “defense” and “demolish,” it is not surprising […]
Christianity Is Based in Truth, Not Superstition
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato My last post dealt with the belief, common among skeptics, that Christianity is simply a form of superstition. Modern “science-minded” people reject superstitions, and so religious belief holds no interest for them. Historic Christian doctrine is in fact much different, however; while some who claim to be Christian may indeed be superstitious, […]