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.
Resentment Tests Worldviews
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix Introduction A few months ago, an article on Lifehacker with some financial advice caught my attention. In today’s materialistic (financially speaking, not philosophically speaking) society, resentment towards those who spend more than we do is a real problem. Whether the source of the money is hard work, financial responsibility, a gift, a […]
Objections to the Existence of the Soul
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Jacobus Erasmus In a recent blog post, Professor Keith Parsons offers three reasons for why (he thinks) the soul does not exist. (You might recall that Parsons debated William Lane Craig in 1998). Since Parsons’ objections to substance dualism (for simplicity, I will hereafter refer to substance dualism simply as ‘dualism’) seem rather common among lay atheists, his objections […]
Is Christianity at War with Science?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsThe claim that Christianity is at war with science is one of the most common claims I hear from young people today. In fact, the belief that Christianity is opposed to modern science is one of the top reasons young people cite for leaving the church.[1] That’s why in the updated Evidence that Demands a Verdict, my […]
What Is The Cup That Jesus Asked The Father To Take Away?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, ‘Pray that you will not fall into temptation.’ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup from […]
Does an Objective Moral Compass Point to God?
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Tim Stratton Question Hey Tim, A question from your fellow Nebraska Reasonable Faith chapter director! When discussing the Moral Argument with my Reasonable Faith chapter in Omaha, I received some pushback from one of our members, who just so happens to have his Ph.D. in meta-ethics. The objection he had to the Moral Argument […]
Was Christ’s Death A Sacrifice?
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato The blood-curdling scream signaled that she had not yet given up. Hours of pushing and the baby had still not descended. The OB was weighing her options, while dad wiped mom’s forehead and encouraged her on. She screamed again, pushing and puffing and praying that this agony might soon draw to a […]
Can There Be One Right Religion?
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsRecently I was in a conversation with a friend, and he asked how I could say that Jesus is the only way. I simply responded, “I’m not saying it. Jesus said it. Take it up with him.” He certainly didn’t expect that response. And I didn’t mean to be rude or abrupt. My point was […]
Who Wrote the Book of Revelation?
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton As a teenager, I remember being a bit frightened of the book of Revelation. The smell of acne face cleanser filled the room as I dove into mysterious depictions of four-faced angels, beasts from the sea and land, of massive angels, and 100-pound hailstones being hurled to the earth. While Revelation holds […]
Can Reason Lead Us To A Relationship With God?
2. Does God Exist?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato Most atheists feel confident that they have “reason” on their side. As a result, many are surprised when a Christian apologist takes an evidentialist, or reason-based, approach to matters of “faith.” Not long ago, the issue arose in a conversation I was having with a skeptic. I had been laying out the basic […]
Finding Purpose in Faith
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato Many skeptics maintain unquestioned faith that science will solve the world’s problems. Seeing the evidence of chaos throughout the world, often the product of religiously-inspired violence, they conclude that religion is somehow the problem. Authors like Christopher Hitchens capitalize on such assumptions, writing best-selling books that explain how “God is not great” or […]
7 Insights from Traveling to Israel
IsraelLast week I had the chance of visiting the beautiful land of Israel. My wife and I went with Israel Collective, an organization dedicated to peace-making in Israel. We saw remarkable sites, met unique people (Israelis, Palestinians, Druze), heard powerful lectures, and ate some of the best food I have ever had—period. There are so […]
Should We Let Science Influence Our Doctrine Of Creation?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton Science is an amazing thing! It’s enabled us to transcend so many of our previously existing barriers, from being able to walk on the moon to being able to carry on a live conversation with someone on the opposite side of the planet, from helping us know what makes fevers run hot […]
Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical “Gospel of Nicodemus” or “The Acts of Pilate”?
4. Is the NT True?, CrossExaminedThe Gospel of Nicodemus is an ancient text purportedly written by the man who visited Jesus in the Gospel of John. But is this non-biblical text reliable? Was it really written by Nicodemus? There are four attributes of reliable eyewitness testimony, and the first requirement is simply that the account be old enough to actually […]
Is Jesus Simply a Retelling of the Horus Mythology?
4. Is the NT True?, CrossExaminedWhat if I told you there was once an ancient religion whose God was conceived by a virgin named Meri and had a stepfather named Seb (Joseph)? What if I told you this God was born in a cave and his birth was announced by an angel, heralded by a star and attended by shepherds? […]
Can Religion Be Tested for Truth?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix Most of the time, I’m not too fond of using the term “religion”. I normally prefer to use “worldview” because it is more clear about what all a belief-system entails. However, for this post, I will use the term common for the question posed in the title: Can religion be tested for […]
Is An Evidence Based Belief On Shaky Grounds?
2. Does God Exist?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton “If you were talked into your belief, you can be talked out of it”. This is what I read from one theologian in a book a while back. I cannot remember who said it, but that was a direct quote from the book. I think it came from one of the volumes of A.W Tozer’s The […]
Why We Should Get To Know the Bible
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato Is there a way to use the Bible to get someone interested in knowing more about the Bible? I’ve thought about this question for many years. As I learned more about the Word, and spoke more with people who called themselves Christian but knew little or nothing about what the Bible teaches, I […]
Are You Thinking Like an Atheist?
2. Does God Exist?, Debates, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Adam Tucker As anyone who attends the Southern Evangelical Seminary National Conference on Christian Apologetics knows, SES does its best to offer well-rounded apologetics training that meets the needs of the novice while also challenging those who are more advanced. Our goal is to challenge the status quo of popular Christian thinking about apologetics […]
Belief In God Is Not a Feeling
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato “Remember, a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.” Obi-Wan’s admonition to Luke Skywalker sums up what some skeptics probably think about Christianity. If it were real, they would be able to “feel it” in some tangible way, and perhaps also be able to manipulate its power. A skeptic I spoke […]
Job, Suffering, and a Game of Chess
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix The Ultimate Game of Chess As a Christian, I come across many challenges to my worldview. Some challenges come from those in other worldviews; others come from other Christians. One of the most common challenges from outside is to God’s existence. One argument observes all the evil and suffering in the world […]
Got Karma? Misses and Misuses
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Marcia Montenegro The Hindu word “karma” is used more and more often with a Western twist in meaning. Often people say it to mean “luck” (good or bad) or even as a gleeful expression of revenge. I myself once held a belief in karma when I was following Eastern and New Age beliefs and […]