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.
5 Common Answers to Kids’ Questions about God That Can Do More Harm Than Good
Apologetics for ParentsBy Natasha Crain A couple of years ago, my husband and I were invited to a dinner party with a few other new parents from our kids’ Christian elementary school. After we worked our way through appetizers and the requisite small talk, the conversation turned to our respective faith backgrounds. One of the moms confessed […]
Beach Balls and the Sexual Revolution
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsIt’s no secret that sexual mores have changed radically over the past few decades in America (and beyond). Certain commonsense and natural beliefs about the purpose and nature of sex and marriage have been uprooted. Given the increase in abortion since Roe vs. Wade, our cultural addiction to pornography, and the ubiquity of broken marriages, many people are […]
Who Wrote the Gospel of John?
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton For the past few weeks, we have investigated the authors of the Gospels and the book of Acts. In this article, we examine the evidence for the Gospel of John. Who wrote the Fourth Gospel? As we have in previous articles, this article will look at the proposed author, the internal and […]
Debating Atheists: Arrival of Evil (Part 4/5)
2. Does God Exist?, DebatesBy Dan Grossenbach Understanding evil reveals an important part of reality. As much as we try to avoid it, evil is part of the universal human condition – something theists and atheists both have in common. You may be surprised, however; that the way atheists think about evil actually shows God exists. For the previous post […]
Right Behavior. Does It Exist?
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian Apologetics[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.11.0″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″] By Michael C. Sherrard How do you know if your idea of right behavior is truer than mine? I ask, of course, because nearly every day I’m confronted, as are you […]
Debating Atheists: Arrival of Biological Information (Part 3/5)
2. Does God Exist?, DebatesBy Dan Grossenbach Information embedded inside all of life demands an explanation. Virtually all agree that, at some point in earth’s early history, the first living being came about from non-living (dead) material. Setting aside for the moment the incredible principle of life arising from death, what we find inside of life gives us the […]
Who Wrote the Letters of Peter?
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton Over the past few months, we have been investigating the authors and backgrounds of the New Testament books. In this article, we will look into the letters attributed to Peter. Towards the back of the New Testament, one will find two letters associated with Peter, most would think this would be the […]
College Is Not A Day Care: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsIn 2015, Oklahoma Wesleyan University president Everett Piper wrote a provocative article entitled, “This is Not A Day Care. It’s A University!” The article was quoted in the Washington Post, the New York Times, NBC News, and more. Needless to say, he ruffled some feathers! The article was such a success that Dr. Piper followed up with a recent […]
How Does Christianity Fulfill our Deepest Aspiration? Author Interview
Theology and Christian ApologeticsMy friend and Biola colleague Greg Ganssle has written a fascinating new book called Our Deepest Desires: How the Christian Story Fulfills Human Aspirations. Professor Ganssle takes a unique approach to the apologetic task. Essentially, his goal is not to show that Christianity is true, but to argue that when it is properly understood, people should wish it were true. […]
Debating Atheists: Arrival of the Universe (Part 2/5)
Debates, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Dan Grossenbach In the previous post of this short blog series found here, I explained how four facts agreed upon by the majority of non-Christian experts can be used to build a strong case for Christianity. This is the approach I took when I debated Freethought Arizona spokesperson Dr. Gil Shapiro in November 2016. […]
7 Reasons Why I Came Back to the Christian Faith
Radio Show, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton On today’s podcast, host Brian Chilton discusses his personal journey back to the Christian faith. Brian was saved at the age of 7 and was called into the gospel ministry at 16 years of age. However, he left the faith in 2000 due to personal issues and doubts that he had pertaining […]
The Incompatibility of Christianity and Racism
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton This past Saturday, I returned home from our church’s annual Vacation Bible School. The topic for this year’s VBS was on putting on the full armor of God. When I sat down in my office chair, I turned on my laptop to check the website and look over a few final details […]
Debating Atheists: Introduction (part 1/5)
Debates, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Dan Grossenbach On November 27, 2016, I debated a local atheist leader, retired podiatrist Dr. Gil Shapiro, the spokesperson of Freethought Arizona (video here). I’ve blogged on general post-debate thoughts here but now will cover a series of five consecutive blog posts covering each of the four arguments that the atheist couldn’t answer. This is no […]
Who Wrote the Letter of James?
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Bryan Chilton As you know, we have been examining the authorship of the New Testament letters over the past few weeks. Thus far, we have learned that good reasons exist to accept the apostles Matthew and John as authors of the First and Fourth Gospels; John Mark as the author of the Second Gospel, […]
Did God Use Evolution? Is the Earth Old? New Book Review
Theology and Christian ApologeticsQuestions related to origins are some of the most divisive in the church today: How old is the earth? Is there good evidence for intelligent design? Did God use evolution?Sadly, rather than discussing differences in a sober and gracious manner, conversations are often characterized by defensiveness, misunderstanding, and personal attacks. What a shame! But this need not […]
A Simple Case for Religious Liberty
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsAs John Stonestreet and I argue in our book Same-Sex Marriage, we are currently undergoing one of the most sweeping social revolutions in world history. Until theObergefell v. Hodges SCOTUS decision in 2015, the definition of marriage as a union of a man and a woman was the understanding of virtually every civilization throughout history. But this has […]
Why Apologetics Won’t Work
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Dan Grossenbach If apologetics is so great and its arguments compelling, why isn’t everyone convinced of Christianity? This is where the doctrine of election debate between Calvinists and Arminians normally comes in, but I think both sides are overlooking a simpler and self-evident truth of human nature – one they can both agree on. People […]
Freedom Through Obedience: A Lesson from Star Wars
2. Does God Exist?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsPersonal autonomy has become the reigning virtue of our day. If it feels true to you, then it must be true for you. As SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy famously said, “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.” On […]
Making Apologetics Personal: A Quick Lesson from John 4
Theology and Christian ApologeticsIt’s no secret that I love apologetics. I love to read apologetics blogs, study apologetics books, and have apologetics conversations. But there is a constant temptation I have to battle that I believe is common among many apologists: the temptation to simply study apologetics but not put it into practice. Let me state something clearly up […]
How Living Counter-Culturally Can Lead to Your Kids’ Resentment of Christianity
Apologetics for ParentsBy Natasha Crain Our family just returned from a wonderful vacation to the mountains of British Columbia. It was stunningly beautiful! We spent our first day there relaxing at this picture-perfect lake. My husband and kids had a blast swimming out to a wooden platform in the middle of the lake and taking turns jumping off. […]
Objections to Objective Morality
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Cole James I took a philosophy class while I was in college. The topic of this class was on contemporary moral issues, so you know we got into some heated topics. I heard every objection under the sun to objective morality. Everything from it was not very “tolerant,” to different cultures act differently so therefore […]