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.
Life of Pi, Only 3.14% Accurate
CrossExaminedLife of Pi, Only 3.14% Accurate Scott Symington An interesting encounter at sea is reported in the Naval Institute’s official magazine, Proceedings. A battleship had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather. A lookout reported a light in the distance, so the captain had the signalman send a message: “We are on a collision […]
Intergenic Retrotransposons Can Serve Long-Range Functions
CrossExaminedRetrotransposons (which include LINEs, SINEs, and ERVs) are known for the ability of their long-terminal repeats (LTRs) to serve as promoters and enhancers for regulating the expression of genes that are immediately downstream (Conley et al., 2008; Dunn et al., 2005). The majority of retrotransposons, however, are located considerable distances from genes (often hundreds of kilobases away) — […]
The Design of the Complement Cascade
CrossExaminedWhen I was an undergraduate biology student, one of my favorite topics was the complement system in immunology. The complement cascade is an array of sequentially interacting proteins that serve a vital role in innate immune responses. The complement cascade can be activated via interactions with antibody-antigen complexes. Proteins involved in the complement cascade react […]
Asteroid Belts and Planet Biohabitability
2. Does God Exist?A new study by Rebecca Martin of the University of Colorado finds that “Solar systems with life-bearing planets may be rare if they are dependent on the presence of asteroid belts of just the right mass.” Science Daily summarizes: “They suggest that the size and location of an asteroid belt, shaped by the evolution of the […]
You Can’t Preach the Gospel without Freedom
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsWhen I hear Christians saying we ought not get involved in politics but just “preach the Gospel,” I show them this satellite picture of the Korean peninsula. Here we see a homogenous population of mostly Koreans separated by a well-fortified border. South Korea is full of freedom, food and productivity—it’s one of the most Christianized […]
The Molecular "Clutch" of the Dynein Motor Protein
CrossExaminedOver at Evolution News & Views, I have just published a blog post on the recent paper in the journal Cell regarding the molecular clutch of the dynein motor protein: Here at ENV, I have previously described the molecular flagellar clutch of Bacillus subtilis, the grass or hay bacillus, which allows the bacterium to cease […]
Nature News: ‘Arsenic-life’ bacterium prefers phosphorus after all
CrossExaminedReaders may recall the media hype, back in December 2010, surrounding the claim that a bacterium is capable of utilising arsenic instead of phosphorous in its DNA. A new study, published in Nature and reported on by Nature News, has discovered that the bacterium “actually goes to extreme lengths to grab any traces of phosphorus […]
Was Jesus Married?
4. Is the NT True?Dr. Daniel Wallace, one of the top New Testament manuscript experts in the world, has weighed in on the recently revealed manuscript fragment where Jesus allegedly refers to “my wife.” The bottom line is that even if this fragment is authentic, it is far too late to give us any new information on the historical […]
The Same-Sex Marriage Controversy
CrossExaminedThis week, I participated in a debate on the subject of same-sex marriage before an audience at the University of Glasgow. The motion was “Politics, Religion and Expression: This House Supports Gay Marriage.” The format took a parliamentary style, with teams of three representing each side. Representing traditional marriage were myself, Father John Keenan (Catholic […]
The Demise of Junk DNA and Why It Matters
CrossExaminedENV’s Casey Luskin has already drawn our attention to the groundbreaking research published this week by ENCODE. A number of ID critics are asking the question: “Why should a pro-intelligent design news site care about these results?” After all, the discovery that a great proportion of the non-coding regions of the genome are functional does […]
On the Origin of Protein Folds
CrossExaminedA common objection to the theory of intelligent design (ID) is that it has no power to make testable predictions, and thus there is no basis for calling it science at all. While recognising that testability may not be a sufficient or necessary resolution of the “Demarcation Problem”, this article will consider one prediction made […]
Here Comes McBride (Again): The Debate on Junk DNA Continues
CrossExaminedOver at his Still Monkeys blog, Paul McBride has offered a rebuttal to my defense of Casey Luskin’s chapter on junk DNA in the new book Science and Human Origins. Similar to Larry Moran (whom I previously rebuffed here), McBride writes, Click here to continue reading>>
"Junk DNA," "Non-Coding DNA," and Larry Moran’s Hyper-Pedantry
CrossExaminedEarlier this week, David Klinghoffer posted an article responding to Larry Moran’s claim of contradiction between myself and Jonathan Wells on “junk DNA.” Larry Moran has now posted a follow-up on his blog. Click here to continue reading>>>
A Response to Paul McBride on Junk DNA
CrossExaminedWe have recently been discussing a series of critical reviews of Science and Human Origins published by PhD student Paul McBride on his blog Still Monkeys. I am going to respond now to McBride’s review of chapter 4, in which he tackles Casey Luskin’s handling of the subject of “junk DNA.” McBride’s rebuttal to chapter […]
On the Evolution of the Mammalian Middle Ear
CrossExaminedA correspondent recently asked me about the evolution of the mammalian middle ear in relation to the fossil record. Based on data gathered from embryology, it is widely thought that the bones of the mammalian middle ear (the region just inside the eardrum) evolved from bones of the reptilian lower jaw joint. Besides the paleontological […]
An Incontrovertible Case of Intelligent Design: Artificial Jellyfish Made from Silicone and Rat Heart Muscle
CrossExaminedThe popular science media are abuzz over the creation by scientists of a synthetic jellyfish, called a medusoid, using silicone and a rat’s heart muscle cells (Nawroth et al., 2012). Explains Nature News, “When placed in an electric field, it pulses and swims exactly like its living counterpart.” The authors of the study examined the […]
The Moral Argument for the Existence of God
2. Does God Exist?, Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsThe moral argument for the existence of God refers to the claim that God is needed to provide a coherent ontological foundation for the existence of objective moral values and duties. The argument can be summarised in the following syllogism: Premise 1: If God does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not […]
The End of Moral Relativism: A Chain of Perverts
Theology and Christian ApologeticsIf you are not familiar with the name Alfred Kinsey, you might want to look him up, and you might want to start with Judith Reisman‘s, Sexual Sabotage: How One Mad Scientist Unleashed a Plague of Corruption and Contagion on America. In it, Reisman chronicles Kinsey’s recognition as the America’s expert on “sex education” whose studies […]
When Was John's Gospel Written?
4. Is the NT True?A number of significant events occurred in the life of the church in the decade of the A.D. 60’s. Among them was the great fire of Rome which broke out in A.D. 64, resulting in Nero cracking down on Christians, thus greatly exacerbating the perseuction of the early church. This intense persecution would would last […]
Science and Human Origins: A Review
CrossExaminedENV editor David Klinghoffer has already drawn our attention to the new book by Ann Gauger, Douglas Axe and Casey Luskin on Science and Human Origins.Although intelligent design is not committed to a particular view on whether our species Homo sapiens share a common ancestor with other primates, the new book, published by Discovery Institute […]
The Nativity Defended
4. Is the NT True?The Nativity and, in particular, the virgin birth has increasingly come under attack from liberal scholarship in recent years. Those committed to a naturalistic worldview dismiss the virgin birth of Jesus as fanciful. Some have even questioned whether Jesus was born in Bethlehem and whether Mary and Joseph’s venture to this town was prompted by […]