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.
The Historical Paul Vs. The Legendary Paul?
Theology and Christian Apologeticsby Erik Manning Skeptical critics argue that Luke wasn’t a traveling companion of Paul’s. Why do they say this? Let’s discuss one reason. NT scholar Uta Ranke-Heinemann asserts that in: “Acts and the epistles there are two Pauls. The historical Paul of the authentic epistles and the legendary Paul of Acts.” 1 In other words, don’t confuse […]
The Balance of Law and Love
Theology and Christian Apologeticsby Tony Williams Perhaps you, like me, have had the experience of being stopped by a police officer for a traffic offense such as speeding. I recall well the feeling of burning anger that the officer would dare to stop me, of all people, for barely going 17 miles per hour faster than the posted […]
My Heavens – Not in the Stars
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Josh Klein The Four Horsemen of atheism stormed the cultural, philosophical, and spiritual scene in the early 21st Century. Their dogmatic atheistic positions (or even anti-theist depending on who you talked to) were immediately popularized. The late Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris comprised the crew. They rode their vitriol for […]
How We Got Our Bible: Modern Translations
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Ryan Leasure This article will consider the differences among the modern translations. Translation Theory Have you ever wondered why Bible translations differ from one another? For example, some say “brothers” while others say “brothers and sisters.” Or some say “he knew her” while others say “he had sexual relations with her.” Why the differences? […]
How Mainstream Media Gaslights Christians (and Everyone Else Who Disagrees with Them)
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politicsby Natasha Crain I had a revelation last week that, in retrospect, was many years overdue. So overdue that it borders on embarrassing to admit this was a revelation in 2022. Here it is: Mainstream media doesn’t try to be objective. Now, before you laugh too hard, let me make a clear distinction: I’ve long […]
Are We All Born Children of God?
Theology and Christian Apologeticsby Melissa Dougherty Many believe that all humans are born children of God. Is this true? I want to examine the Bible’s words about this beautiful theological truth. Spoiler alert- It’s true. According to the Bible, we’re not born children of God. The belief that we’re all children of God is never taught in the […]
Why The Bible Depicts God As Jealous
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato In my last post, I tried to make the case that God neither “needs” nor “demands” our praise. I acknowledged that he does, however, expect it, because praise naturally flows to a perfect being. But, the skeptic may counter, doesn’t the Bible describe God as “jealous?” Don’t the Ten Commandments include prohibitions […]
Movie Review – What is a Woman?
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsBy Josh Klein What is a Woman? Seems like an easy enough question to answer, but these days, apparently, it’s a stumper! Conservative commentator, author, and part-time Virginian, Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire seeks to answer this seemingly innocuous question in a documentary released on June 1st. It is no coincidence that the release […]
Does Isaiah 9:6 Affirm the Deity of Israel’s Messiah?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Jonathan McLatchie This past weekend, I had the privilege of participating in a moderated panel debate with my friends Dr. Shabir Ally, Yusuf Ismail, and Samuel Green. The topic was focused around the question of whether Isaiah 9:6 affirms the deity of Christ. Isaiah 9:6-7 reads, 6 For to us a child is born, to us […]
Fertility Matters
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Bob Perry Nicholas Eberstadt, the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, is a demographic expert. He has identified some sobering trends that are cause for concern for the future of America. In his article, “Can America Cope with Demographic Decline?”, Eberstadt points out that the traditional attempts to address those worries […]
What You Might’ve Missed About the Mount of Transfiguration
Theology and Christian Apologeticsby Erik Manning Does John’s Gospel give us a much higher view of Jesus than what we find in Matthew, Mark and Luke? Bart Ehrman certainly thinks so. He says: If Jesus went around Galilee proclaiming himself to be a divine being sent from God…could anything else that he might say be so breath-taking and […]
How We Got Our Bible: History of the English Bible
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Ryan Leasure In this post, we will consider the history of the English Bible. The Bible, after all, wasn’t written in English but in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. In fact, English didn’t even exist when the Bible was written! So how did the Bible end up in our language? That’s what I hope to […]
Salvation in Christianity Vs. Salvation in Buddhism
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Melissa Dougherty “Buddhism has much more to offer than Christianity does!” “How do you figure? What you’re suggesting is impossible. It’s unattainable. Isn’t that the point?” I was listening to two of my friends have a lively conversation about their beliefs, and that last sentence stopped my first friend cold in his words. He […]
Truth, Perception, and Reality
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian G. Chilton Is truth found in personal perceptions or is it grounded in an independent transcendent reality? Multiple businesses and even churches have used the phrase “perception is reality” when referencing the importance of meeting customer needs. If a customer feels that he or she is not getting the service they expect, then […]
Why God Does Not Need Praise
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato Christians claim that God is a perfect Being. By perfect, of course, we mean that God has every possible attribute in an infinite and complete way. In other words, God possesses everything, lacks nothing and needs…nothing. Why then, the skeptic will often counter, does this Being that needs nothing need praise? Doesn’t […]
How To ‘Stay Alert’ Until Christ Returns
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Jason Jimenez According to the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24-25; Mk.13; Lk. 21), Jesus prophesied that the world would grow darker before returning for his Bride, the church. We see the escalation of deception and confusion consuming the world and the ensuing threats from adversarial countries. Jesus warned, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom […]
Undesigned Coincidences in the Scriptures: An Argument for Their Veracity (Part 1) — Old Testament Examples
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Jonathan McLatchie The principle of undesignedness was first identified by the famed Christian philosopher William Paley (1743-1805), in his book Horae Paulinae. Therein, he highlighted example after example of undesigned integrations between the epistles of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles. The principle of undesignedness refers to cases where two or more sources […]
Reality Rules: The Transgender War on Women
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsBy Bob Perry Back in the good ‘ole days of 2015, the fight over allowing transgender women to use the women’s bathroom in Charlotte, North Carolina, took center stage in the national political debate. At the time, only a Chicken Little would suggest that mixing gender preference and sexual identity could lead to harmful outcomes. […]
The Pendulum Problem: A Warning of Extreme Beliefs
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Melissa Dougherty I have a dog and a cat. Max is my dog whose personality is likened to a lovable, furry, hyperactive toddler. As an anxious dog, nobody is safe from his “watchful” eye. When the doorbell rings, my ferocious dog barks an explosive cry so loud that it vibrates throughout the entire house. […]
Is the Law of First Mention a Proper Biblical Hermeneutic?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton Recently, Curtis Evelo (Bellator Christi Podcast co-host) told me about a conversation he had with an individual about biblical interpretation. Apparently, the individual held that the wine that Jesus miraculously brought forth out of water in John 4 was merely unfermented grape juice. When asked why he held this view, he contended […]
Daniel Prophesied the Timing Of The Messiah
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Erik Manning How did Jesus see himself? As we learn about Jesus’ Jewish context in the first century, we find that he made some staggering claims. First of all, Jesus spoke constantly about God’s kingdom. The phrase kingdom of God or kingdom of heaven appears more than 100 times in the Gospels. Jesus begins […]