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.
Why People Hate Being Judged
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato “Don’t judge me” seems to be an increasingly uttered, and accepted, refrain in our society, reflecting what appears to be a universal and deep-seated human tendency. Even Christians, who should know better, seem to be jumping on board, believing somehow that Christian compassion requires us to be more understanding and more accepting […]
What did Jesus think about the Old Testament?
4. Is the NT True?, Jesus ChristBy Ryan Leasure It’s not uncommon for Christians to throw shade on the Old Testament. These Christians say they love Jesus, but they could do without those primitive Jewish texts. In fact, many Christians suggest that much of the Old Testament is ahistorical. Events such as the flood, Jonah being swallowed by a big fish, or the fiery […]
The Three Fatal Flaws of Equity
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsBy Jason Jimenez All this talk about more equity in our institutions seems like a good thing, right? Not so fast. On the surface, equity seems to be fair, just, and impartial. But upon further investigation, you find that the outcome of equity is anything but fair, just, and impartial. There are undoubtedly those within […]
Is All Reasoning Circular Reasoning?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy David Pallman Circular reasoning is generally understood to be fallacious. The reason for this is that circular arguments assume what they purport to prove. At least one premise in a circular argument depends upon the truth of the conclusion, making the argument lose any justifying force. For in order to accept the relevant premise, […]
The Gospels Are Embarrassing for The Apostles
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Erik Manning If you want people to trust their leaders, you usually would try to paint them in the best light possible. You don’t go out of your way to undermine their authority. But that isn’t what we see at all in the Gospels. Those who would eventually lead the church often look impulsive, incompetent, […]
Contradictions In The Life of a Christian
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix Introduction The Christian Church is no stranger to hypocrisy. The Church is comprised of sinners who do not always practice what they preach, and sometimes such practice is in stark contradiction to what we preach. Some of the most heinous acts have been committed by Christians while they speak truth. It seems […]
Five Tips for Teaching Christian Apologetics
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Doug Potter I have taught Christian apologetics to seventh graders through seminary students. I have done this in a Christian school, church, home, and graduate school; in-person and online. I even helped put it in print. I still find teaching apologetics challenging. Sometimes I feel I have forgotten more apologetics than my students will ever […]
The Historicity of the Feeding of the Five Thousand: An Appraisal of the Evidence
3. Are Miracles Possible?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsIt is one of the most iconic incidents in Jesus’ life. We are all familiar with the famous story of Jesus miraculously feeding the five thousand from five loaves and two fish, with no fewer than twelve basketfuls of leftovers. The story is recounted by all four gospel writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But […]
Resurrection Defense Series: Transformation of Eyewitnesses
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton One of the most fascinating historical aspects of Jesus’s resurrection is the transformation it brought to individuals who claimed to have experienced the risen Jesus. Interestingly, these experiences occurred so early that Richard Bauckham contends that the “earliest Christology was already in nuce the highest Christology. All that remained was to work through consistently […]
3 Apologetics Strategies from the Book of Acts
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Alisa Childers ”Do you understand what you’re reading?“ This simple question is credited with carrying Christianity into Ethiopia. (1) Acts chapter 8 tells of Philip being led to the desert by an angel to meet an officer from the court of the Queen of Ethiopia. Philip finds him reading an Isaiah scroll containing prophecies about the Messiah. At this […]
What Does the Common Practice Of Withholding Sex Reveal About Women?
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsBy Wintery Knight Dennis Prager features a lot of discussions about male-female relationships on his show, particularly during the male-female hour. I think this is one of the parts of his show that I really like best because he knows what he is talking about. He did a two-part series a while back on 1) male […]
Why It Is A Mistake To Say That All Religions Are The Same
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato Every year in America, thousands of crimes occur in which there are no witnesses and very little evidence. Sometimes, the perpetrator leaves behind a fingerprint impression – a latent print -somewhere at the crime scene. In the past, these prints possessed little value in identifying the offender; before a comparison could be […]
An Evaluation of “Why the case against abortion is weak, ethically speaking”
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsBy Elliott Crozat Introduction Why the case against abortion is weak, ethically speaking is an engaging article on an issue often confined to academic journals.[1] I am grateful for the report, mainly because of Nobis’ and Dudley’s emphasis on personhood and because I agree with them on two significant points. First, our society needs a careful […]
A Reply to Bart Ehrman’s Defense of Jesus, Interrupted on the MythVision Podcast
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsNearly a year ago, I published a series of three articles in which I reviewed sections of Bart Ehrman’s book Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don’t Know About Them). If you have not read those articles already, you can find them at the links below: Why You Should Not […]
Improbable Planet by Hugh Ross ― Audio Book Highlight
2. Does God Exist?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix Introduction If you consume a large portion of your material through audio, it is hard to get past a good deal on an excellent audiobook. Twice every year ChristianAudio.com runs a sale on most of their collection, and you can usually pick up these great audio resources for $7.49. The time has […]
Resurrection Defense Series: Multiple Source Attestation for the Resurrection of Jesus
CrossExaminedBy Brian Chilton Historians use various methodologies to determine the credibility of a historical story. One criterion is called the “criterion of multiple attestation.”[1] Reginald Fuller calls the criterion the “cross-section method.”[2] The criterion states that a story is authenticated if it is repeated in more than one source. As noted in a previous article, historian Paul […]
Did John Really Write John?
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Ryan Leasure The Gospel according to John has received more scrutiny than the other Gospels put together. Case in point, dating back to the 1920s, critical scholars have argued that the apostle John could not have written the Gospel. Rather, they’ve suggested a whole slew of other possibilities (anonymous, John the Elder, Lazarus, John Mark, […]
The Key To Less Stressful Decision Making
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Bob Perry “What is God’s will for my life?” This is a common question to hear from someone who is pondering a difficult life decision. Making big decisions can be confusing. But using “God’s will” as the benchmark for success adds a whole new element of agony to it all. The key to less […]
Why Do Some Christians Say “All Sins Are Equally Bad” And “Everyone Is Equally Guilty”?
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsBy Wintery Knight We were having a discussion about whether the Bible teaches that sex before marriage is morally wrong, and someone said “impure thoughts counts as adultery… there isn’t a virgin among us.” Regarding her point that lust is equal to adultery, and so no one is really a virgin, here’s Ligonier Ministries: In demonstrating that […]
Book Review: Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Timothy Fox In my last blog post, I shared some of the most important books regarding cultural issues that I read in the year since the COVID lockdowns began in March 2020. While those books dealt with the culture at large, my next two reads focused on cultural and theological issues impacting the church: Confronting […]
Why Does the Church Need Apologetics?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Mia Langford Apologetics is having an overdue moment in the spotlight, thanks in part to challenges from media influence on the culture. Dr. Ray Ciervo, apologist, pastor, and SES Alum, joins us this week to discuss how someone can help get apologetics training started at their local church, what issues should be prioritized in […]