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.
Do Christians Have a Bias to Believe?
CrossExaminedBy Al Serrato To the skeptic, most Christians – certainly most who appear willing to “defend” their faith – may seem a bit one-dimensional, perhaps in some cases fanatical. They seem so convinced of their views, regardless of how bizarre some of these views seem to the unbeliever. Many conclude, then, that the believer is […]
Why Do Josephus And The Gospels Contradict Each Other About John The Baptist?
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus was born in A.D 37. In about A.D 90, he wrote his book “Antiquities Of The Jews” in which he writes a history of the Jewish people. In this work, he mentions several individuals who appear in The New Testament such as Jesus, James’, the brother of […]
Ten Divine Attributes of the Messiah
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton Mark Lowry wrote a beautiful song called Mary, Did You Know. The song features questions that Mark would ask Mary if he had the chance. One of the lines inquires, “Mary, did you know . . . that when you kissed your little baby, you’ve kissed the face of God?”. We are in the […]
Should Christians Reject the Soul for Biblical Reasons?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Jacobus Erasmus Question Dear Dr. Erasmus, Tim Stratton shared your post, Objections to the Existence of the Soul, to the UK Apologetics and Evangelism Facebook group, of which I am a member. In that group, there is a very knowledgeable Christian who does not seem to believe in the existence of a soul yet says he is […]
If Christian Moms Looked for Guidance as Much as Encouragement, Kids Would Have a Deeper Faith
Apologetics for ParentsBy Natasha Crain I haven’t blogged in a few weeks because I’ve been especially busy since the release of Talking with Your Kids about God. Speaking events and interviews take a lot of time! But it’s been a truly encouraging few weeks, as I’ve had the opportunity to hear from the first readers how the book […]
Being A Good Apologist Is More Than Knowing The Right Answers
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton 1 Peter 3:15 says to “Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have, yet do so with gentleness and respect” and 2 Corinthians 10:5 says “We demolish argument and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and […]
Who Is Jesus, According to Other Religions?
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsPeople trying to discover the truth about God would be wise to take a hard look at Jesus before looking anywhere else. While that may sound like a bold assertion in and of itself, it really isn’t when you consider Jesus is the one religious leader who is most frequently mentioned by religious groups, whether […]
God Behaving Badly? – Introduction
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Timothy Fox “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.” – Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion Christians maintain that God […]
Can God Balance Mercy and Justice?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato In a recent post, I addressed the issue of whether Christ’s death constituted a sacrifice. For many skeptics, Christ’s death, resurrection, and atonement for our sins constitute a major stumbling block. In response to that post, one challenger commented that he could not understand “why the death of Jesus was that big a […]
Historic Heresies Related to the Nature of Jesus
4. Is the NT True?Over the centuries, believers have sometimes struggled to understand the nature of God and the great mystery of Jesus. The Bible describes Jesus as having the nature and power of God, and the Gospel of John tells us that He existed before the universe began (He was, in fact, the creator of the universe). At […]
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 […]