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 Did God Write A Book?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton Why did God write a book? By that, I mean why did God inspire authors to write documents which make up a compilation we call The Holy Bible? What were God’s purposes in doing that? Obviously, He had reasons of some sort. All authors write books for reasons. For example, when I […]
Why Shouldn’t We Trust the Non-Canonical Gospel Attributed to John?
4. Is the NT True?The Gospel of John is a reliable addition to the New Testament Canon, but this ancient document isn’t the only text attributed to this disciple of Jesus. Another slightly less ancient text called the The Apocryphon of John claims to have been written by the same man who wrote the gospel we accept as reliable. […]
Is Faith Emotional or Logical?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix So many people, both religious and non-religious, believe that faith is purely emotional, and in most contexts people imply the word “blind” before “faith”. While few others believe that faith is logical- that it is firmly grounded on something. Lately, I’ve been reading the book “Emotional Intelligence” by psychologist Daniel Goleman and […]
Why Did a “Good” God Create Hell?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato Many people today accuse God of unfairness. Since God can foresee the future, they ask, why didn’t He simply never create all those he knows to be destined to spend eternity in Hell? One skeptic I know put the question like this: God supposedly knows everything that will happen before you are ever […]
Responding To Free Will Critics
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton My article “5 Arguments For The Existence Of Free Will” became very popular. Tim Stratton liked it so much that he featured it as a guest post on his blog FreeThinkingMinistires.com, Martin Glynn specifically asked me to post it to The Society Of Evangelical Arminians’ website, and Jairo Izquierdo published it as a guest post […]
What is the Most Powerful Evidence for the Christian Faith?
Jesus Christ, Theology and Christian ApologeticsFor the past three years I have been helping my father update his classic book Evidence that Demands a Verdict. There is no doubt that the evidence for Christianity has grown substantially since the book first released in 1972. Since I have been working on this book people have been increasingly asking me, “What do you […]
When Teens Wish They Could “Unpost” (Interview with Jonathan McKee)
Apologetics for Parents, Culture CrossExaminedHave you ever regretted something you posted on social media? Don’t feel bad, 57% of Americans who use social media have posted something they regret afterward. And that’s just adults. Now jump into the brain of a 10-year-old. Yes, a 10-year-old. Nielsen research labels age 10 the “mobile adoption sweet spot” because the average age […]
Learning from Academics Who Left Mormonism
CrossExaminedMost of my readers know my personal connection to Mormonism; I have six half-brothers and sisters who were raised in the Mormon faith. When I first become interested in Christianity, I investigated the claims of the gospels simultaneous to my investigation of the Book of Mormon. While the gospels passed the test I typically apply […]
What Hypocrisy Teaches Us
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Al Serrato Christians are all hypocrites! How often do apologists for the faith encounter that objection? Yes, there are hypocrites in the church, at least in the sense that none of us can actually and fully live up to what the Christian faith commands. But more significantly, hypocrisy isn’t about simply failing to live up […]
10 Things to Say When Your Child Says They Don’t Believe in God Anymore
Apologetics for ParentsBy Natasha Crain This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at the ReTHINK Student Apologetics Conference (there are more of these conferences coming—be sure to check out the link and learn about them!). I always enjoy talking to parents after speaking and this weekend was no exception. One thing I realized this time was that […]
Yes, We Can Make the Case for Christianity with Music
Culture CrossExamined, Theology and Christian ApologeticsAt the Colson Center for Christian Worldview, we often talk about the importance of worldview. Each of us, as Christians, ought to allow our Christian beliefs to shape the way we think about every aspect of life, including the way we consider notions of beauty and artistic expression. That’s why I was delighted to hear […]
4 Major Reasons Why People Become Atheists
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton The psalmist David wrote, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There’s no God.’ They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good” (Psalm 14:1, CSB). The psalmist claims that it is irrational for one to deny God’s existence whether it be by atheism or by alternative worldviews. […]
The Importance of Defining Terms
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Luke Nix Introduction A few years ago I listened to the podcast “The Word Nerds“. This podcast helped me gain an appreciation for the power of the English language. In my conversations with people, I have noticed the power of the words themselves. Using the wrong word can cause needless arguments; using a less […]
Are There “Limits” to God’s Power?
2. Does God Exist?Christians claim God is “all-powerful”. Does this mean He can accomplish anything? Skeptics often test this notion by offering the following challenge: “Can the all-powerful Christian God create a stone so heavy he cannot lift it?” The question highlights an apparent dilemma: If God cannot create such a stone (or cannot lift what He has […]
Why Is God So Hidden?
2. Does God Exist?As a young atheist, I denied the existence of God for practical, experiential reasons. During my elementary school years, I found it difficult to understand why anyone would believe in God without visible evidence. I knew my parents, teachers and friends were real, because I could see them and I could see their impact on […]
5 Earth-Shattering Events Linked to the Bible
Theology and Christian ApologeticsIn the recent update to my father’s classic book Evidence that Demands a Verdict, we begin with a chapter on the uniqueness of the Bible. Unquestionably, in comparison to every book ever written, the Bible stands out as unique in a number of areas including authorship, literary genres, translation, geographical production, circulation, survival, and impact. The Bible truly […]
Jesus on the Problem of Evil
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Aaron Brake In Luke 13:1-5 we have Jesus’ clearest teaching on the problem of evil:[1] Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because […]
Who Wrote the Book of Jude?
4. Is the NT True?, CrossExamined, Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Brian Chilton Over the past few months, we have been examining the authors and background information for the books of the New Testament. For this article, we will examine a little book towards the end of the New Testament known as Jude. What do we know about this book and whom it was that […]
Does God Just Want Me to Be Happy?
Theology and Christian ApologeticsAlong with my regular blog here at seanmcdowell.org, I am now featuring occasional guest posts from some students in the Biola M.A. in Christian Apologetics that I personally had the privilege of teaching. This post is from my friend Ryan Pauly, a high school teacher, who also has an excellent and growing ministry of his own called Coffee […]
Who Created God?
2. Does God Exist?Richard Dawkins, the famous English evolutionary biologist and renowned atheist, revived an objection related to God’s existence in his book, The God Delusion. In the fourth chapter (Why There Almost Certainly Is No God), Dawkins wrote, “…the designer hypothesis immediately raises the larger problem of who designed the designer. The whole problem we started out […]
5 Arguments for The Existence of Free Will
Theology and Christian ApologeticsBy Evan Minton Free Will is a topic debated among Christians and even some non-Christians. The Christians who affirm that men have free will in the libertarian sense are Arminians, Molinists, and Open Theists. Christians who deny free will in the libertarian sense generally fall into the Calvinist camp. I have argued elsewhere that libertarian […]