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.
Dear Friend: To Those Choosing to Abstain or Vote 3rd Party in 2024
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsEditor’s Note: This post from Dr. Robert A.J. Gagnon was originally posted on October 14, 2024 at FreeThinking Ministries, in the form of an open letter to everyone who is tempted to abstain from voting in the 2024 election. We’ve tried to preserve that format here at CrossExamined. Dear friend who is inclined not to […]
Personally Prolife, Politically Prochoice: A Response
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsCan we be pro-life personally but pro-choice politically? The quick answer to this loaded question is: No, we can’t really be pro-life personally if we are pro-choice politically. That’s because pro-lifers recognize that the child-in-utero is a human being, so the decision to abort isn’t a strictly personal decision at all, it’s an interpersonal decision. […]
What the Heck is Artificial Intelligence and Why Does it Matter?
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsA TikToker programs himself a virtual AI girlfriend and decides to “euthanize” her when she becomes less responsive, and he falls into depression. Entire porn sites are dedicated to stealing the images of female online influencers (specifically Twitch streamers) using AI to create “deepfake” pornography. And creative things that we typically perceive as uniquely human, […]
Do Oral Cultures Operate the Same as the Telephone Game?
4. Is the NT True?Secular scholars, especially those who attack the historicity of the New Testament, claim it is difficult to establish historical knowledge that is valid and reliable because of the infallibility of the human memory. People do not recall information accurately, especially if the account is written years after the event. However, historians and archaeologists have been […]
Prioritizing FAT Christians: A Practical Theology for Pastors
Theology and Christian ApologeticsSeveral weeks ago, I was listening to the podcast “Wise Disciple” with Nate Salah ( “Is Voddie Wrong about Churches?”). He was discussing the need for pastors to focus on finding FAT Christians in their congregations. (Don’t worry. FAT is an acrostic.) This is to say, pastors need to prioritize their time and efforts upon Christians […]
Were the Gospel Accounts Reliably Recorded?
4. Is the NT True?, CrossExaminedA common challenge to believers is the contention that the gospel accounts we read today are not particularly reliable. Referring to the “telephone game,” the skeptic will claim that since the gospel accounts were penned three to five decades after the life of Christ, the accounts they portray are probably much different than the original […]
Navigating the American Political Landscape
Culture and Politics, Theology and Christian ApologeticsSurviving political landscapes as a Christian has always been challenging (ancient Rome was harsh, y’all!). However, this U.S. presidential election cycle feels like the most difficult in recent history, and the American political landscape seems to grow more contentious every year. So, how do we navigate this minefield with truth, love, and joy? It’s not […]
Ten Philosophical Challenges Christian Students Face at Secular University
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsThe Christian student who attends a secular university will encounter very recognizable challenges to his/her Christian faith. As a professor who has taught in a secular university for 24 years, attended faculty meetings where professors discuss how to deconstruct the faith of Christian students, and seen firsthand the animosity administrators have toward Christianity, I am […]
How The After Party Curriculum Is Sowing Political Confusion in the Church
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsFor those who haven’t heard of it, The After Party (TAP) is a small group curriculum and corresponding book that is being heavily promoted this election year to individuals, churches, and Christian institutions (such as colleges) to counter the “dangerous trend” of evangelicals having their political identity formed by “partisan forces, not by true Biblical faith.” What […]
Three Bad Arguments for Euthanasia
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsPolling sometimes suggests that the UK public is in favor of ‘assisted dying.’ This is an illusion, caused in many cases by people not knowing what ‘assisted dying is.’ A recent poll showed that only 42% of the public understood what ‘assisted dying’ refers to, with 10% thinking it meant hospice-type care and 42% believing […]
Key Tenets of Marxism VS America’s Philosophical Foundations
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsI’ve been fascinated by Marxism since my parents first told me about the Cold War we were living in when I was almost 10-years-old (1983). I remember asking them why the Soviet Union had nuclear weapons aimed at us. After my parents reassured me that we had just as many nuclear missiles aimed back at […]
The Early Martyrs Were Cross Examined to Death
4. Is the NT True?Skeptics often challenge believers by claiming that the “evidence” for Christianity would never hold up in a courtroom. It’s hearsay, they contend, and since these witnesses can’t be cross-examined, the case would never even see the inside of a courtroom. For many unfamiliar with the legal system, this challenge seems solid. After all, why should […]
What If I Don’t Like Either Candidate?
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsIf you’re like me, this upcoming election feels like a choice between which electric outlet to jab a fork into. I’m not a big fan of either candidate. It may be tempting to just sit-out this election. But we shouldn’t give up that easily. This November, you won’t be voting for a pastor, or a […]
The Scandal of Elite Evangelical Compromise
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsA blogger I read regularly alerted me to Megan Basham’s new book Shepherds for Sale, subtitled How Evangelical Leaders Traded the Truth for a Leftist Agenda. It was released [at the] end of July. I was intrigued by the book because it claimed to be exposing compromise infecting many evangelical elites, especially among Southern Baptists. As it […]
Becoming Skeptical of Modern Skepticism
4. Is the NT True?, Theology and Christian ApologeticsSome skepticism is warranted. None of us want to live within a paradigm of naivety. No one wants to blindly accept every foolish notion that comes down the pipeline. A quick glance at social media along with the acknowledgment of the tweaks and twists that artificial intelligence can bring to videos and audio files only […]
Voting as a Kingdom Ambassador
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsDuring the presidential elections there are many voices “crying out in the wilderness,” as it were, proclaiming all sorts of weird ideas. One of those ideas is the thought that within this seemingly hostile and divided political and cultural climate even within the church, Christians who hold to a particular view are looking to crown […]
The Ethics of AI in Writing
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsWhen it comes to Artificial Intelligence, I’m a luddite. I’m analog over digital. Forget Pandora® and Spotify® or even CD’s. Vinyl LP’s rule them all. I grew up playing outside, climbing trees, chasing things, reveling over sticks – not joysticks, just sticks. If they look like a sword or a gun, even better. I’m a […]
In the Gospels, Jesus is Pro-Life
Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsWhen you encounter Jesus in the gospels, it’s not hard to see why the world would be a better place if everyone was more like him. And in the gospels, Jesus is pro-life. In fact, life is the issue for Jesus. ‘Life’ is why Jesus came into the world. The Bible is About Life The […]
The Probability of a Past Event is One
4. Is the NT True?In recent posts (here and here), I considered some of the difficulties inherent in defining what constitutes a miracle or recognizing an event as miraculous. The skeptic usually approaches the issue with the set presupposition that miracles, however defined, are not possible. They typically contend that what the believer concludes is a miracle is in […]
5 Important Reasons Christians Should Study Apologetics
Theology and Christian ApologeticsAll Christians should study apologetics. Christians should study apologetics may sound like a bold claim if you’ve barely even heard of apologetics, but I promise you apologetics has been the most important thing I’ve done for my faith besides reading my Bible regularly. What is Apologetics? Apologetics is a rational, organized defense of the Christian […]
Dealing with Hurt and Trusting God: Biblical Tips for Overcoming Pain
Theology and Christian ApologeticsLife presents numerous trials and challenges, many of which result not from our own actions but from the behavior and transgressions of others. Betrayal, injustice, or rejection can inflict profound emotional pain and distress. The overwhelming nature of the suffering, particularly when caused by another individual, prompts natural questioning of how an omnibenevolent God could […]