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.
Does God Exist? Craig vs. Millican
2. Does God Exist?, Atheism, DebatesDr. William Lane Craig is probably the best debater for evangelical Christianity today. Rarely do Craig’s opponents address his arguments, much less provide coherent refutations. Dr. Peter Millican at least attempts to refute Craig’s arguments directly. This makes for a very spirited exchange. For those of you who may not have time to watch the […]
Evolution vs. God
CrossExaminedRay Comfort has recently put out several provocative, informative and entertaining half hour videos. His latest called Evolution vs. God asks some top evolutionists to offer evidence for their view (included in this production is P.Z. Myers, one of the more aggressive proponents of macro-evolution). Their responses may surprise you! It is certainly true that […]
Darwin’s Doubt
2. Does God Exist?, Philosophy of ScienceDarwin’s Doubt, the brand new New York Times bestseller by Cambridge-trained Ph.D., Stephen Meyer, is creating a major scientific controversy. Darwinists don’t like it. Meyer writes about the complex history of new life forms in an easy to understand narrative style. He takes the reader on a journey from Darwin to today while trying to […]
Top 100 Universities Go with Liberal Graduation Speakers
College Events, Theology and Christian ApologeticsMost of our top universities continue their liberal learning right through the graduation ceremony. Todd Starnes provides a complete listing of university graduation speakers from Harvard on down. This despite the fact that many of these universities were founded by Christians on Christianity. For example, Harvard, whose namesake was clergyman John Harvard, was founded to […]
Playing Fast and Loose with the Facts: How Ken Miller Misrepresented Phil Johnson
CrossExaminedAn old debate, featuring Dr. Kenneth Miller and Dr. Paul Nelson, has found its way onto YouTube. The debate took place at the time of the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial in Pennsylvania in 2005. Moderated by Sally Satel at the American Enterprise Institute, it focuses on the question of teaching evolutionary theory and intelligent design in science […]
An Atheist Asks About Morality, Cosmology and Hell
2. Does God Exist?, Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsAt the University of Dallas last month, a polite atheist (Carter) had four major questions/objections to my “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” presentation. Our nine minute exchange covered the following questions/objections: Your moral law argument is offensive because by it you are asserting that atheists can’t be moral. Why are you […]
Why Do the Innocent Suffer?
4. Is the NT True?The only completely innocent person in the history of humanity suffered for a greater good– the salvation of you and me. Trust in Him this resurrection day. If you never choose to do so, God will not force you into Heaven against your will. He will respect your choice and leave you alone, apart from […]
Did the Disciples Lie about Jesus’ Resurrection?
4. Is the NT True?Easter season is upon us and it is almost certain that some newspapers, magazine articles, documentaries, etc…will seek to discredit the resurrection of Christ or imply that Jesus’ disciples “made up” the resurrection. How do we respond? How should we respond? Did Jesus’ disciples conspire together to say that Jesus had risen from the dead, […]
Abortion Advocates Don’t Want You to See this Video
CrossExaminedAbortion advocates don’t want you to see this one minute video. They would rather suppress the truth than conform to it. Had or encouraged abortion? There is healing. Please visit the CaseforLife.com On this tragic anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, I would like to clear up a massive misunderstanding: overturning Roe vs. Wade will NOT […]
Once Again, Why Intelligent Design Is Not a “God-of-the-Gaps” Argument
CrossExaminedThe “god-of-the-gaps” objection to intelligent design is one that we have addressed numerous times at ENV and elsewhere (most recently, here). Yet even though the argument has been convincingly refuted time and again, it lives on in the popular literature. My friend Jamie Franklin recently published a post on his website explaining why he has come to […]
Replicating DNA with Extraordinary Fidelity: Meet DNA Polymerase
CrossExaminedIn a previous article, I gave a brief overview of the complex molecular mechanisms governing DNA replication. Now, I will focus specifically on the replication enzyme DNA polymerase. DNA polymerase is the enzyme responsible for synthesizing new strands of DNA, complementary to the sequence of the template strand. The unidirectional DNA polymerase progresses along the template […]
An Exchange with Biblical Scholar Peter Enns on Archaeology and the Bible
CrossExaminedJust recently a friend of mine notified me (Ted W.) of a blog written by biblical scholar, Dr. Peter Enns concerning archaeology and the Bible. The title of the blog post is “3 Things I Would Like to see Evangelical Leaders Stop Saying About Biblical Scholarship” Here are the three things Enns would like to […]
Did the Apostle Paul “Invent” Christianity?
CrossExaminedThe writer of Ecclesiastes instructs his students “…of making many books there is no end.” (Eccl. 12:2) and this is certainly true. A similar thing could certainly be said in responding to the continual flow of misinformation and outright falsehoods about Christianity from popular books, media and television documentaries. This is the second blog-article I […]
Israel & Footsteps of Paul Trip this Summer
CrossExaminedHave you ever wanted to see the Bible come alive by visiting actual biblical sites? When I co-led a Footsteps of Paul cruise last year with my friend Bob Cornuke (the REAL Indiana Jones), the experience was even more enriching than I had anticipated. So this year we are going to do it again. Except […]
DNA Replication: An Engineering Marvel
CrossExaminedRecently I have been reviewing some literature on the elegant molecular mechanisms by which DNA is replicated. As an undergraduate biology student, I recall being struck by their sheer complexity, sophistication, and intrinsic beauty. As I read about such a carefully orchestrated process, involving so many specific enzymes and protein complexes, and its extraordinary accuracy, […]
Was the Old Testament Invented During the Babylonian Exile? The Answer is NO.
CrossExaminedJust recently the History Channel aired the six-part docu-drama, “Mankind: The Story of Us.” Perhaps you might have watched it. Last year I was contacted by the producers and asked if I would like to participate as one of the “experts.” While I certainly don’t consider myself an expert, I thought it would be a […]
Tragedy Then Hope: Like the First Christmas
CrossExaminedI was physically sick when I heard the news. The mass murder of children and adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut is shocking and sadly too common. Evil is a reality in our world, and, tragically, evil has been perpetrated on children for centuries. Just before the birth of Moses, Pharaoh commanded that […]
More Functions for “Junk DNA”
CrossExaminedA new paper has just been published in the journal Genome Biology by John Rinn and David Kelley, identifying a role for transposable elements in gene regulation in stem cells. Click here to continue reading>>>
Life of Pi, Only 3.14% Accurate
CrossExaminedLife of Pi, Only 3.14% Accurate Scott Symington An interesting encounter at sea is reported in the Naval Institute’s official magazine, Proceedings. A battleship had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather. A lookout reported a light in the distance, so the captain had the signalman send a message: “We are on a collision […]
Intergenic Retrotransposons Can Serve Long-Range Functions
CrossExaminedRetrotransposons (which include LINEs, SINEs, and ERVs) are known for the ability of their long-terminal repeats (LTRs) to serve as promoters and enhancers for regulating the expression of genes that are immediately downstream (Conley et al., 2008; Dunn et al., 2005). The majority of retrotransposons, however, are located considerable distances from genes (often hundreds of kilobases away) — […]
The Design of the Complement Cascade
CrossExaminedWhen I was an undergraduate biology student, one of my favorite topics was the complement system in immunology. The complement cascade is an array of sequentially interacting proteins that serve a vital role in innate immune responses. The complement cascade can be activated via interactions with antibody-antigen complexes. Proteins involved in the complement cascade react […]