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.
The GULO Pseudogene and Its Implications for Common Descent
CrossExaminedL-gulonolactone oxidase (GULO), the final enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of ascorbic acid (vitamin C), is a subject that comes up often in discussions of common ancestry. The functioning GULO gene allows most plants and many animals to produce vitamin C from glucose or galactose. In some taxa, however, the GULO gene does not function […]
Did They Really Exist? A Biblical and Scientific Defence of Adam and Eve
Theology and Christian ApologeticsThe historicity of Adam and Eve is a question which strikes at the heart of the Christian faith. If the primordial pair did not exist, then the historical and Biblical doctrine of the fall becomes extremely difficult to maintain. The apostle Paul clearly linked God’s redemptive plan and Christ’s atonement for sin with the fall […]
Mr. Bonhoeffer Goes to Washington
Culture CrossExaminedMy friend and best-selling “Bonhoeffer” biographer Eric Metaxas brilliantly wove wit and humor through a speech against dead religion at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday. Calling on the heavenly witnesses of Wilberforce and Bonhoeffer, Metaxas courageously defended life and natural marriage before about 4,000 people and with President Obama and Vice President Biden sitting […]
Is Banning Same Sex Marriage Discrimination?
Culture CrossExamined[Note: This is an exchange which took place between myself and an anonymous correspondant regarding a recent article I published on Blogos.org (and also posted here). The correspondant’s comments are appended below and immediately followed by my response.] Dear Blogos Editor, First of all, congratulations on your new site. I’m glad and excited for your […]
Joining the Conversation: Perspectives on the Discussion with James Shapiro
CrossExaminedI have followed with interest the discussion (“Is James Shapiro a Design Theorist?”) initiated by Bill Dembski and now involving James Shapiro, Ann Gauger and Douglas Axe. The nub of the issue seems to relate to conflicting conceptions about what constitutes a legitimate scientific explanation (what philosophers call the “demarcation problem”). Click here to continue […]
British Free Schools that Teach Intelligent Design as Science Will Lose Funding
Culture CrossExaminedThe British Guardian newspaper reports on recent developments in UK governmental policy on teaching evolution in free schools (which, though state funded, are normally not required to follow the national curriculum): Click here to continue reading>>>
On the Origin of Mitochondria: Reasons for Skepticism on the Endosymbiotic Story
CrossExaminedWith regret, ENV recently noted the passing of biologist Lynn Margulis. Margulis, a scientist whom I admired greatly, was never a stranger to controversy, going so far as to call neo-Darwinism “a complete funk” and asserting that “The critics, including the creationist critics, are right about their criticism. It’s just that they’ve got nothing to […]
Turek & Cornuke to Lead Footsteps of Paul Cruise, July 2012
4. Is the NT True?Frank Turek and Bob Cornuke (the REAL Indiana Jones) will be leading a “Footsteps of Paul” cruise in July 2012! Our ship will be Oceania’s beautiful “Regatta.” We’ll present evidence and insights about the New Testament while we tour the Biblical sites of: Ephesus (Ephesians, Paul’s home for three years, and his confrontation with Diana […]
The Universe Had a Beginning
2. Does God Exist?, Atheism, DebatesCosmologist Alexander Vilenkin wrote a book in 2006 (Many Worlds in One) in which he refers to a theorem he developed with Alan Guth and Arvind Borde. Although not a believer in God but the mulitverse, Vilenkin says that their theorem proves that even if other universes exist there was an absolute beginning of them […]
The Year in Review: Intelligent Design in the UK
CrossExaminedAn often-heard criticism of intelligent design claims that it is exclusively an American phenomenon, since presumably the rest of the world is too smart to fall for the stuff. Of course this is nonsense. ID is making impressive strides in Europe and Asia. As I can report from personal experience, the future looks particularly bright […]
John Lennox vs. Richard Dawkins
2. Does God Exist?, DebatesThis is an excellent conversational debate between two Oxford professors, Dr. John Lennox and Dr. Richard Dawkins. Hope you enjoy it!
Larry Moran Defends "Junk DNA"
CrossExaminedEarlier, I responded to remarks made by PZ Myers at the recent Skepticon 4 conference. His subject: “Junk DNA.” On his Sandwalk blog, University of Toronto biochemist Larry Moran has posted a response to my article. Since the post is relatively civil (unusually for Moran, he refrains from calling me an “IDiot”) and offers some […]
Animation Reveals Engineering Elegance of RNA Interference
CrossExaminedNature Reviews Genetics features an excellent high quality computer visualization (including an associated slideshow) of the elegant mechanism of RNA interference. RNA interference is a defence mechanism that enables double-stranded RNA molecules (such as those derived from transcribing the genomes of viruses that invade the cell) to be degraded and destroyed. Click here to continue […]
Treasure in the Genetic Goldmine: PZ Myers Fails on "Junk DNA"
CrossExaminedReaders may recall my encounter with developmental biology professor PZ Myers earlier this year. In that brief interaction, I came to appreciate Myers’s ability to charm his adoring fans and followers irrespective of the scientific robustness of his claims, or the accuracy with which he represents the views of those with whom he disagrees. Click […]
Christopher Hitchens: Evidence of a Divine Being
2. Does God Exist?, DebatesI am greatly saddened that Christopher Hitchens is gone. There is no one with whom I disagreed more who I admired so much. I emailed Christopher several times since his diagnosis with cancer, my last correspondence with him occurring the day after Thanksgiving. I expressed my prayers and concern for him. He responded immediately and […]
Frank Turek Interviews William Lane Craig
Debates, Theology and Christian ApologeticsDuring the National Conference on Apologetics at the end of October, I had the chance to sit down with Dr. William Lane Craig before an audience of about 1,700 and ask him about his recent trip to the UK, including his proposed debate with atheist Richard Dawkins which, after much controversy, never materialized. However, as […]
The Face of a Frog: Time-Lapse Video Reveals Never-Before-Seen Bioelectric Pattern
CrossExaminedJonathan Wells has already drawn our attention to a recent paper by Vandenberg et al. in the journal Developmental Dynamics. The authors make the startling and innovative discovery that bioelectrical signals are essential for the proper formation of the head and face in frog embryos. Physorg.com reports, Click here to continue reading>>>
How Good is Phil Johnson's Biology?
CrossExaminedWe’ve recently been discussing whether Berkeley law professor Phil Johnson (author of Darwin on Trial) is ill-informed on biology. Click here to continue reading>>>
An Eye-Opening Discovery: The Remarkable Vision of Anomalocaris
CrossExaminedReaders may recall the Illustra Media production Darwin’s Dilemma: The Mystery of the Cambrian Fossil Record. The documentary opens with an animation of the hideous Anomalocaris, undisputed terror of the Cambrian seas. The creature is in the news today thanks to new revelations about its fantastic vision. Sadly, it’s proven to be another tough day […]
Maligning Phil Johnson, with Lots of Rhetoric but Little Substance
CrossExaminedWe recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the publication of Phillip Johnson’s groundbreaking book, Darwin on Trial. Phillip Johnson’s meticulous skill in scrutinizing the metaphysical assumptions undergirding much of evolutionary naturalism launched the modern intelligent design movement and set in motion a chain of events that must inevitably lead to the toppling of Darwinism in […]
Why I Will Not Support Same Sex Marriage
Culture CrossExamined, Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsSame sex marriage has been a very topical subject in Scotland over recent weeks, with the launch of a consultation by the Scottish National Party (SNP) — which closes this Friday — on whether marriage in Scotland should be redefined to effectively legalise gay marriage and religious ceremonies for civil partnerships. The Scottish government has […]