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 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 […]
On Signature in the Cell, Robert Saunders Still Doesn’t Get It
CrossExaminedAt his Wonderful Life blog, geneticist Robert Saunders has responded to my recent take down of his “critique” of Stephen Meyer’s arguments for intelligent design, offered and defended in Signature in the Cell. Of course, it wouldn’t be an anti-ID article without its share of condescending rhetoric. Saunders claims that I “have absorbed a typical […]
Fact-Checking Wikipedia on Common Descent: The Evidence from Observed Natural Selection
CrossExaminedA few weeks ago, I published the fourth part of my series on Wikipedia and common descent, in which I discussed the purported evidence for common ancestry based on biogeographical distribution. Previously, I had cross-examined the evidence from comparative physiology and biochemistry, comparative anatomy, and paleontology. In this second-to-last installment, I will address Wikipedia’s evidence […]
From the Darwinist Blogosphere, Stephen Meyer's Trip to London Elicits a Typical Reaction
CrossExaminedAs we have already reported, Discovery Institute’s Stephen Meyer recently paid a visit to London to present and defend the thesis of Signature in the Cell at a dinner party attended by scientists, philosophers, politicians and other men and women of influence. His visit included a radio debate against theistic evolutionist Keith Fox, which you […]
The Finely Tuned Genetic Code
CrossExaminedFrancis Crick regarded the genetic code found in nature as a “frozen accident.” Yet more and more it is looking to be the case that this code is exquisitely finely tuned — with features suggesting it is indeed one in a million. Therefore ought not purposive or intelligent design be regarded as a legitimate inference, […]
Does Luke Have The Date Of The Nativity Wrong?
4. Is the NT True?In reading — as one does — the popular atheist material on the Internet with regards New Testament scholarship, I recently came across a very old argument which is often trotted out by people who don’t know any better with regards the dating which the gospels assign to the the nativity and Roman census. Matthew’s […]
Why the "Onion Test" Fails as an Argument for "Junk DNA"
CrossExaminedBriefly stated, the often cited “onion test” observes that onion cells have many times more DNA than human cells do. And since the onion is considered to be relatively simple as compared to us, this discrepancy — it is argued — can only be accounted for if the preponderance of its DNA is, in fact, […]
Fact-Checking Wikipedia on Common Descent: The Evidence from Biogeographical Distribution
CrossExaminedWe have now reached the fourth part of my series on Wikipedia and the evidence for common descent. In previous entries, I discussed Wikipedia’s arguments for common descent based on comparative physiology / biochemistry, comparative anatomy, and paleontology. Now I am going to address the arguments from biogeographical distribution. Biogeography is essentially the study of […]
Fact-Checking Wikipedia on Common Descent: The Evidence from Paleontology
CrossExaminedPreviously in this series, I have discussed the arguments for common descent presented by Wikipedia in the areas of comparative physiology/biochemistry and comparative anatomy. In this third installment, I will discuss the arguments from paleontology and the fossil record. Wikipedia’s page on the “Evidence of common descent” contains only a brief section on the fossil […]
Kortney Blythe Gordon: Short Life, Timeless Impact
Legislating Morality, Culture & Politics, Radio ShowThe measure of a life is not its length but its impact. Kortney Blythe Gordon made a timeless impact in her 28 years here on earth. In fact, she did more in 28 years than most people even think about in 80. Kortney was a fearless Christian and abortion abolitionist who saved souls and […]
A Whale of a Problem for Evolution: Ancient Whale Jawbone Found in Antartica
CrossExaminedMSNBC.com is reporting on the discovery of a jawbone of an ancient whale in Antarctica: the oldest fully aquatic whale yet discovered. The news story reports, The jawbone of an ancient whale found in Antarctica may be the oldest fully aquatic whale yet discovered, Argentine scientists said Tuesday. A scientist not involved in the […]
Fact-Checking Wikipedia on Common Descent: The Evidence from Comparative Anatomy
CrossExaminedIn my previous article, I presented a critique of the first of Wikipedia’s eight lines of evidence for common descent: the evidence from comparative physiology and biochemistry. In this article, I will discuss the second of those lines of argument, namely, the evidence from comparative anatomy. Click here to continue reading>>>
If God, Why Suffering? Thoughts on Theodicy
CrossExaminedAnyone who has been doing Christian apologetics, for any significant period of time, knows that the most frequent objection to the Christian faith is the problem of evil and suffering. Indeed, this paradoxical conundrum has resulted in probably more people abandoning their faith than any other challenge to the Christian worldview. The logical structure of […]
Thoughts on the “C-Value Enigma”, the “Onion Test” and “Junk DNA”
CrossExaminedThis morning I was observing some of the recent comment thread activity on Uncommon Descent?, and my attention was drawn to this comment by Nick Matzke on the subject of the “onion test” argument for junk DNA: Click here to continue reading>>>
Fact-Checking Wikipedia on Common Descent: The Evidence from Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry
CrossExaminedI recently read the Wikipedia web-page on the “ Evidence of Common Descent.” The page comprises a succinct, yet comprehensive, description of the most frequently cited arguments for the proposition of universal descent with modification. Since this is a subject that interests me, I decided to take it upon myself to write a review of the […]
YouTube’s “C0nc0rdance” Reassures Us That The Evolution Of Chemotaxis Is Well In Hand
CrossExaminedI recently published an article on the marvelous design and engineering which undergirds the bacterial chemotaxis system. Since then, a notorious atheist who posts regular videos on YouTube under the alias “ C0nc0rdance“, as well as “ agentorange20” (under the latter, he identifies himself as Zachary Moore), has posted a rebuttal. This is a brief response to that rebuttal. […]
180: The Best Pro-Life Question Ever
Culture CrossExamined, Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsRay Comfort has done a masterful job with this video. With one question, he will help change minds and save the lives of many. Yes, I know it is 33 minutes long, but it is well worth your time.