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.
NCSE's Eugenie Scott Reassures Scotland: There's No Scientific Controversy on Evolution or Climate Change
CrossExaminedLast week in Glasgow, Scotland, Centre for Intelligent Design (C4ID) director Alastair Noble, David Swift, and I attended a lecture presented by Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education. The event was organized by Glasgow Skeptics, who previously hosted a talk by PZ Myers back in June. Click here to continue reading>>>
Staying Out of the Ditch
Theology and Christian ApologeticsOccasionally we run across a philosophical or theological difficulty that threatens to drive us into a ditch, causing us to “ditch” our search for the truth in a particular matter. Common road blocks include the apparent contradiction in the Trinity, a Good God allowing evil in the world, and the list goes on. While evidence […]
Engineering at Its Finest: Bacterial Chemotaxis and Signal Transduction
CrossExaminedID theorists have long urged that the case for design is both a positive and scientific argument, based on standard principles of abductive scientific reasoning. Key to the detectability of design are particular characteristics that intelligent agents often leave behind as hallmarks of their activity. We know that intelligent causes are the only category of […]
Retroviruses and Common Descent: And Why I Don’t Buy It
CrossExaminedThose of you who have been following Uncommon Descent, as well as Evolution News & Views, for some time, will be aware that I have previously discussed, across multiple articles, the phenomenon of endogenous retroviral inserts into the genomes of primates. Those familiar with the debate over origins will also be familiar with the various […]
Peer-Review and the Corruption of Science
CrossExaminedThe Guardian features an interesting opinion column by the renowned British pharmacologist David Colquhoun. The article bears the intriguing headline, “Publish-or-perish: Peer review and the corruption of science.” The author laments that “Pressure on scientists to publish has led to a situation where any paper, however bad, can now be printed in a journal that […]
Meyer and Nelson on a Failed Explanation for the Origin of the Genetic Code
CrossExaminedAnn Gauger has already drawn our attention to the new paper, published just last week, in the journal BIO-Complexity. Authored by Discovery Institute’s Stephen Meyer and Paul Nelson, the paper is concerned with the question of the origin of the genetic code, and seeks to evaluate the efficacy of the so-called Direct RNA Templating (DRT) […]
Who are the Real Gay Bigots and Bullies?
Culture CrossExaminedGeorge Orwell said, “In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” When you tell the truth about homosexuality today, you can be sure that the central tools of deceit—name-calling and bullying—will be unleashed. I recently was having a respectful conversation with a homosexual activist, but after I made a point […]
Sex at Work?
Culture CrossExaminedAre you supposed to have sex at work? I guess it depends on your profession, but for most of us the answer is “no.” Why then is corporate America obsessed with training about sex? As described in several recent columns by Mike Adams (beginning June 16, 2011), I was fired as a vendor by Cisco […]
A Substantial Conundrum Confronting The Chemical Origin Of Life
CrossExaminedIn ID circles we often discuss the sheer rarity of biologically relevant polypeptides with respect to combinatorial sequence space (and the related conundrum of macromolecular interdependence). It has often been argued that this represents a potent challenge to chemical origin-of-life models of an order substantially greater than the challenge it presents to biological evolution. There […]
The Kinesin Motor: A Stunning Example of Cellular Nanotechnology
CrossExaminedOne of the most amazing examples of cellular nanotechnology is a molecular motor protein known as kinesin. Kinesin is responsible for transporting molecular cargo — including chromosomes (e.g. during cell division), neurotransmitters and other important material — along microtubule tracks from one region of the cell to another. Read More>>>
What’s Wrong With The Zeitgeist Movie?
4. Is the NT True?The Zeitgeist movie has been circulating on the internet since 2007. In the video its director, Peter Joseph, seeks to persuade viewers that the authors of the New Testament essentially plagiarized the concept of the virgin birth, December 25 as Christ’s birth date, the twelve disciples, the miracles, the crucifixion, and the resurrection from astrological sources and pagan […]
Did Nazareth Exist During The Life Of Jesus?
4. Is the NT True?Did Nazareth exist during the life of Jesus? How can we know? What does the evidence say? These are questions to which Christians have been asked to give an answer on a more and more frequent basis by those who profess themselves to be “skeptics” in our world today. It is curious that the first-century […]
Does Isaiah 53 Speak About Jesus? A Response To Critics
CrossExaminedI have always viewed the exquisitely detailed Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53 as one of the most powerful and compelling reasons for thinking that Christianity is indeed true. Written some 700 years before Christ’s life on earth, this prophecy details the suffering and redemptive purposes of the Messiah. Moreover, the presence of the entire book […]
Hell is Not. . .
CrossExaminedHell is not a torture chamber! Hell is not run by Satan. Hell is not a place to see your buddies. Hell is not a place of repentance.Hell is not a place where everyone is punished equally. Hell is not describable with a single reference, picture, or analogy.Descriptions of hell are not always literal. Listen […]
Is MacroEvolution True? An Atheist Makes His Case
CrossExaminedWe have had several conversations on this site over the years on the subject of macroevolution. Many of the comments affirming macroevolution have come from a very loyal and courteous participant here, atheist “Tim D” (full name Tim Duck). I offered Tim some posting space (rather than just in the comments section) to make a […]
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Culture CrossExaminedI often read books merely for content. It is rare that one provides pleasure as well, and it is the rarest of books that adds relevance and inspiration. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, has it all. Eric Metaxas has done a masterful job in his definitive biography on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Eric is a great interview […]
Could God’s Moral Commands Be Improved?
Debates, Legislating Morality, Culture & PoliticsWhen we don’t study the historical and literary context of a passage, we often draw the wrong conclusions. Such is the case with some atheists who complain about the apparent immorality of God’s commands in the Old Testament. Dr. William Lane Craig answers several questions about this (and his debate with atheist Sam Harris) on […]
The Declaration of Independence: A Theistic Document
Culture CrossExaminedIn the Declaration of Independence, there are several theistic (not merely deistic) concepts. These include: A Creator, God-given moral rights, The Supreme Judge of the World (implying a day of Judgment), Divine Providence (God intervening in the world) and the “sacred honor” of the founders. Sadly, most Americans have never read the Declaration of Independence. […]
The Dawkins Dilemma – Part 3
AtheismFirst, my apologies for having been away from the keyboard for the past 5 months. Unfortunately, my work activities have required that situation. As you may recall, I started a series last autumn examining the veracity of Dr. Richard Dawkins’ “The GOD Delusion”. In two topics that dealt with this I examined how I believe […]
What’s the Truth About Hell?
CrossExaminedOn “CrossExamined with Frank Turek” on American Family Radio on June 4 Frank discussed the topic “What’s the Truth About Hell?” With Rob Bell’s recent book, “Love Wins” the questions about eternity and punishment have been “hot” topics in Christianity. A number of these issues were addressed in the ratio show. The audio archive will […]
Mom Plays God: Brings Good from Evil
CrossExaminedIt’s often easy to spot militant atheists who attend my presentation called I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. They usually sit with their arms folded and scowls on their faces. During a recent presentation at Michigan State, I knew I’d get push back from one such scowling student sitting to my right. […]