The Genesis Trial- The Cross Examination Book 6

In the United States of 2044, teaching biblical truth as fact is a federal crime. Under the restrictive Statute on Religious Authority (SRA), the Office of Statutory Inquiry (OSI) has systematically dismantled the foundations of faith. They have come for doctrine. They have come for historical reliability. Now, they are coming for the foundation of it all: Genesis.

Dr. Christian Cross, a fifty-two-year-old professor of apologetics in eastern Tennessee, is a widower who has endured four prior legal trials to defend his faith. But this sixth trial is different. Backed by the aggressive, private legal foundation known as the Athenaeum, the prosecution has leveled an existential charge: that a literal six-day creation, a young earth, a global Flood, and the historical genealogies of Genesis are empirically refuted pseudoscience.

Led by Bram Frey, a brilliant, Oxford-trained advocate who has never lost a philosophical match, the prosecution brings a devastating array of arguments: the cosmic microwave background, radiometric dating, and deep-time fossil records. To isolate the defense, Frey successfully moves to bar the entire library of creationist literature from the courtroom.

Faced with an opponent who intends to retire the first chapter of the Bible permanently, Dr. Cross and his legal team make a high-stakes, counter-intuitive move. They concede the motion. Armed only with secular, peer-reviewed mainstream scientific journals, Cross prepares to meet Frey on his own territory.

The Genesis Trial is the gripping sixth installment in The Christian Cross Trials series. A thought-provoking legal thriller that can completely stand alone, this novel masterfully weaves together intense courtroom drama, rigorous philosophy of science, and a moving story of a family navigating grief, truth, and the unshakeable foundations of faith.

What is The Genesis Trial about?

The Genesis Trial is set in 2044, when the Statute on Religious Authority makes teaching biblical truth as fact a federal crime and the Office of Statutory Inquiry turns its attention to Genesis. The prosecution argues that a literal six-day creation, a young earth, a global Flood, and the Genesis genealogies are empirically refuted, citing the cosmic microwave background, radiometric dating, and deep-time fossil records. Christian Cross, a 52-year-old widowed apologetics professor in eastern Tennessee who has endured four prior trials, faces Bram Frey, a prosecutor backed by the Athenaeum who has never lost a philosophical debate. When Frey wins a motion barring creationist literature from the courtroom, Cross’s team concedes and defends the case using only secular, peer-reviewed mainstream science journals. The novel combines courtroom drama with the philosophy of science and a family’s journey through grief, and asks whether the doorway to every other chapter of the faith can withstand scrutiny.

Who wrote The Genesis Trial?

It was written by Alfred Basta, a professor, author, and musician.

What genre is The Genesis Trial?

It is Christian fiction and a legal thriller, which means the creation debate is staged as evidence, motions, and testimony inside a federal courtroom rather than as a nonfiction argument.

Who is The Genesis Trial for?

The page does not state a specific audience, but the book suits readers of Christian fiction and legal thrillers who are interested in the creation debate and the philosophy of science.

Is The Genesis Trial part of a series?

Yes. It is Book 6 of The Cross Examination series, and the description says it can be read on its own. You can find the series on Amazon.

Where can I buy The Genesis Trial?

The Genesis Trial is available in paperback, hardcover and Kindle editions. The hardcover ISBN-13 is 979-8181252455 (323 pages, published June 12, 2026).

Amazon (paperback) | Amazon (hardcover) | Amazon (Kindle) | Indigo (author page)

About the author: Alfred Basta is a professor, author of Ward No. 8 and The Malgrave Letters, and musician as The Bastas Project.

Last updated: October 12, 2026