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Biblical scholars who approach the Bible from a historical perspective are often accused of working hard to deconvert the faithful. Is that true? Do undergraduates widely abandon their faith once they learn the historical realities behind it? Are professors and authors generally interested in urging their students and readers to abandon their religion? And is there any positive result for faith that can come from understanding historical scholarship? Is it crucial to faith to understand the Bible, or just an unnecessary add-on?
This week, Megan asks Bart:
-It's probable that no Christian goes into biblical scholarship expecting to deconvert. They do it to deepen their understanding of their holy text. Why, then, do you think that deconversions do occur, and do you think it happens at a higher rate among biblical scholars than the rest of the population?
-What role do you think that a person’s understanding of the Bible before they embark on academic training has on the longevity of their faith? Do you think that someone with a more literal view of the Bible is more susceptible to deconversion?
-As someone who kind of bridged theological both worlds, an episcopalian who converted to evangelism, what impact, if any, did becoming a Biblical scholar have on Bart's faith?
-Does Bart feel like an outlier, in either your deconversion, or that you didn’t deconvert as a result of your scholarship?
-Do you think that some fundamental Christians are able to maintain their fundamentalism while in academia because they choose to go into adjacent fields - something like Egyptology, or Classics, where they aren’t confronted with the challenges that biblical scholarship can present, so they don’t have to adjust their worldview to account for them?
-Are there ways that biblical scholarship is actually helpful for people who want to understand the bible and maintain their faith?
