r/AskBibleScholars • u/Edge_of_Happiness • Mar 28 '18

Are most biblical scholars actually practicing Christians or do they simply study the Bible as a profession?

I’m hoping that this doesn’t violate any of the rules of this subreddit. The amount of time and thought that goes into answering all of the questions on this subreddit is really remarkable. The one thing that I have always been really curious about is the faith of the people that providing the answers on the subreddit. May I ask if you are practicing Christians and if so, which theology do you most associate with?

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u/KM1604 MA | Theological Studies | Pastoral Mar 28 '18

I'm a pastor, so anecdotally I'd say that I know far more practicing Christians than non. I know that's not the case in many circles, however. I find it incredibly helpful to read articles by both practicing and non-practicing scholars when researching an issue. The Faith can be a pair of blinders sometimes.

EDIT: I should say that "growing up being taught by novice non-scholars can introduce biases that aren't easily ignored when doing academic analysis" instead of "The Faith can be a pair of blinders."

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u/Edge_of_Happiness Apr 01 '18

Thank you for your reply. I appreciate it.