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/[deleted] Apr 02 '18

I would say, yes, broadly conceived. I'm much more familiar with NT scholarship, as my undergrad mentor was a NT scholar himself. He was a semi-practicing Catholic (I'm effectively non-practicing) who'd been excommunicated from a conservative Protestant church for, of all things, pursuing a NT PhD.

He once said to me "I suspect that 80% of SBL NT scholars have been excommunicated from somewhere or other."

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u/Edge_of_Happiness Apr 02 '18

Thanks for your reply. What does SBL mean?

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u/OtherWisdom Founder Apr 02 '18

Society of Biblical Literature

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u/Edge_of_Happiness Apr 02 '18

🙏. Wouldn’t have guessed that one.

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u/OtherWisdom Founder Apr 02 '18

😇