What’s Next for Biblical Studies

It’s been an honor to read and think about the responses to my essay, “The Corruption of Biblical Studies.” Jon Levenson, David Carr, Craig Bartholomew, and Benjamin Sommer are fellow scholars from whose insights I have greatly benefited over the years. With the aid of their comments I’ve come away understanding my own positions more thoroughly, and with deeper appreciation for the positions of those with whom I disagree. No one could wish for more.

For the purposes of this reply, I’ve focused on a limited number of key points and arguments made by one or more of my respondents, in hopes of clarifying the issues between us and, if possible, advancing the discussion.

I’ll begin at the beginning, with my contention that source criticism, the dominant sub-field in the academic discipline of biblical studies, is in a state of “confusion and professional crisis.” Both David Carr and Benjamin Sommer believe that, despite the corroborating judgments I cited from the mouths of prominent source critics, I’ve overstated the paralysis and impasse currently gripping the field.