Discussing Faith and Reason in Biblical StudiesFollow the link to read the whole thing.
Professor Ronald S. Hendel recently published an opinion piece in Biblical Archaeology Review (see “Farewell to SBL: Faith and Reason in Biblical Studies,” available online here) in which he argues that “[in] recent years [SBL] has changed its position on the relationship between faith and reason in the study of the Bible.” We encourage all SBL members and other interested individuals to read the article in its entirety, then to join a conversation about the SBL and its standards for membership and organizational affiliations (see further below).
The questions that Professor Hendel raises are interesting and important, and we look forward to the discussion that follows. However, we first must clarify a few points of fact with regard to the article in question. In what follows, each “claim” is a summary of one of Professor Hendel’s main points, not a verbatim quotation.
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I note that the phrase "critical investigation" is used on the SBL's About page, but not specifically in it's mission statement on that page. This is a small point, but the phrase really should be in the mission statement. (Relevant Facebook page here.)
The correction about the split with the American Academy of Religion looks correct to me. Note the post on the AAR/SBL split here.
I myself don't recall seeing any proselytizing at the SBL sessions. If it is happening, it needs to be stomped on.
The questions for discussion at the end of the post are very constructive and I look forward to the conversation.
James McGrath collects blogospheric responses to Hendel's article here. Robert Cargill responds to the SBL response here.