McGrath on scholarship and skepticism

THE BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION:

Scholarship is Not Merely Skepticism

Skepticism, not simply accepting what a source claims, is a crucial element of critical thinking and thus central to the academic endeavor. Yet unlimited targeted doubt serves the interests of various denialisms that run counter to and seek to undermine academic conclusions. This article represents one academic’s journey out of denialisms into academia, and his effort to find the right balance that avoids a pendulum swing into an opposite yet otherwise similar denialism at the other end of the spectrum.

See also Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist (Eerdmans, 2024).

By James F. McGrath
Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature
Butler University
June 2025

Being appropriately skeptical is an important tool in the toolbox of the academic, but scholarship is not merely skepticism. Let me explain.

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Some sensible observations on how historians should approach miracle stories in the Bible and other ancient texts.

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