Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook:
In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, “skeptic” is frequently code for “credulous towards heterodox claims.”
That seemed like such an excellent succinct summary of the irony of so much self-proclaimed skepticism that it deserved to be shared with a wider audience, and so I am really happy that he gave me permission to do so.
This came up, not surprisingly, in a discussion of a mythicist meme that circulates widely among atheists despite having long been debunked.
I think it would be fair and safe to say that someone bearing the label “skeptic” is much like someone bearing the label “Christian.” Neither provides evidence in and of itself that the person who so describes themself has a particular worldview or values. And it is perhaps especially interesting, given the penchant for those wearing one or the other of these labels to define themselves over against the other, that they have this feature in common…
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