{"id":42606,"date":"2017-12-28T05:09:17","date_gmt":"2017-12-28T10:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=42606"},"modified":"2017-12-29T08:50:08","modified_gmt":"2017-12-29T13:50:08","slug":"what-skepticism-means","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html","title":{"rendered":"Skeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook:<\/p>\n

In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, \u201cskeptic\u201d is frequently code for \u201ccredulous towards heterodox claims.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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.<\/p>\n

This came up, not surprisingly, in a discussion of a mythicist meme that circulates widely among atheists despite having long been debunked<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I think it would be fair and safe to say that someone bearing the label \u201cskeptic\u201d is much like someone bearing the label \u201cChristian.\u201d 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\u2026<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook: In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, \u201cskeptic\u201d is frequently code for \u201ccredulous towards heterodox claims.\u201d 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":42608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[127],"tags":[10169,11376,11379],"class_list":["post-42606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atheism-religion","tag-religion","tag-skeptic","tag-skepticism"],"yoast_head":"\nSkeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook: In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, \u201cskeptic\u201d is frequently code for \u201ccredulous towards\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Skeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook: In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, \u201cskeptic\u201d is frequently code for \u201ccredulous towards\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-28T10:09:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-29T13:50:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/719\/2017\/12\/9CAB0CA2-04FB-4371-B5AA-B73343D1DF7D.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1654\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1305\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html\",\"name\":\"Skeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-28T10:09:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-29T13:50:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook: In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, \u201cskeptic\u201d is frequently code for \u201ccredulous towards\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Skeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Skeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism","description":"Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook: In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, \u201cskeptic\u201d is frequently code for \u201ccredulous towards","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Skeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism","og_description":"Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook: In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, \u201cskeptic\u201d is frequently code for \u201ccredulous towards","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2017-12-28T10:09:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-12-29T13:50:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1654,"height":1305,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/719\/2017\/12\/9CAB0CA2-04FB-4371-B5AA-B73343D1DF7D.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html","name":"Skeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-12-28T10:09:17+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-29T13:50:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"Jonathan Bernier wrote in a comment on Facebook: In my experience, when it comes to biblical studies, \u201cskeptic\u201d is frequently code for \u201ccredulous towards","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2017\/12\/what-skepticism-means.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Skeptical of Skeptics\u2019 Skepticism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}