Doug Mangum’s recent post dealing with critical biblical scholarship is truly excellent. I can’t recommend enough that you go take a look at it, especially if you’re at all interested in studying the Bible on its own terms.

Doug’s conclusion, that faith and critical biblical scholarship are not mutually exclusive, is absolutely correct. I have ministered to, and currently minister to, youth and young adults. Teenagers often find themselves questioning their parents beliefs and views (religious, social, political, you name it). I’ve often seen the harm that can be done by “circling the wagons” and Doug puts it. Far better, in my opinion, to allow questions, and to take the Bible seriously–especially for those conservatives who claim to derive their theology only from the text of Scripture.