Is Biblical Studies in conflict with faith? This was not the question I was asked at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley in a survey given to Ph.D. students. Rather, the question was: How do you handle the conflicts of biblical studies with your personal faith?
My initial thought was: What conflict? Contrary to the assumption that there was a conflict, I felt a strong harmony between biblical studies and devotional reading of scripture. Seconds after my initial reaction, a list crossed my mind of friends and acquaintances who had "lost their faith" as a result of intellectual conflicts arising from their seminary training. This was what the survey was addressing.