1dontth1nks0

that's a really interesting thought.

to clarify - i've said to many that the idea of 'faith' as we know it, 'believing,' seemed to play an insignificant role in (especially) Jewish communities. 'Faithfulness' - allegiance and obedience - was much more the goal. Would you agree with that or am I a bit off?

Seems to me that 'faith' began devolving into 'belief' as a way for early christian to put a stake in the ground. (ie - "as opposed to the Jews or heathens, we have faith/believe in Jesus, and therefore are faithful in this way...")

i don't know if you're still around, but if you considered yourself an atheist (or really even an agnostic, which I don't necessarily place as a less certain position as regards any theistic religion) for the latter half of your undergraduate program - how did you finish it? will your PhD focus in different fields of biblical criticism or just ancient texts in general?

i understand "finding it interesting" - and I still do. But as someone who graduated with a degree in Biblical Texts and went on to pursue 24 hours of an MDiv Master's Degree before somewhat 'deconverting' and considering myself an agnostic atheist, trying to even finish my summer semester before halting the program all together was one of the most painful and difficult things I've ever had to do.

thanks for the AMA by the way. really appreciate it and had thought of doing one myself. much misinformation on each side.