Sons of Skepticism

The following quote comes from John Oswalt's excellent book, The Bible Among the Myths. The book primarily deals with the intersection between the worldview of the bible and the worldview of the pagan ancient Near East - most notably pointing out the difference between the pagan idea of material continuity/pantheism versus the biblical idea of transcendence. In the following quote, Oswalt rather nicely illustrates the stakes of denying the historical reality of the bible, while trying to hold onto some sort of faith (emphasis mine).

I do not mean to suggest that the only persons who have come to doubt the historical veracity of the Old Testament are those who begin with a bias in that direction. Many honest investigators who began with the opposite bias have come to that conclusion. I only mean to say that if we begin with the bias against its veracity, it is virtually certain that we wil come to that conclusion. Nor do I mean to say that reaching that conclusion one must necessarily abandon faith. However, it is my observation that such a faith, hanging in the air, as it were, is virtually incapable of reproducing itself. Our students tend to be more logical than we. (Oswalt 2009: 16)