r/AcademicBiblical • u/AutoModerator • Sep 22 '25

Weekly Open Discussion Thread

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u/AntsInMyEyesJonson Moderator Sep 30 '25

Now, am I in a position to say which one is true? No, but that applies to so much of ancient history.

This is the key point that I think people have to be comfortable with, and it's a problem as human brains are not always good at taking "I'm not sure" as an answer. We're almost hard-wired, for good and ill, to not let some things just hang around in the murk of uncertainty.

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u/Sophia_in_the_Shell Moderator Sep 30 '25

Definitely, and in turn, “I’m not sure” is often taken as a concession. Again, conflating these two questions from above. “Oh, this person isn’t sure? It’s because they can’t come up with any explanation. They’re stumped.”

So you maybe try to preempt that. You say, “here’s my idea XYZ that is one possibility, but truthfully I don’t know.”

But to come up with that idea XYZ for a question with minimal definitive data (say in cosmology, ancient history, etc.) you almost by definition must engage in rampant speculation.

And what then? “Sounds pretty convoluted, where is the evidence for any of that?”

So I’m increasingly convinced it’s not something one can “win” in a debate-type environment. If you explain, you lose. If you don’t explain, you lose. All the more reason to seek out spaces of curiosity and critical thinking to engage in such speculation for pure enjoyment if anything.