A biblical studies teacher at a prestigious US university has warned teachers in his field are still subject to charges of 'treason and heresy' even in the 21st century.
Ronald S Hendel has warned of 'extremism and intimidation' faced by scholars who teach an academic rather than a confessional approach to biblical texts.
In a paper entitled Biblical scholarship at risk published on Academia.edu, Hendel, who is Professor of Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, writes of finding himself featured on a website called Professor Watchlist. He says: 'Along with some 200 other professors, I am accused of "promot[ing] anti-American values and advanc[ing] leftist propaganda in the classroom". My un-American propaganda is modern Biblical scholarship. The list accuses me of the following crime: "[telling] students not to take his class if they think the Bible is infallible".'
Professor Watchlist links to an article on the conservative The College Fix website which quotes a student who challenged Hendel on whether Moses wrote the Pentateuch, a view generally dismissed in biblical scholarship. The article links to a piece by the student, David Kurz, who reported Hendel as saying: 'Anyone can take this class, as long as you play by the rules of the game. ... If you disagree with the approach we use, that's an F.'
Kurz says: 'I was shocked — not only by his contempt for religion but also by the fact that he wasn't even trying to be subtle about his narrow-minded academic approach. Apparently, free thought and academic curiosity were off limits from the get-go. "I don't want people who are going to disagree with me all semester," the professor declared in no uncertain terms.'
However, in his paper, Hendel says: 'In my undergraduate classes, I carefully explain to students that modern biblical scholarship is different from speech about the Bible in churches and synagogues. It is a context where critical analysis – a mixture of historical and linguistic study using the original languages – rather than affirmations of faith or religious apologetics is the standard.'
Some students are excited by his approach while others drop the course, he says, adding that he tells students they are 'welcome to take the class if they can operate within its academic horizons, that is, learning the material even if they disagree with it'. But because he teaches modern biblical scholarship, 'I am presumed guilty of un-American activity and radical heresy.'
Hendel says: 'I used to think that this kind of anti-intellectual bigotry was a relic of the past. But we seem to be entering interesting times. In this dawning era of right-wing political correctness, I suppose that I ought to put a trigger warning on my books and courses, lest students be confronted with unfamiliar and uncomfortable ideas. Here's my idea for a trigger warning: "Danger: Biblical scholar at work."
'That ought to work for the faint of heart and for the patriotic defenders of ignorance. But it might not be enough. In this era of extremism and intimidation, I fear that the scholarly study of the Bible is at risk.'
