Kristof and Religion

In his most recent column in the NYTimes Kristof expresses astonishment at the number of people who believe in their religion, and bemoans their lack of intellect. Of course he puts it in nicer words than that, but that's what it boils down to. To help make his point, he looks at Mary rather than Jesus; and talks about the Virgin Birth (found in the original sources) and the Assumption of Mary (a much later addition, and not universally accepted) in the same breath--a debating tactic rather than a real argument.

He refers to two Biblical scholars who disparage the doctrine of the Virgin Birth, and leaves you with the impression that these represent all Biblical scholarship. But a quick googling (combing out the popularizers) shows scholarship on both sides of the issue, addressing precisely the points he mentions. In short, Biblical scholarship cannot be claimed to be on the side of the skeptics. He is badly misinformed.

At the end he says "The heart is a wonderful organ, but so is the brain," and asserts that we are drifting "away from a rich intellectual tradition and toward the mystical." I propose that Mr. Kristof try reading a little history, and learn who Aquinas was, for example.

In the "answer-back" section in which he replies to readers Kristof quotes Kant to the effect that religious matters are not open to proof or disproof. Selective scholarship of this sort does not reflect well on Kristof. Plenty of scholars disagree with Kant on this matter. He may be fashionable, but that doesn't mean he's right. In the earliest Christian writings Paul says that Christianity is open to disproof--if Jesus wasn't raised from the dead, then he (Paul) is wrong; and if you doubt the fact then go ask the eyewitnesses.

I thought reporters went out looking for facts (and sometimes Kristof seems to do this well), but in some ways Kristof seems to want to hide in a comfy little philosophical world--no debate needed with the obviously ignorant outsiders.