Skip to content

Add your phone number?

Optional. Nothing is sent unless you choose it.
The Historic Faith
Sign in
All Questions
Question 10
When Bercot lays out his research rules—“start with a blank slate” and “go back to primary sources,” then warns that authors can cite sources yet still mislead through selective use—what practical habits should a serious Christian adopt (in reading books, checking footnotes, evaluating claims about the Mishnah and first-century culture), and what heart-level motives might keep us from doing that work honestly?
Another way to ask: What simple habits can help Christians check claims, like reading original sources, using footnotes, and not trusting selective quotes? What fears or desires in our hearts might keep us from doing that honestly?

Direct Answer Bercot urges Christians to practice humble, source-based research: begin without a pre-decided conclusion, consult primary sources, and evaluate whether an author’s citations and context are honest. He also suggests our motives can sabotage this—wanting “ammunition” for what we already believe, or craving stories that let us escape uncomfortable biblical commands.

Support from Transcript:

  • His two rules: “start with a blank slate” and “go back to the primary sources,” calling this “the only way to do authentic research.”
  • He warns most people do “research” dishonestly: they’ve “already decided what they want to believe” and just look for “ammunition.”
  • For first-century questions, he says read sources “written in or near Christ’s lifetime,” not a “book…written in the 21st century” as if that settles it.
  • He recommends checking footnotes; strong claims “without furnishing any footnotes” are likely “bogus” because evidence would be cited.
  • Even with footnotes, he says check whether they cite primary sources or merely “parroting what somebody else has said.”
  • Even primary-source citations can mislead through “cherry-pick[ing],” like using Scripture verses to “prove almost any point.”
  • He models the habit: when people cited the Mishnah, he “went out and bought a copy of the Mishna” to verify.
Discussion Follow-ups What beliefs do you most fear re-checking because you might lose comfort, status, or approval? How can a church culture encourage careful truth-seeking instead of punishing honest questions?

Jumpstarter 10 of 10
Back Questions Done