Faith & Academy

One of the internal debates I've wrestled with over the last year is the interaction of historical-critical scholarship and practical theology. Naturally, there are about a million ways to discuss this topic. But, my question is simply this: If one is not a confessing believer, then what is his/her motivation for pursuing a doctorate & dedicating a lifetime to teaching and studying the biblical texts? I don't ask this question out of any particular frustration. In fact, as a believer, I love critical scholarship. I struggle to integrate it (thank you Kenton Sparks & Peter Enns), but I enjoy the challenges and, in the end, find them both fruitful and inspiring. I hope my motivations in pursuing doctoral work are entirely transparent both in the academy and in the church community at large. I wonder, however,  what drives an atheist or agnostic biblical scholar? It seems that, at best, each day would be an exercise in deconstruction. Honest questions.