A Critical Examination of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method in the Catholic Epistles

Abstract

The present research provides the first sustained study of the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method (CBGM), a computerised tool developed by Gerd Mink which has become an 'essential tool' to the editors of the most widely used critical editions of the Greek New Testament (NA28/UBS5). Its main use has been on the Editio Critica Maior (ECM) for the Catholic Epistles, which now forms the basis of the NA and UBS editions. The ECM volume on Acts was published in 2017 and plans are underway to apply the CBGM to the entire New Testament. However, because it was designed to address the problems of textual contamination and coincidental agreement, the CBGM has significance far beyond the confines of biblical studies. The overarching purpose of the method is to improve our understanding of the text's history and to help reconstruct the text's starting point, or the 'initial text'. Both of these goals are subjected to close scrutiny in this thesis.The argument unfolds in three sections. The first part traces the method's history and reception before offering a fresh, clear statement of its principles and procedures. Part II attends the method's claim to better reconstruct the initial text and Part III tests its ability to illuminate the text's historical development. A concluding chapter details limitations and suggests improvements. Here we offer a summary of each part.The introduction sets out the aims and scope of the study. Chapter 1 then traces the development and reception of the method over the last thirty years, showing both that the method is mature enough to warrant scrutiny and in need of it. Chapter