Subject: tc-list Textual Optimism

From: Wieland Willker <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 17:08:38 +0200

In the Sheffield catalogue is a book entitled
"Textual Optimism"
by Kent D. Clarke
in which he "questions the evaluation of textual variants made in the
UBS NT."
What are his arguments and is he pessimistic or optimistic?

Best wishes
    Wieland

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From: "Robert B. Waltz" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 14:15:59 -0500

>What are his arguments and is he pessimistic or optimistic?

I haven't read _Textual Optimism_, but Clarke summarizes his own
opinions in K. D. Clarke & K Bales, "The Construction of Biblical
Certainty: Textual Optimism and the United Bible Societies' _Greek
New Testament_," published in D, G, K, Taylor, ed., _Studies in the
Early Text of the Gospels and Acts_.

If the summary correctly summarizes the book, the point is that,
when the UBS text went from the third to the fourth edition, the
text was not changed, but the apparatus was.

And the major change in the apparatus is that the text became
more certain. The number of "A" readings (where the committee
had no doubt about the original text) was greatly increased;
the number of "D" readings (where the committee was not certain
at all) went from significant to almost non-existent.

In other words, the UBS4 committee is in love with their own
text. :-) And, frankly, I don't think it's worthy of that
enthusiasm. I think Clarke agrees. :-) 

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

                        Robert B. Waltz
                     [email-masked]

Want more loudmouthed opinions about textual criticism?
Try my web page: http://www.skypoint.com/~waltzmn
(A site inspired by the Encyclopedia of NT Textual Criticism)