Kent Clarke

Kent Clarke: Brooke Foss Westcott, Professorship of New Testament Textual Criticism, Greek Studies, and Hermeneutics

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Dr. Kent D. Clarke (Faculty page)

Department: Religious Studies; Faculty of Graduate Studies; School of Graduate Studies (MA Biblical Studies)

Email: kentc@twu.ca

Area of Expertise: New Testament Studies; New Testament Textual Criticism; New Testament Canon Formation; Greek Languages; Hermeneutics; and 18th-19th Century Enlightenment and Biblical Criticism

Spoken Languages: Modern Research Languages: English, French, German; Ancient Research Languages: Classical & Koine Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic.

Education: B.Theology. Hons. (Okanagan Bible College), M.Theological Studies (Trinity Western University), Ph.D.(Bristol)

THESIS SUPERVISION

 “The History of the Interpretation of Micah 4:14-5:1: A Ruler from Bethlehem” (MA Thesis passed January 2008).

 “The Septuagint as Textual Witness and Translation: A Re-evaluation” (MA Thesis passed April 2005).

 “Textual Variants in the Deuteronomy Dead Sea Scrolls” (MA Thesis passed May 2005).

 “An Analysis of the Transcriptional Habits of the Scribe of P.Oxy LXVI 4499” (External Supervisor for Senior Paper Thesis at Taylor University College, Edmonton, AB. Passed April 2006).

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS, PAPERS AND RESEARCH

Monographs:

Enlightenment Reason and Christian Faith: The Eighteenth Century and the Development of Modern Biblical and Theological Studies (2010).

Codex Vaticanus: A New Transcription and Critical Assessment Incorporating Corrections to Tischendorf’s Editio Princeps (A BibleWorks, LLC Software Module, 2010).

Textual Optimism: An Analysis of the United Bible Society’s Greek New Testament and Its Evaluation of Evidence Letter-Ratings (JSNTSup 138; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997).

Chapters & Articles:

“Paleography and Philanthropy: Charles Lang Freer and His Acquisition of the ‘Freer Biblical Manuscripts," in Larry W. Hurtado (ed.), The Freer Biblical Manuscripts: Fresh Studies of an American Treasure Trove (SBL Text Critical Studies 6; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2006), pp. 17-73.

“A Rebuttal to William L. Petersen’s Review of Studies in the Early Texts of the Gospels and Acts,” TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism 8 (2003), par. 1-5.

“Textual Certainty in the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament,” Novum Testamentum 44 (2002), pp. 105-33.

“The Problem of Pseudonymity in Biblical Literature and Its Implications for Canon Formation,” in L.M. McDonald and J.A. Sanders (eds.), The Canon Debate (Peabody Mass.: Hendrickson, 2002), pp. 440-68.

“Pseudo-Phocylides,” in C.A. Evans and S.E. Porter (eds.), Dictionary of New Testament Background(Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 2000), pp. 868-69.

“The Construction of Biblical Certainty: Textual Optimism and the United Bible Society’s Greek New Testament.” Co-authored with Kevin Bales in D.G.K. Taylor (ed.), Studies in the Early Text of the Gospels and Acts (Texts and Studies, 3rd Series, 1; Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham Press, 1999), pp. 86-93.

“Original Text or Canonical Text? Questioning the Shape of the New Testament Text We Translate,” in S.E. Porter and R. Hess (eds.), Translating the Bible: Problems and Prospects (JSNTSup 173; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), pp. 281-322.

“What is Exegesis? An Analysis of Various Definitions.” Co-authored with S.E. Porter in S.E. Porter (ed.),Handbook to Exegesis of the New Testament (NTTS 25; Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 3-21.

“A Canonical Critical Perspective and the Relationship of Colossians and Ephesians.” Co-authored with S.E. Porter; Biblica 78/1 (1997), pp. 57-86.

“Canonical Criticism: An Integrated Reading of Biblical Texts for the Community of Faith,” in S.E. Porter and D. Tombs (eds.), Approaches to New Testament Study (JSNTSup 120; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), pp. 170-221.

Ongoing Research:

BibleWorks Biblical Manuscript Transcription and Collation Project; General Editor and Academic Project Leader (Fall 2007-Present) of the BibleWorks Manuscript Transcription Project, which seeks to provide over the next four years scholarly-produced transcriptions of approximately two hundred New Testament papyri, uncial, and minuscule manuscripts. These new transcriptions, which will be based upon high quality digital images of the actual manuscripts or their facsimiles, will serve as the foundation for the development of a New Testament Textual Criticism software application. This project will (1) develop a module that incorporates new technology and processes that more accurately and effectively allow for manuscript transcription and collation; (2) provide extremely accurate representations of the manuscripts being transcribed; (3) make the raw transcription data availablewithout charge for personal or academic use; (4) effectively enable program users to immediately compare, contrast, and fully collate any desired selection—either partial or full text—of these manuscripts; (5) allow for a broad range of detailed statistical queries relating but not limited to such issues as textual affiliation and congruity of the New Testament manuscript tradition; (6) link directly to the manuscript transcriptions their corresponding high resolution digital images where publication permissions have been granted; (7) be “open-ended” in that ongoing transcription and imaging work, as well as the recording of relevant extra-textual features such as sociological and codicological details, can be seamlessly incorporated into the software; and (8) serve as the groundwork for published volumes containing full transcriptions of each manuscript, as well as complete collations for each book of the New Testament.

New Testament Greek Manuscripts Image Collection at Trinity Western University; In possession of one of the largest collections of New Testament Greek manuscript images in Canada (including published facsimiles, microfilm, and digital images). The goal of this project is to catalogue and establish a sizable collection of ancient biblical manuscript images that will aid in the ongoing work of New Testament textual criticism. The collection, which will be temporarily housed at Trinity Western University and will be accessible to both academic and public alike, will be formally named in honour of Professor Reuben J. Swanson and his life’s work and commitment to New Testament textual criticism. Newly added to this collection are one hundred and seventy-five fragments of recently discovered and as yet unpublished ancient Egyptian papyri (formally named the Trinity Western University-Wikene Papyri Collection).

New Testament Greek Manuscripts; Co-editor with Reuben J. Swanson (Sheffield/Pasadena: Sheffield Academic Press/William Carey International University Press, 1995-Present). Invited in Spring 2004 to serve as co-editor/author for Professor Swanson’s ongoing production of a critical edition of the Greek New Testament. Currently transcribing and collating ancient Greek manuscripts for the publication of the Book of Revelation.

Select Conference Papers And Academic Presentations:

The BibleWorks Biblical Manuscript Transcription and Collation Project: New Technology in the Aid of New Testament Textual Criticism. The Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Boston, Mass., November 23, 2008 (presented in the Computer Assisted Research Program Unit).

“The Trinity Western University-Wikene Papyri ‘Rediscovery.” The Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Boston, Mass., November 22, 2008 (presented in the Paleographical Studies in the Ancient Near East Program Unit).

“Paleography and Philanthropy: Charles Lang Freer and His Acquisition of the Freer Biblical Manuscripts.” The Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., November 18-21, 2006 (presented at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.).

“The Construction of Biblical Certainty: Textual Optimism and the United Bible Society’s Greek New Testament.” The University of Birmingham Colloquium on the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, Birmingham, UK, April 14-17, 1997.

“Original Text or Canonical Text?: Questioning the Basis of New Testament Translation and Exegesis.” Paper given at the Theology and Religious Studies Research Cluster, Roehampton Institute London, London, England, April 1997.

“The Use of Scripture in Canonical Criticism: Prolegomena for Biblical Exegesis.” Paper given at the Theology and Religious Studies Research Cluster, Roehampton Institute London, London, England, March 1996.

“The Use of the Bible in Canonical Criticism: Hermeneutical Outlook or Exegetical Method.” Paper given at the Society for the Study of Theology Annual Conference (Biblical Theology Session), The University of Cambridge, Selwyn College, Cambridge, England, April 8-11, 1996.

“A Canonical Critical Perspective and the Relationship of Colossians and Ephesians.” Paper given at the Theology and Religious Studies Research Cluster, Roehampton Institute London, London, England, February 1995.

“A Canonical Critical Perspective and the Relationship of Colossians and Ephesians.” Paper given with S.E. Porter at the Tyndale Fellowship New Testament Study Group, Tyndale House, Cambridge, England, 26-28 June 1995.

“Defining Canonical Criticism.” Paper given at the Theology and Religious Studies Research Cluster, Roehampton Institute London, London, England, December 1995.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS 

Member of the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL).

Member of the Institute for Biblical Research (IBR).

Member of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies (CSBS).

Book Review Editor for the peer-reviewed journal Canadian Evangelical Review (CER).

Editorial Board Member for the peer-reviewed journal Canadian Evangelical Review (CER).

Occasional Submissions Editor for the journal Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses.

 Thesis supervision by Kent Clarke and Martin Abegg