power of the replicator over the process. It is important to note that neither the
Bible alone, nor sacred texts in general, constitute the only cultural replicators.
Our analysis of how replicators are translated into behavior possibly applies,
mutatis mutandis, to other bits of culture, as well. More work in this area is
needed to see whether such analogies can be translated into formal models or
whether they remain heuristic observations. If there is any value to our
analogy, however, the cognitive approach to the New Testament can be
considered a new epigenetic mechanism in the history of the Bible as a cultural
replicator.
Hermeneutical Reflections 219