Which Greek Text

Quote:

Originally Posted by Count Iblis Which manuscript of the Bible is the correct one, since no two are exactly the same?

That's a good question.

First, I need for you to answer a couple of questions, if you don't mind.

1. When God promises to preserve His Word, do you believe Him?
2. These promises, do you believe them to be literal, or figurative?
3. Do you believe that man's intellect is untainted from sin?

You see, the answers to these questions effects the outcome of your question.

I myself, believe God preserved His Word.
I believe this preservation is supernatural, literal, and not figurative.
I believe that man's intellect, no matter how many college degrees he has, or how many years he has been a professor of such and such ivy league institute, his intellect is still tainted with sin and cannot be relied upon by itself.

Intellects do not like this train of thought, because it does not allow them the pride and privilege their scholasticism demands from others. A godless theologian wants the privilege to be a Bible Scholar without a dependency on God's Holy Spirit. This is ABSOLUTE HOG-WASH, and God Himself calls them fools (Romans 1:22). As God's Word clearly points out, God is pleased by our faith and not our intellect (Hebrews 11:6).

/side note
Is it then wrong to focus on scholasticism? No! Just as there is nothing wrong with bodily exercise, mental or intellectual exercise is noble and worth the pursuit, as long as it is completely submissive to God's Word.
side note/

With this in hand, there are only two texts that this train of thought leads to: either the Critical Text Family (W-H Text, UBS4, NA27, etc) or the Textus Receptus.

If God has preserved His Word, these are the only two texts left*.

2 Timothy 2:15
(15) Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Now, this "rightly dividing" has nothing to do with intellectual strength, but rather the dividing correctly as per the direction of the Holy Spirit.

As a blood-bought child of God, and the tools and knowledge, it is my duty to compare the two texts side by side.

I look at Luke 2:22 and ask myself, did Jesus need to be purified?
I look at Luke 2:33 and question, is Joseph Jesus' father?
I also look at John 1:14 and ask myself is Jesus the only-begotten God or only-begotten son?

There are also other verses, but I hope you see where I am coming from. The arguments against the TR are purely scholastical and not doctrinal. The last 12 verses of Mark? The verses in John 8, the verses in I John, they have nothing to do with doctrine, but whether you believe certain godless scholars when they twist and argue if these verses were in the original autographs or not.

I hope this helps. I can imagine what stance you might be taking when you posed the question, I just need for you to ask yourself this one question. If you truly believe that you are saved, then ask, is your faith based on what God says, or on what man says? This one single question might have a greater impact than you ever could imagine.


* I know, I know.... there is also the Majority Text crowd. I personally have met and spoken with Maurice Robinson and he is a good man, though I do find myself disagreeing with him a bit. The MT is nothing more than conservative scholars using the tools and principles of the godless theologians to show a scholastic effort towards the Byzantine Text. Though noble, I give no quarter to the wolves in sheep's clothing. The only thing I have for them is a stout rod to drive them off, away from God's flock.