B. H. Manners

Are there any websites that feature an exhaustive list of Bible variant readings and texts?

Thanks for all of your help.

not a theist

Exhaustive...no, at least none that I'm aware of.
Are you looking for them in English or in the original languages?
Here are some of the major NT variants in English.

<a href="http://www.ovc.edu/tc/index.htm" target="_blank">A Student's Guide to
New Testament Textual Variants</a>


You might also wish to check out these pages to help you find what you're looking for.

<a href="http://www.ntgateway.com/greek/" target="_blank">Greek New Testament Texts</a>

<a href="http://www.ntgateway.com/resource/textcrit.htm" target="_blank">Textual Criticism Resource Pages</a>

[ August 19, 2002: Message edited by: not a theist ]</p>

B. H. Manners

My purpose is to stop Christians from quibbling that "so and so is just a copy error" and so on. Even though the argument they make is weak I want to completely oblitarate it and here is how:

If there are two books in the Bible that speak of the same story for example, and says so and so lived 45 years and the other book said 55 years a Christian will just say "Oh, no real contradiction just a copying error." What I want to do is look up variants of both books and see just what they say as far as the age of the man in question is in all manuscripts. In some manuscript copies of Book A it may list 45 and in others 55. If I look up Book B and variants of it put 55 and yet others at 45 or 49 ect. I can claim there is a contradiction between the manuscripts themselves. Someone cannot live to be both 45 and 55 at the same time. The manuscripts of each book would contradict themselves and the Christian would have to concede the fact because he/she could never determine just which was the right age of the man in question .

[ August 19, 2002: Message edited by: BH ]</p>

MortalWombat

I really don't think the "copying errors" excuse helps their position that much. It might even hurt it. Even if there are copying errors, how then can we sure that any particular verse in the bible wasn't due a copying error? What is their criteria for deciding what is a copying error and what isn't? If it agrees with their theology, then there is no error, but if it doesn't, there is a copying error?

CX

Not that I know of. I use the Nestle & Aland 27th edition of Novum Testamentum Graece. It lists significant variants and MSS attestation in the critical apparatus, but you have to be familiar with Koine Greek. Ultimately, it is probably futile to argue such a point with someone who is committed to inerrancy.