Documentary controls, codicology, and nomina sacra converge to date New Testament manuscripts responsibly within realistic ranges.
Dating the New Testament Manuscripts: Methodologies and Challenges
A Comprehensive Study of Textual Families in the New Testament
Textual families illuminate how the New Testament was copied, clustered, and preserved, guiding the restoration of the earliest attainable wording.
The Alexandrian Text-Type and the Critical Greek New Testament: Overwhelming Priority and Minimal Overrides
The critical Greek New Testament remains overwhelmingly Alexandrian because early papyri and B control the text, with only rare, evidence-driven overrides.
The Relationship Between the Muratorian Canon and New Testament Textual Criticism
The Muratorian Canon supports New Testament textual criticism by confirming early collection, public reading, and controlled transmission of core apostolic books.
New Testament Textual Criticism: Evaluating the Coherence-Based Genealogical Method
A documentary evaluation of CBGM, affirming early Alexandrian primacy and the authority of second-century papyri in reconstructing the original text.
Tertullian’s Contributions to New Testament Textual Criticism
Tertullian’s polemics, citations, and documentary mindset provide early Latin evidence and a public-text model crucial for New Testament textual criticism.
The Role of Origen in New Testament Textual Criticism
Origen’s massive citations and explicit notice of variant readings make him a central patristic witness, best used alongside early manuscripts.
The Variants Are So Numerous That We Don’t Really Know What the Original Said: Bart D. Ehrman
Many variants reflect manuscript abundance, not ignorance; when counted by variation units, only a tiny fraction of the text is difficult.
The Bible Has Been Changed More Than Any Other Ancient Book: Bart D. Ehrman
Ehrman’s slogan confuses variant visibility with corruption; the New Testament’s abundant witnesses expose differences and enable restoration.
Bart D. Ehrman Says, ‘We Don’t Actually Have Authoritative Texts of the New Testament’
“Highly significant” variants exist, but they are limited, identifiable, and resolvable; the New Testament’s wide early witness base preserves the original wording.
