statistical illiteracy in textual scholarship - Norman Geisler struggles with numbers

Steven Avery

Administrator
Norman Geisler contributed to the "Evangelical Miscalculation" having to do with the hundreds of thousands of variants.

Even after straightening that out, he is still statistically illiterate - hanging on to totally bogus Hort numbers.

A Note on the Percent of Accuracy of the New Testament Text
by Norman L. Geisler
https://normangeisler.com/a-note-on-the-percent-of-accuracy-of-the-new-testament-text/

Some have challenged the accuracy of the New Testament (NT) manuscripts based on a statement in our book A General Introduction to the Bible that inadvertently attributed to Bruce Metzer the figure that the NT is copied with 99.5 percent accuracy. However, this is an inconsequential criticism for several reasons. First, NT textual authorities Westcott and Hort estimated that only about one-sixtieth rise above “trivialities” and can be called “substantial variations.” In short, the NT is 98.33 percent pure. Second, Greek expert Ezra Abbott said about 19/20 (95 percent) of the readings are “various” rather than “rival” readings, and about 19/20 (95 percent) of the rest make no appreciable difference in the sense of the passage. Thus the text is 99.75 percent accurate. Third, noted NT Greek scholar A. T. Robertson said the real concern is with about a “thousandth part of the entire text.” So, the reconstructed text of the New Testament is 99.9% free from real concern.


Philip Schaff estimated that of the thousands of variations in all the manuscripts known in his day, only 50 were of real significance and of these not one affected “an article of faith.” Even agnostic NT critic Bart Ehrman admits that “In fact, most of the changes found in early Christian manuscripts have nothing to do with theology or ideology. Far and away the most changes are the result of mistakes pure and simple-slips of the pen, accidental omissions, inadvertent additions, misspelled words, blunders of one sort of another” (Misquoting Jesus, 55).

We will explain some detail and history on this thread.

These are all ignoramus numbers. We know of about 45 verses that are missing int he Critical Text. We can easily find hundreds of very significant differences and corruption that are in the Critical Text. About four thousand differences overall.

These numbers used by Geisler are so stupid that the only interest is how these charlatans deceive themselves.
 
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