Reference work
Manuscripts 101: What Is a Textual Variant?
Introductory explanation of New Testament textual variants and why many variants are insignificant.
- Publisher
- Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts
- Tradition
- Textual criticism
- Accessed
- 2026-06-18
Citation
Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts, “Manuscripts 101: What Is a Textual Variant?” March 14, 2023.
Where this source is used
- The Bible is corruptedThe manuscripts differ in small ways, but the Gospel Christians held in Muhammad's day, which the Qur'an tells them to judge by, survives and can be read today.
- The Bible lost plain and precious truthsThe manuscripts show small, documented copying changes, not an early removal of doctrine, and the Bible already teaches what the Book of Mormon calls plain and precious.
- The reliability of the BibleVariants in the manuscripts are real and openly catalogued. They show a text copied many times in many places, which is why its earliest wording can be recovered.