by jimwalton » Mon Nov 07, 2022 1:02 am
Thanks for the comment. I don't think it's an exaggeration at all. The Trinitarian alternate reading of 1 Jn. 5.7-8 ("the Johannine Comma") has very weak attestation. No one establishes any doctrine or dogma off of these verses. We get our understanding of the Trinity from elsewhere in the NT. We don't need these verses for that establishment or understanding; these verses don't give us some piece of information that we wouldn't have otherwise. They don't add to our doctrinal understanding or alter it in any way.
I'll stick with what I said, that no discrepancy threatens or changes any Christian doctrine. John 8 and Mark 16.9-20 are not what we'd call scribal errors. They are well-known later additions that change nothing of our essential doctrine. The strange signs in Mark 16 are exactly that: strange signs,. They are insignificant (and rather bizarre), minor claims. John 8 is often quoted, but shows an attitude of Jesus, not anything major and certainly not doctrinal. Anything doctrine in these texts, if any, we also see elsewhere. You could completely toss out these two rogue texts and it wouldn't change a thing in Christian theology.
I disagree that they're not minor. We could throw these texts out, and many often do (as I do), and absolutely nothing is lost.
As far as "How do we account for them," we follow the manuscript evidence and chain of custody. We can see where in history these additions were placed, so we know they are not authentic. They aren't errors, so to speak, but obvious later amendments. In answer to the original poster's question, none of them interfere with the teachings of Scripture.
Thanks for the comment. I don't think it's an exaggeration at all. The Trinitarian alternate reading of 1 Jn. 5.7-8 ("the Johannine Comma") has very weak attestation. No one establishes any doctrine or dogma off of these verses. We get our understanding of the Trinity from elsewhere in the NT. We don't need these verses for that establishment or understanding; these verses don't give us some piece of information that we wouldn't have otherwise. They don't add to our doctrinal understanding or alter it in any way.
I'll stick with what I said, that no discrepancy threatens or changes any Christian doctrine. John 8 and Mark 16.9-20 are not what we'd call scribal errors. They are well-known later additions that change nothing of our essential doctrine. The strange signs in Mark 16 are exactly that: strange signs,. They are insignificant (and rather bizarre), minor claims. John 8 is often quoted, but shows an attitude of Jesus, not anything major and certainly not doctrinal. Anything doctrine in these texts, if any, we also see elsewhere. You could completely toss out these two rogue texts and it wouldn't change a thing in Christian theology.
I disagree that they're not minor. We could throw these texts out, and many often do (as I do), and absolutely nothing is lost.
As far as "How do we account for them," we follow the manuscript evidence and chain of custody. We can see where in history these additions were placed, so we know they are not authentic. They aren't errors, so to speak, but obvious later amendments. In answer to the original poster's question, none of them interfere with the teachings of Scripture.