How do theists justify the translations of the scriptures?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

never said there where 25,000 copies from the first century. I said this message has been preserved for over two thousand years. out of that preservation during that time period we have over 25,000 hand written copies of text that all tell the same message.

What you actually said was:

the fact that there are over 25,000 copies of the bible hand written and preserved over 2000 years

This is patently untrue.  There is, in fact, NO copy of the Bible that has been preserved for over 2000 years.  The oldest copy of the New Testament is the Codex Sinaiticus, which was most likely written around the middle of the 4th century.

I'll try again, since you appear to have missed it.  A 'copy' is not the same as a 'manuscript'.  If I write out all the words of  'Moby Dick' by hand, that's a copy AND a manuscript.  If I write 'Call me Ismael' and nothing else, that's not a copy, but it's still a manuscript. Prior to Codex Sinaiticus, what we have are manuscripts in fragment form, some more substantial than others.  But none of these are 'copies of the bible'.

I'll happily grant that the New Testament has over 25 000 extant manuscripts. Big deal.

what do you think is happening when we go to the greek texts?

I think that I admire the scholarship and the effort by Christians who do that, but I'm unconvinced that this is something that Christians 'generally' do.  Until it is demonstrated otherwise, I'm going to hold to the notion that the great majority of Christians don't engage in any serious scholarship regarding scripture, they simply 'eat what is set before them'.


Boru