The Question of the Greek New Testament

[Rhondazvous]

An even bigger question is with all the editing and revision they did how did they still manage to leave so many contradictions?

I think you have a misconception about how the New Testament was put together.  The individual books were written between . But not all Christian groups had copies of all the books and some groups considered other books not in the New Testament to be sacred.  There wasn't a consensus about which books belonged in the New Testament until the 3rd or 4th Century depending upon what you consider a consensus.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development...ment_canon  And even then it wasn't a really settled matter.  Martin Luther considered taking Jude, James, Hebrews, and Revelations out, and did put them in a subordinate position.

Given that the books were transcribed, edited, and preserved seperately, and not in a single volume, contradictions between them aren't surprising. Or, are only surprising if you think they are divinely inspired.

Yes, I'm aware that there was no compilation until the ecumenical councils of the 4th century. Although I did not know about Martin Luther. Learn something new everyday. I guess the lack of a printing press made it hard even for the councils to keep track of everything. Still, the contradictions are so blatant. Ex. after his resurrection Jesus tells Mary not to touch him because he had not yet ascended to his father. Ten verses later he tells Thomas to touch the holes in his hands and feet.. So in many instances we're not talking about discrepancies between separate books.  In many cases books were spiced together with no regard for agreement. Makes me wonder if the writers and editors weren't using opium to induce what they thought was the Holy Spirit.