I am very sorry that your God is not big enough to keep His promise. You all claim to be Baptists. To be believers and yet so many on here lie and say there is no infallible word of God. That only the originals were inspired. You guys give man too much credit when it comes to bible translation and versions. Where is the hand of God in all of this? Can you prove to me that God was not behind the scenes very much involved in making sure these 2 codexes were put out of circulation?
If you guys believe there is no 100% inspired, inerrant word of God, then why do you even read the Holy Bible? How do you even know what parts are inspired and what isn't? As a fellow Baptist and believer in Jesus Christ, I came on here today and got jumped on by such hostile people. You all should be ashamed!
This is where you err. Well, it's not the only place but it is the one I will take issue with.
I am sorry to inform you but, in truth, God is a lot bigger than you give Him credit of being. He is not limited by man's finite "wisdom, nor is He limited to only being capable of transmitting His perfect word only once in 1611. God has given His word to man throughout the centuries: first through the original authors, and now through the translations of those original works.
So where is God's perfect word? Yes, it is in the originals that no longer exist, but it is alsi in the copies handed down, and in the collections of these that have been put together, and the translations made from these. God is not limited to any one single solitary means, contrary to what you and your ilk spout. He has used the hands of men to further His word by means of copying, translating, and distributing it through the ages... before, during, AND after 1611.
One cannot point to a single translation and claim it to be perfect for one simple reason... it is a
translation. If you have ever tried to learn a second language you would know that things do not come out exactly the same from one language to another. Even if you could line up exact word meanings you would still have a foreign mind on both sides of the communication. God knows this and He has allowed us to continue to translate His word even though today because of it.
Even if one
could produce a perfect translation it would only remain perfect for a while due to the way languages change. these changes happen a lot more rapidly now than they used to because of the increase in the means of communication as well as the changes of society. What used to mean one thing now means several other things or something else entirely different. "Gay" and "queer" are but two examples of just how much some words have changed in meaning in a few short years, much less 400.
Now, as to your comments about hidden manuscripts. Ever heard of archeology? You know, digging up hidden things? This is how most manuscripts and fragments have been found. Sure, there were a lot of copies handed down, but with many hands comes the higher probability of man-made error or good intentioned editing (ever play the telephone game?). Archeology looks for that which is hidden because it gives archaeologists insight into what came before, allowing them to see things as they truly are and not how things have continued on until now.
I wholly believe in the inerrant, 100% inspired word of God. i have several copies of it even though many bear different lettings on the spines... ESV, NASB, KJV, ASV, NET, WEB, NKJV, and several others. No, I do not point my finger at just one as I am not God, nor am I about to try and limit God or tell Him which one it should be. All of them are translations, man's attempts at giving the English speaking world God's word in the very best manner they could. Even so all are not the perfect image of the original languages. Even if I learned to read, write, and speak Koine Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic I would still be unable to perfectly give the words in English as my mindset is foreign to that of the authors. But God is not limited by my, or any other man's, limitations.
Use the bible you have in your hand but do not attempt to tell me that God is hamstrung and unable to give His word in anything akin to the language(s) spoken today. God allowed His word to be translated for the sole purpose of letting man hear and know His word in their own languages. I speak modern English, not Jacobean English. I am also well educated and able to understand the words and prose of the KJV, but most today are not. Gos is big enough to take care of getting His word into a form that can be readily understood without being re-translated.