They have the same line of transmission do they not? What you are saying is the same as saying the Bishops or Beza's bible is not the same as the KJV or the TR. They all came through the same line. they all had the same foundation, do you disagree with that?
What you are saying is like saying that the NASB is different from the NIV or NRSV. They all came through the same line of transmission. There foundation is the same.
Since you seem to hold the TR in such high regard the question becomes:
Which Textus Receptus?
According to Textus Receptus Bibles (.com), there are no less than 27 different versions of the Textus Receptus!
Here is their list:
Complutensian Polyglot
- 1514 (Complutensian Polyglot)
Desiderius Erasmus
- 1516 (Erasmus 1st Novum Instrumentum omne)
- 1519 (Erasmus 2nd)
- 1522 (Erasmus 3rd Novum Testamentum omne)
- 1527 (Erasmus 4th)
- 1535 (Erasmus 5th)
Colinæus
Stephanus (Robert Estienne)
- 1546 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 1st)
- 1549 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 2nd)
- 1550 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 3rd – Editio Regia
- 1551 (Robert Estienne (Stephanus) 4th)
Theodore Beza
- 1565 (Beza 1st)
- 1565 (Beza Octavo 1st)
- 1567 (Beza Octavo 2nd)
- 1580 (Beza Octavo 3rd)
- 1582 (Beza 2nd)
- 1589 (Beza 3rd)
- 1590 (Beza Octavo 4th)
- 1598 (Beza 4th)
- 1604 (Beza Octavo 5th)
Elzevir
- 1624 (Elzevir)
- 1633 (Elzevir) edited by Jeremias Hoelzlin, Professor of Greek at Leiden.
- 1641 (Elzevir)
- 1679 (Elzevir)
Oxford Press
Scholz
Scrivener
Source.
So if the Confessional Position wants to say the Textus Receptus was perfectly preserved by God and inerrant, then we must ask: “which Textus Receptus?” You need to ask which of the 27 possible versions they will pick, because none of them are identical with another.
It’s a problem.
Further, all of these manuscripts which can be called the Textus Receptus contain unique readings not found in any other manuscripts whatsoever. How can the scriptures have been “kept pure in all ages” when – if the Textus Receptus is “pure” – it has readings that never existed before?
God certainly preserved the scriptures through the ages. However, He never promised to preserve them
perfectly and to assert that He did is to put words in God’s mouth. That’s a bad idea. There’s no scriptural basis for the idea whatsoever, and so asserting it dogmatically is a very bad idea.
We know God preserved the scriptures because even in the New Testament, over 99% of the Textual Variants have no effect on anything. The remainder don’t impact major doctrines, and certainly nothing concerned with salvation or the Gospel. I believe God preserved it, I’m just don’t think the preservation was word-perfect.
Majority Text vs. Critical Text vs. Textus Receptus - Textual Criticism 101 - Berean Patriot