Textual Analysis. Before the age of printing, the likelihood of errors in the transmission of any text was very great. Not many scribes were careful enough to copy a text impeccably, and by the time it had been copied over and over again errors were almost inevitable. The work of textual analysis or criticism consists in comparing and evaluating the different "readings" found in manuscripts, notably in those of the biblical books, with the object of trying as far as possible to establish the text as it had left the hands of the respective authors. The incidence of errors in New Testament manuscripts is particularly great. By methods of analysis, textual critics have made much progress toward their goal. One should not suppose, however, that the results often radically change the traditionally "received" text. On the contrary, the changes are usually much less fundamental than is popularly imagined. If these texts were not of such singular importance to, and so beloved by, Christians, less extreme diligence might be exercised by scholars in the quest for a perfectly reconstructed text of the Bible.

Geddes MacGregor, Dictionary of Religion and Philosophy, New York: Paragon House, 1989