Because fred, and hundreds of millions of other people, want the "real
thing;" and hence, they invest the most valuable commodity in their lives,
time ... in a quest for the "real thing."
They don't want to drink "chek-cola," or "pepsi-cola," or any of a hundred
brands of cola. They want "Coca-Cola."
And presumably, that is the same goal of all the posters here; not some
entertainment venue, but rather a search for the original document, despite
the limitations you outline.
The status of this quest has improved in each of recent centuries, with the
discovery of more manuscripts. But as you observe, the goal remains elusive.
Physics may never discover the "theory of everything;" but the quest
continues with more vigor than ever before.
And ditto for masoretic text ("MT") textual critics. They may never discover
the original document contents of the MT. But the search continues with ever
increasing energy.
regards,
fred burlingame
On Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 1:06 AM, Kevin Riley <klriley AT alphalink.com.au>wrote:
> Then, in light of your first 4 answers, why does 5 matter? If you look at
> most ancient texts, there is usually no definitive copy unless only one
> survives (which is unfortunately too often the case).