Do Textual Variants Really Matter for Anything?

QUESTION:

I got the impression (I can’t remember where or if you said this… or if Bruce Metzger said it) that no significant Christian doctrine is threatened by text critical issues… and so, if that is the case, who cares if, in Mark 4: 18, Jesus spoke of the “illusion” of wealth or the “love” of wealth. I mean, who cares other than textual critics and Bible translators?

RESPONSE:

This is a very good question, and one that I get a lot. I’ve given an answer to it before on the blog, but since it...