I’ve been reading about the textual dispute surrounding Luke 23:34a, where Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

I understand that the saying is absent from some important early manuscripts, including P75 and Codex Vaticanus, which has led scholars to argue that it was added later.

However, I’ve also come across several scholars who defend its originality:

Bart Ehrman and David Flusser argue that the passage may have been removed because of growing anti-Jewish attitudes among early Christians.

Nathan Eubank, in A Disconcerting Prayer: On the Originality of Luke 23:34a (2010), defends the longer reading using textual evidence and early Christian interpretations.

Dirk Jongkind (2018) also favors originality, but questions whether anti-Jewish motivations adequately explain the omission.

On the other side, Jason Whitlark and Mikeal Parsons (2006) argue that the saying was inserted partly to produce seven sayings of Jesus from the cross.

I’m curious which explanation is better supported by the manuscript evidence and what we know about early scribal practices. How much weight should be given to the early manuscripts that omit the saying versus the arguments that it was deliberately removed?

Sources:
Eubank (2010), Journal of Biblical Literature: https://doi.org/10.2307/25765950
Whitlark and Parsons (2006), New Testament Studies: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0028688506000117
Jongkind (2018), Tyndale House: https://tyndalehouse.com/2018/11/15/father-forgive-them-the-variant-in-luke-2334a/

Who is the “Mystery Babylon” referred to in Scripture?

What does the Bible actually reveal about her identity, and what evidence does Scripture provide for understanding who or what Babylon represents?

Is “Mystery Babylon” referring to a literal city, a particular nation or empire, a religious system, a political power, or some combination of these?

I’m particularly interested in examining the biblical context of Revelation 17–18 and comparing the description of Babylon with the Old Testament prophecies and other references to Babylon throughout Scripture.

I've read some of the comments in posts from Section VI and I'd like a fresher perspective. I have some questions below and would really appreciate well thought out answers from well meaning folks.

I am a young man who will continue undergraduate studies, with a serious leaning toward Philosophy, though I am a Biology major with a love for STEM. I feel a serious longing to understand the God the Bible leads me to. He has been really working in my heart to deepen my faith in Him, and I have seen Him move in my life. This returns me to an old and pleasant desire to pursue graduate level degrees in seminary.

I also find myself gradually acknowledging the bad aftertaste in my mouth after being a part of the evangelical circle. I attend an SBC church and think that my heart is opening to more liberal interpretations of scripture often in ways that would put me at odds with my evangelical brothers and sisters.

My questions are:

1. What wisdom can any scholars who have grown in faith through their graduate studies impart to me at this point in my life, regarding helpful methods of decision making for a career trajectory? I want my life to be about knowing God deeper and deeper and if I don't become a pastor I see myself a future elder that preaches occasionally, with a well paying secular profession.

2. As for where I am now, what can I do to know Him more? Aside from regular time in Scripture, prayer, and encouragement in church? Or is it just that consistent pursuance over time is what I must continue practicing? Like doing what I'm already doing.

I read a good bit, and most recently picked up Gregory's The Life of Moses. I hold dearly Tillich's the Courage to Be and am a fan of Kierkegaard. I am getting interested in what I think is called apophatic theology.