Codex Alexandrinus (one of the oldest manuscripts of the New Testament) now fully online

The British Library has fully digitized and made available online the Codex Alexandrinus, one of the three oldest manuscripts of the New Testament:

http://pressandpolicy.bl.uk/Press-Releases/New-Testament-from-the-oldest-complet...

It joins the Codex Sinaiticus to make two of the three available online: http://codexsinaiticus.org/en/

(The third, Codex Vaticanus, is not yet available online. Anyone who has ever worked with the Vatican Libraries probably knows why -- and it has nothing to do with conspiracy theories or Vatican "secrecy". Rather, it has to do with the simple fact that, for all it's fantastic holdings, the B.A.V. is about the most disorganized operation known to bibliographers.)

It's pretty cool, but it's also silly. The readings from these have been available in any decent NT for more than a century. A very small slice of scholars will benefit from this—I'm guessing not more than 10 need this, not the readings—millions of ordinary Christians will be momentarily amused, then forget it, and a bunch of fundies and internet atheists will suddenly have "proof" that the Bible has textual variations.

suddenly have "proof" that the Bible has textual variations.

As indeed it does. But neither of us is going to be surprised about that, are we?

No, but you know that's how this story plays for many.

#2: It's part of our cultural heritage to have these things available. It's like having pictures of old paintings and archaic machinery; a few experts will find it useful, but many people will get to see it and have some experience of the past, some understanding of what's going on in history.

And yes, certain people will have more evidence that the Bible isn't as simple as some people (not you) would have it. So?

Another famous early biblical codex which has recently been digitised is the bilingual Codex Bezae.