Number of Manuscripts of the New Testiment

We have 5000 Greek manuscripts. There are about 15 fragmentary Greek manuscripts of the NT in the 2nd century and 48 in the first 4 centuries which covers the entire NT.

Early patristic church fathers and translations into other languages allow us to triangulate even further with over 99% accuracy of the NT. There is no need for conjecture. The choices are given in the texts or the footnotes or somewhere. No central doctrine is in jeopardy.

Richard Bauckham, St. Andrews, published a book about the eyewitnesses of Jesus, Jesus and the Eyewitnesses because these are the nearest accounts.