With respect to Codex A, I am glad to see you agree with the essential point Clarke was making, that the history of Codex A with respect to 1 Tim 3:16 is sufficiently clouded that it should be barred from giving testimony for either side, as to that issue.
As for the Vulgate, it is a late work, relative to the God-breathed autographs, and a mere translation, instructive, but not a final authority in itself. Who know? When all you’ve got to work with is “OC,” give or take a par of faint horizontal lines, the possibility of a mistake by Jerome or one of his predecessors cannot be dismissed out of hand.
As for any more than that, I believe a full and fair analysis of the manuscript history for “theos” in 1 Tim 3:16 is beyond the technical range of either of us, and would keep us off any other topics for years to come. I believe the excellent pedigree of the Byzantine textform recommends we should generally defer to it’s readings in this and any other given case, but especially in this particular case, where Codex A has been discredited as a conclusive witness for either side.
Peace,
SR
Yes, late in that respect but since we don't have autographs of the Bible writers and the oldest copies of 1 Tim. 3:16 date from about the same time (and did not read “theos”, it surely isn't late compared to the Majority Texts.
So it is not to be dismissed nor is Lamsa’s translation, Weymouth’s, Rotherham’s, Wilson's Diaglott, NAB, Douay, translating committees of the American and Revised Standard Versions....none of these were anti-trinitarians and cover a wide sweep of time.
But as you say the discussion would be endless, no point to that here.