So you're saying that if no one reads the Bible, then it's not inspired...
With the Bible, we can start by asking people we trust, family, friends, pastor. You know, the local and domestic Church. If local help is not helpful we can appeal to higher levels, ultimately reaching the pinnacle of the judges of the Bible's meaning -- the magisterium.
Not a totally unfair answer, but of course I disagree with that last little bit. In informal arguments about the Constitution, one would expect to appeal to the framers other writings, the social milieu in which it developed, the problems it was addressing. So my point was merely that one should expect to see much the same things when arguing the meaning of a passage of Scripture, other writings of the authors, the social milieu, the problems it was addressing, etc. I think many arguments can be solved by doing a good job of the above. And just because someone doesn't agree with the argument does not negate that argument. Someone will have the better argument and the other will not.
If no one eats the doughnut, is it still full of creamy goodness?
If a tree falls in the forest...
I am saying that God can certainly lead us to read the Bible and we can be brought to its truths in non-conventional ways. But the inspiration or not of the Bible is moot if nobody reads it.
Not a totally unfair answer, but of course I disagree with that last little bit. In informal arguments about the Constitution, one would expect to appeal to the framers other writings, the social milieu in which it developed, the problems it was addressing. So my point was merely that one should expect to see much the same things when arguing the meaning of a passage of Scripture, other writings of the authors, the social milieu, the problems it was addressing, etc. I think many arguments can be solved by doing a good job of the above. And just because someone doesn't agree with the argument does not negate that argument. Someone will have the better argument and the other will not.
These types of thing would indeed make excellent arguments about the meaning of Scripture. Assuming both parties agree on the source materials. (Which is the usual bugaboo. We Catholics being congenital liars and such.) You are indeed right, many arguments should be able to be settled with such material. I never meant to say that one should rely solely on the word of the competent authority.
SD