Augustine ("De unitate ecclesiae", [on the Unity of the Church 3):
"Let us not hear, this I say, this you say; but thus says the Lord. Surely it is the books of the Lord on whose authority we both agree and which we both believe. There let us seek the Church, there let us discuss our case."
He goes on: "Neither dare one agree with catholic bishops if by chance they err in anything, with the result that their opinion is against the canonical Scriptures of God."
I don't know. You tell me.
I think you and several others here are operting on the mistaken notion that there are things that Catholics believe that are contradictory to Scripture. That the magisterium has the power to negate parts of the Bible.
This is not so.
So Augustine is correct in saying that if Catholic bishops were contradicting the Scripture we should obey the Scripture.
The problem is that nobody has shown that the Catholic Church is contrary to Scripture. Isolated, jerked out of context and just plain dubious interpretations of Scripture appear to indict the Church. But properly understood Scripture harmonizes with the Church.
So, I ask for the third time, what settles an argument between two men on the meaning of a Scripture passage?
SD
The same thing that settles an argument between two men on the meaning of a Constitutional passage - the Constitution.