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Dear Mr Buckley: In a recent column you state:

"The statistics here are very firm. If you don't smoke until the age 21, the chances are 90 percent that you will not smoke ever."

Sorry, firm statistics or not, it cannot be. If you don't smoke until age 21, the chances are 100 percent that you will smoke.

"Not X until Y" entails "X at or after Y." The logic of the word until is richer than that of before, which is, we infer, what you meant. So if one says,

"She did not smoke before age 21," one can sensibly add "and she did not smoke after that age either."

But replacement of before with until yields a contradiction when the addition is present.

Paul M Postal/Eve Tauss

Mt 1: 25. And knew her not ~~till~~ before she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

I see no problem taking care of this little detail.

But don't forget,

Pray for Pope John II

Mt 1: 25. And knew her not till before she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Good grief man, "till" is not a contraction of "until". Any Bible scholar knows it really refers to "turning the soil".

And he did not allow her to turn the soil before she had brought her . . . (lets not get involved with what "firstborn" means.

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In the same vein I posted (#2612) a passage from DOUAY-RHEIMS, PSALM 68 which I asked ALL to respond to, hoping I would get an answer from a Catholic Bible Scholar. So far - no replies.

I will post the signifant part here, hoping someone will explain just what is meant:

DOUAY-RHEIMS

Psalm 68

Christ in his passion declareth the greatness of his sufferings, and the malice of his persecutors the Jews; and foretelleth their reprobation.
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1 Unto the end, for them that shall be changed; for David.

2 Save me, O God: for the waters are come in even unto my soul.

3 I stick fast in the mire of the deep and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea, and a tempest hath overwhelmed me.

4 I have laboured with crying; my jaws are become hoarse, my eyes have failed, whilst I hope in my God.

5 They are multiplied above the hairs of my head, who hate me without cause. My enemies are grown strong who have wrongfully persecuted me: then did I pay that which I took not away.

6 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my offences are not hidden from thee:

7 Let not them be ashamed for me, who look for thee, O Lord, the Lord of hosts. Let them not be confounded on my account, who seek thee, O God of Israel.

8 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

9 I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to the sons of my mother.
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The sons of whose mother?