Pray tell, what DID he mean?
Pray tell, what DID he mean?
Exactly what he says. Now, let us examine the process of how these words come to be upon your page or your screen.
God reveals. Paul receives. Paul writes (or others write). In Greek. Why? Paul is first and foremost an upper caste Jew. We don't know. Koine Greek is translated into Latin. The two versions are translated into the English KJV by a government committee who didn't know either.
Why do I say this? All this adds to the errors that Protestants intend upon discovering and exploiting in the pursuit of novel theologies.
That is why the Magisterium is so important. They bridge the gap upon translational errors and bridge the gap in time between cultural understanding now versus then. They even help to understand the differences between inferences that of an American culture versus the Jewish one.
We have all manner of idiots here who think that all inferences and meaning of 2011, all infrastructure, and all specific and scientific knowledge existed then just as we know it today. They think that a journey of 1000 miles consists of a jump in the car and three fillups at the gas stations on the way. They think that writings were sent around by email or available on a blog over the internet.
You don't think so? Look at your fellows' posts with a jaundiced eye for a few days and maybe you will see.