Sure. Me too. But also because are so used to reading certain meanings into Paul's writings that may not be there. For instance, my understanding of the relationship between faith and works changed significantly after I spent some time carefully reading John several times, then turned to Galatians and Romans.silentreader wrote:Sometimes I find Paul hard to understand, period, possibly because he is dealing with a local issue.
I think it's important to acknowledge that there are some things we do not know for sure. Your post on 1 Corinthians 6:4 is a good example of that. I think I know how to apply the passage to my life, but I am not sure what that one sentence means, and looking at the Greek doesn't answer that question for me. I threw your question at a bunch of Greek scholars and it started off a discussion that has not resolved. But I do think we know to avoid fighting with our brethren over material things, and it's hard to miss the the conclusion he draws here:
I think it's really helpful to ask what the main thrust of the passage is, in context, and for Paul it's often helpful to look at where he arrives at the end of a passage.I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!