[Evangelical]

Originally Posted by Ohio

I'm tired of your "experts." Have not we in the LC's heard enough of "experts" telling us that the plain words of scripture do not really mean what they say?

So you don't consider Wallace to be an expert in Greek NT. If the "plain words of scripture" were sufficient we would hardly need theologians, scholars, teachers, would we? My first question is, which bible version do you want to take as a "plain scripture"?

You have claimed that Romans 16:1 says

" "Our sister Phoebe is a deaconess of the church in Cenchrea."



From
http://biblehub.com/romans/16-1.htm

I count only in 4 of the 24 bible versions is the word translated as deacon or deaconess.


Wallace says this:

In Rom 16:1, Phoebe is called a “servant of the church of Cenchrea.” This word, ‘servant,’ is what is occasionally translated as ‘minister,’ or less often as ‘deacon.’

If I read this plainly as a "servant of the church" and not a deacon, as most of the translations say, then you cannot say this conclusively proves that Phoebe had some official authority in the church as a deacon. If I put my "KJV only" hat on, then in the KJV and also in the revised KJV it says servant and not deacon. It is noteworthy that the translators of the revised KJV did not think it necessary to revise the word servant to deacon.

Originally Posted by Ohio

You promote Witness Lee, the expert minister of the age, who spent hours convincing us that I Cor 6 about suing other Christians does not apply to the dozens of lawsuits initiated by LSM.

It seems not to matter whether I quote Lee who people say "was not a theologian" or Wallace who is a theologian. You seem to have made your mind up about the matter.

Originally Posted by Ohio

Read Romans 16.1 again. "Our sister Phoebe is a deaconess of the church in Cenchrea." What part of that simple statement by Apostle Paul is too difficult for you to understand? Is Paul speaking in parables here?

When does a word not mean what it plainly says? When that word has gone through countless revisions and translations and when it is interpreted 2000 years later by a modern American mind. That's why we need experts like Wallace who can interpret the original Greek. Apparently the word for deaconess is not meant in an official capacity, it is used in a general way. A single word can have two different meanings. Greek NT experts are able to decipher and determine the most likely context and meaning of the words.

I thought you understood this, as you seemed to support the notion of there being "lemon translations" of the bible in other threads concerning the role of women in the church.

Unfortunately the idea of "lemon translations" of the original Greek can be a double edged sword. We cannot claim there are inaccurate translations on some parts of the bible and ignore inaccurate translations in others.