Did He Just Say What I Think He Did?

So here's a question I want to pose to you all. It's a thinker, and it may not make sense right away. But hopefully it will by the time this post is over.

Where is meaning found?

I'm thinking specifically in forms of communication, such as conversing, writing, body language, semaphore, smoke signals, monks doodling on grains of rice, you get the idea. It's common knowledge that communication can be misinterpreted.

Example.

The Apostle Paul frequently exhorts his audience to greet each other with a holy kiss. A common greeting in those times, socially acceptable as a salutation or farewell. Completely platonic with no strings attached, frequently practiced between members of the same sex. No biggie at all.

Fast-forward 2000 years.

Someone today reads what Paul says, and thinks: "What a great idea! A platonic kiss is a long-lost tradition of expressing love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. I should bring it back." And so our idealistic, albeit naive, friend charges into society and begins to attempt to platonically kiss friends, starting with those of the opposite sex because it feels simpler and less awkward. Once again, let us assume that our friend has the purest of motives.

But something goes wrong. For the most part, people don't like having random kisses foisted upon them, platonic or otherwise. Particularly not if the relationship is casual, or a mere acquaintance. Rumors begin to swirl around our friend, questioning motives, whispering half-truths, and utterly thwarting any hope for reinstating this ancient custom. Dejected, defeated, and disheartened, our friend can only retreat, wondering what went wrong.

Miscommunication. Misinterpretation. Misunderstanding.

Our friend had an intended meaning. A simple kiss, a gesture of love between friends. Nothing more.

The ones being kissed had an understood meaning. This is a sign of romantic love, of something-more-than-platonic-affection. And no amount of explaining could shake this understanding.

So to the totally objective outsider... What did the kiss really mean? Who was right? Should our friend be labeled a creep? Or should the rest of society loosen up a little? Who decides what the kiss really means, the kissee or the kisser? Who's to say?

So what about the Bible? Did the Apostle Paul have a definite meaning in mind when he was dictating all those letters to churches across the Roman Empire? Is the meaning Paul intended the only possible meaning his words can have?

Or can we, reading his words thousands of years later, take something from what he said that he didn't intend to say? And if we can... Are we justified in doing so?

It may be a profound truth. It could be a deep insight.

It might also be something that Paul never meant to say. In fact, perhaps he would even be appalled if he knew that people were interpreting his letter in such a way.

Who can say?