[James C. Bennett]

Who, except fundamentalists, interpret sciptural text literally? You naively inquire who gets to intepret? Isn’t this why we have scholarship, colleges and universities to provide us accurate translations based on historicity, the verbal and received traditions of that day, how language and terms were conveyed, understood, and received at the time? Isn’t this why Biblical scholarship is not for novices?

Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. PhDs and Nobel laureates, right?

[Steelfish]

Before navigating in deep intellectual and philosophical discussions about scriptural interpretations, it will really help if you get yourself a good (preferably ivy league) education lest you continue to make a fool of yourself with sophomoric comments of the type you just continue to make.

Just a document of 225 years ago is still being studied for its interpretation by the best legal minds for its intent even though the framers did not have Ph.D.’s. It is in the nature of serious scholarship that when ancient texts are gleaned for their interpretation especially when written in the original Greek and Aramaic and subject to oral traditions and cultures carried on by disciples and martyrs to the faith that nuances of text, subtext, and usage have profound consequences. Even a middle-school kid will understand this.

Again, it will be help if will you apply to a good college and be accepted where real and intelligent debate takes place. I suggest Harvard, Yale, or Princeton.