>there are just as many interpretations
>of the Bible as there
>are translations of it.

regarding the text, a wise person (and i'm not indicating you as otherwise) will look at them all to determine their difference, and compare as close to the original writings as possible. knowledge is power right?

it's common knowledge that you shouldn't believe something just because i's on paper, so why not get as much info as possible and go from there?

regarding interpretations, again compare them to the text you've deemed reliable, look at the consistency therein (why take the advice of someone who contradicts themselves). also, at some point you have to put your belief/faith in SOMETHING you can't prove 100%, but remember the point of this post is "why fake it". if you wanna be whatever then BE that. don't preach one thing and act differently because it just creates confusion.

>g_love could have very well heard
>that from someone who knew
>the Bible well, they were
>just interpreting it in *their*
>way.

so then, the issue becomes do i trust THEIR interpretation or do i test/compare it to others? From that what is MY interpretation?

>again, who are the "right" Christians,
>really? Baptists? Catholics? Episcopalians? Oh...and
>if it's the Baptists, is
>it the Free Will Baptists
>or the Southern Baptist church?

personally, i'm not a big fan of denominational politics. few who follow a particular denomination really know what seperates one from the other historically or doctinally (merely following tradition). that said, until we stand before God we'll never know. the issue is, while we're here are we gonna walk the walk or just talk the talk. nahmeen?

>what I'm gathering from you is
>that we should each take
>the religious text of our
>choice and interpret it for
>ourselves.

not necessarily. true, each has to choose the steps they'll take on THEIR journey but that doesn't negate being instructed and taught

>I'm just trying to figure out
>where you stand.

actually i'm sitting right about now