Can There Be More Than One Interpretetation Of The Bible

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St. Paul begs the early Christians to be unified in mind and in what they say. There can only be one “true” Christian Church. How can the Holy Spirit guide the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, etc. if all of those denominations have doctrines and beliefs differing from each other? There is only one interpretation of the Bible. Otherwise, people can and have “read” literally anything into It.
 
Yes, their can be many interpretations. That is part of free-will, everyone has a opinoin.
 
This is a very controversal question as every denomination claims to have the true interpretation of the scriptures. The question should actually be “How do we know which interpretation is the true one?”

We also need to ask, “Can we be sure of the interpretation we have?”

For me it’s the concensous and what the scriptures say for themselves. As these were written by men inspired by God both in the Old Testament and the New Testament then what comes into question is the accuracy of the translations. Currently, more and more scolarly (sic) men and women are becoming involved in studying ancient languages, especially those of concerning the scriptures. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other Old and New Testament Documents that have been translated and that confirm much that is in our Bibles today, especially that of the King James Bible.

So what am I saying? We need to be guided by the Holy Spirit as we study what the word says. Should we rely on “tradition”. Paul tells us that we are to keep the tradition of the church as it had been give by the Apostles. But he also states that we must test all they we are told against what was taught, using the scriptures, both Old and New, as a guide. Those things that did not conform to the word were to be discarded and those that did conform, retained.

It is not for any one person or any one group of people to state this is truth or that is truth without support of scripture. There are true Scripture following believers in all the denominations throughout the would as there are apostates in all the denominations throughout the world. Only God knows who are his and who are not. Let us pray that we are.
 
Since man is not the author of Scriptures, man is not its interpreter. Since God is the author, God is the interpreter.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
III. The Holy Spirit, Interpreter of Scripture
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109 In Sacred Scripture, God speaks to man in a human way. To interpret Scripture correctly, the reader must be attentive to what the human authors truly wanted to affirm, and to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words.75
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110 In order to discover the sacred authors’ intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. "For the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression."76
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111 But since Sacred Scripture is inspired, there is another and no less important principle of correct interpretation, without which Scripture would remain a dead letter. "Sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted in the light of the same Spirit by whom it was written."77
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The Second Vatican Council indicates three criteria for interpreting Scripture in accordance with the Spirit who inspired it.78
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112 Be especially attentive “to the content and unity of the whole Scripture”. Different as the books which compose it may be, Scripture is a unity by reason of the unity of God’s plan, of which Christ Jesus is the center and heart, open since his Passover.79
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The phrase “heart of Christ” can refer to Sacred Scripture, which makes known his heart, closed before the Passion, as the Scripture was obscure. But the Scripture has been opened since the Passion; since those who from then on have understood it, consider and discern in what way the prophecies must be interpreted.80
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113 2. Read the Scripture within “the living Tradition of the whole Church”. According to a saying of the Fathers, Sacred Scripture is written principally in the Church’s heart rather than in documents and records, for the Church carries in her Tradition the living memorial of God’s Word, and it is the Holy Spirit who gives her the spiritual interpretation of the Scripture (". . . according to the spiritual meaning which the Spirit grants to the Church"81).
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114 3. Be attentive to the analogy of faith.82 By “analogy of faith” we mean the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves and within the whole plan of Revelation.
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The senses of Scripture
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115 According to an ancient tradition, one can distinguish between two senses of Scripture: the literal and the spiritual, the latter being subdivided into the allegorical, moral and anagogical senses. the profound concordance of the four senses guarantees all its richness to the living reading of Scripture in the Church.
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116 The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture and discovered by exegesis, following the rules of sound interpretation: "All other senses of Sacred Scripture are based on the literal."83
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117 The spiritual sense. Thanks to the unity of God’s plan, not only the text of Scripture but also the realities and events about which it speaks can be signs.
  1. the allegorical sense. We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ’s victory and also of Christian Baptism.84
  2. the moral sense. the events reported in Scripture ought to lead us to act justly. As St. Paul says, they were written “for our instruction”.85
  3. the anagogical sense (Greek: anagoge, “leading”). We can view realities and events in terms of their eternal significance, leading us toward our true homeland: thus the Church on earth is a sign of the heavenly Jerusalem.86
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118 A medieval couplet summarizes the significance of the four senses:
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The Letter speaks of deeds; Allegory to faith;
The Moral how to act; Anagogy our destiny.87
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119 "It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God."88
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But I would not believe in the Gospel, had not the authority of the Catholic Church already moved me.89
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Eucharisted said:
Since man is not the author of Scriptures, man is not its interpreter. Since God is the author, God is the interpreter.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
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Eurcharisted, the question you need to ask yourself is “Who is the Chruch?” Is it the Pope, the Bishops and the priests or is it the whole of those who believe and have the faith of Jesus Christ? Is the interpretation of scripture reserved only for the hiearcy of the Church or can truth be revealed to the laity? Is the laity to follow without question when doubt of interpertation pops up? How is one to learn truth if one does not study and pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit? Are we not a brotherhood of priests?
 
BILL PICK said:
St. Paul begs the early Christians to be unified in mind and in what they say. There can only be one “true” Christian Church. How can the Holy Spirit guide the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, etc. if all of those denominations have doctrines and beliefs differing from each other? There is only one interpretation of the Bible. Otherwise, people can and have “read” literally anything into It.
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Jimmy I mean no offense but you ask a question no one who has studied the bible or read it to understand it would ask. Why?

The word of God is (alive) and powerfull and sharper than any two edge sword dividing even to the sould and the spirit.

The word of God can seperate the soul and the spirit your soul and my soul your spirit and my spirit. What it takes to seperate your soul and your spirit may not be the same to seperate my soul and my spirit. The word of God is multi layered it can speak to someone who has an IQ of 80 and touch their heart and it can speak to someone with an IQ of 180 and touch their heart. The word of God can speak at the same time to two diferent people going through two entirely different circumstances.

How about doctrine? Is not this what you meant that there appears to be different doctrine base on different interpretations?
Can you ask your questions without appearing to bash those that disagree with you because I for one dont believe you have the truth.
 
Yes. The scriptures were written by real people, speaking to real issues in a time far removed from our own. Through the witness of believers who used the Hebrew scriptures and used the letters of Paul and early Christian writers, it was determined that those writings had a certain quality all their own. They were a “sampling” as it were of the witness of those first believers as to how they experienced Christ in their lives.

In as much as God’s voice is “heard” through scripture to still guide believers in this day and age, believers can and do gain different insights through the words written.

From a Friend’s perspective, the scriptures are not so much a book of rules and doctrine, but a source book to understand how one can best reflect the life of Christ in our world. These writings are more of a guide to help us order our lives by loving one another, showing mercy, doing good, enduring suffering, seeking to live in peace with each other…speaking to “that of God” in one another…but in our day and age…so often is the case they have been transformed into a weapon to use against one another to proove points of doctrine and belief instead of a source of inspiration on how to love each other and care for those are less fortuneate than ourselves…“I was hungry, I was thirsty, I was naked and you did not…” seems to be more important than how many angels can dance on the head of a pin…how many “sins” can one get by with before one “looses their salvation”…what sins need to be confessed and what sins do not…“love covers a multitude of sins”…

The scriptures are not a source book of “XYZ” or “1+1=2” theology…but a call to allow Jesus to live again within us in our world.
 
That Dew Will Make You Fat And Slow You Down,watch What You Are Doing. Where Do You Fight Out Of. Are You Getting Paid To Fight
 
BILL PICK said:
That Dew Will Make You Fat And Slow You Down,watch What You Are Doing. Where Do You Fight Out Of. Are You Getting Paid To Fight
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Not if I workout for 4 hours everyday, I do watch what I do. Tennessee, no I don’t have to get paid, cause I love fighting for fighting, not for money.
 
BILL PICK said:
St. Paul begs the early Christians to be unified in mind and in what they say. There can only be one “true” Christian Church. How can the Holy Spirit guide the Lutheran Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Baptist Church, etc. if all of those denominations have doctrines and beliefs differing from each other? There is only one interpretation of the Bible. Otherwise, people can and have “read” literally anything into It.
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There is one correct interpretation, which can have more than one application.
 
BareKnuckler said:
Not if I workout for 4 hours everyday, I do watch what I do. Tennessee, no I don’t have to get paid, cause I love fighting for fighting, not for money.
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ITS HARD TO KEEP FEED ON THE TABLE WITH OUT GETTING PAID,4 HR A DAY IS A LOT OF TIME,WELL HANG IN THERE
 
BILL PICK said:
ITS HARD TO KEEP FEED ON THE TABLE WITH OUT GETTING PAID,4 HR A DAY IS A LOT OF TIME,WELL HANG IN THERE
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I am 16, I do not exactly have to provide food for my family. I do work during the Summer on other people’s farms, and I take care of my Cows, and such. I devote most of my life to reading and fighting, cause them are two of the few things I am good at.

Can you stop talking in caps? If not, thats fine, just asking.
 
Well I,m Sorry I,m Not Yelling My Key Board Is Just Not Working And It Keep My Capps Key Down
 
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