Regretfully you are correct about there being so many variations in belief among Christians, especially among Protestants. This is one of the sad things in Christendom right now. Jesus called us to be one as He and the Father are one. He tells us this is how the world will know that I sent you is by your unity. Yet we have failed, but we must also fight hard and be diligent in seeking unity. This is what you are seeing right now. Which one is the right way?
The great thing about the Catholic Church is that we have Sacred Tradition and not just the Bible. What is the advantage of this? Well when one makes a translation of a document from one language to another, there are going to be things lost in the translation. So if all you have is the Bible, you are susceptable to those losses in translation. You are also susceptable to misunderstanding what is being said because you may not have the secondary knowlege that is required to understand what the author is trying to say. aka historical perspective, the audience, the situation being dealt with etc. This is what Sacred Tradition safeguards against.
I know that you are searching and I deeply respect this because that is how many of started. I was an agnostic at one time as well and so I have followed the same path that you are going through. Searching, learning and trying different beliefs and practises. I tell people I have been in my past I have been a pagan, deist, buddist, atheist, and pentecostal (I don’t think I missed anything). I have studied Islam, Hinduism, & Protestant beliefs as well. What I am saying is keep your open mind and search and you shall find.
The Bible for us is meant to be read as a spiritual book. When people start focusing in on it as a history, science or future predictor book they will usually loose the true focus of the Bible. It is meant to help us find and learn about God. To me the Bible is God speaking to me. When I read my Bible, I am praying. Most of the time we view prayer as us talking to God and normally God doesn’t talk back. So prayer seems to be a one-way discussion. But in Scripture it goes the other way. God does all of the talking and we do the listening.
What I am saying is don’t get caught up in all of the frivoulus stuff that really doesn’t matter concerning your salvation. It doesn’t really effect your salvation whether or not the flood occurred way back when and Noah built an Ark, etc. No what effects your salvation is the truth concerning Baptism, which the flood symbolically represents.
The major problem you are having is corrected in Sacred Tradition. Sacred Tradition is not founded and based upon the Bible. The Bible is part of Sacred Tradition but it isn’t the reason why Sacred Tradition exists. Sacred Tradition is the teachings handed down to us from the Apostles. This insures that the sum total of Doctrine is not impacted by translations. Again the main problem you are seeing is translation and/or misunderstanding how to interpret the Bible.
What I would recommend is for you to get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and read it as a starting point. It is well layed out and provides many footnotes and references for you to use. If you really want to know Christianity this is where I would recommend you to start.
God bless.
