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Originally Posted by MacDuff
Why do you think I should respect something that I don’t believe is proper.
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Because everything you believe is an interpretation. That was my point. Everyone interprets, including you. So your stated position is self-contradicting. Even your belief that you shouldn't interpret is an interpretation. Everything you think the Bible means is your interpretation or one you got from someone else. The same goes for me. (See last paragraph below.)
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Those who are led by the Spirit know the difference between what is inspired and what is not inspired.
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Not always. Even Paul didn't know for sure all the time. Paul wrote the verses immediately before 1 Cor 7:40 and then said in 7:40 "I think I have the Spirit of God," meaning he wasn't absolutely sure. Yet this example became scripture, meaning sometimes even Paul went with his best guess.
You said the Bible is inspired. Okay, I think most agree. But that's the easy part. The hard part is knowing what it really means. How do we know? We have to interpret. There is really no way around this.
What the Bible means and what we think it means are distinct. The trick is knowing the difference. If it were as simple as you seem to think there wouldn't be much discussion about what it means. This board wouldn't exist.
Here's a example. The Bible says, "Love one another." Now we probably all believe that is truth and the word of God. We should love one another, right? Anyone want to disagree at that level? Probably not.
Now, here's the hard part. What does "love one another" actually mean in practice? Suppose you ask me for $10? To love you should I give it to you? What if you ask for $100? $10,000? What if you ask me to take time off work to drive you to Seattle? Should I do it? If I don't do it does that mean I am not loving?
Suppose to love one another you have to break the law? Maybe smuggle bibles into a country which forbids them. What do you do? How do you know?
The problem is not agreeing that we should love each other. The problem is what does that mean in practice. The idea that you know for sure in every instance is laughable. You rely on interpretation whether you admit it or not.
It seems possible that your definition of "interpretation" is any idea of what the Scripture means that is not inspired by the Spirit. But I don't know of anyone who claims we should interpret Scripture without the help of the Spirit. So if that's your definition then this discussion is moot and uninteresting, because then it's just about semantics.
