Silas, you assume much, and in so doing, you are wrong. Think about this, and remember, the author(s)
did indeed intend something, when they wrote the accounts we now have - of what happened
thousands of years ago.
You may have your own interpretation of what
the authors were saying, but you asked the question,
how many Lords of lords are there? I answered you. Jesus was not, is not, and never will be "God" ... in a sense that
you yourself won't, or in a way that we all won't, in time.
The Bible cannot
"interprete itself," as you say, because it is
printed words, on a page. It's just a book, no different than any other. What is useful about it, is that
sometimes, when we are seeking understanding, illumination, insight, inspiration, or guidance, this book, like many others, can be helpful. But it is YOU who are doing the
interpreting. Books do not THINK. Books do not UNDERSTAND. Books, in & of
themselves, do not even INSPIRE. At best, they can SPARK this within us. And likewise, even the
`Holy Spirit' - which is that Spirit which makes Understanding possible - cannot MAKE us see something, from without. It only works
because our capacity to understand ... is within. 
So, you can believe whatever you will. And you can interpret a bird flying into the sunset, any way you like. But I know,
beyond a shadow of a doubt, that what I wrote is
meaningful to me, and
I'd wager MY LIFE ... that this is in keeping with what is revealed via the Bible, for those with eyes to see, ears to hear it, even despite the
mangling of this text throughout the centuries.
I have "made up" nothing whatsoever. I have expressed an understanding that works for me, and it is
every bit as accurate,
for me, in my life, and at this stage of my own spiritual search ... as YOUR understanding is for you. You don't happen to
Agree with my interpretation, eh? GET OVER IT
You don't have to. Just don't pretend that
YOU yourself know best, or better. There are as many ways to read a religious text, as there are people on the planet. I
do agree that the
various and many authors of the Old and New Testaments, as well as various other Gnostic, apocryphal and equally valid testimonies, DID have specific thoughts & intentions in mind when they committed their accounts to paper (tablet, etc.).
But I DO NOT believe, that
Silas, or anyone else on this planet - including the Pope, or any other
ecclesiastical "authority," has either the right, or the qualification, to TELL ME what to believe, or to dictate
how I should interpret a particular spiritual text. Calvinist, Catholic ... it makes little difference, when you insist that
THIS READING ALONE is how things must be accepted. But you step WAY over the line when you say,
YOU ARE WRONG.
Check again. That's not the purpose of discussion at CR. That isn't
discussion, or
dialogue, at all. That's a way to END discussion, by trying to
rubber stamp a certain
angle on things ... into the minds of those around you. And you know,
I don't care HOW inspired you are or were, or
how deep down you feel some kinda of
divine inspiration moving you to
testify to x, y or z. Either you can do it in a way that INVITES discussion ...
...
or it really isn't worth saying at all, now is it?
If you disagree with my response, then discuss it. Address it. Challenge it. Provide an
alternative interpretation or approach ... and defend it. But don't say, "
You made this up, you're wrong." Why bother asking the question in the first place, if all you wanted was a platform to preach from, and to
bonk people over the head who don't SEE things YOUR way?
~Zag
