Before we even get to that point we have to figure out a) is/are there (a) god(s)(ess)(es)? b) if so has/have he/she/it/they revealed his/her/its/their existence and/or will to humans? This whole topic is sitting atop a stack of assumptions.
I don't even know of a way to intellectually figure that out. It seems that the easiest way to explore it actually IS to examine each faith's claims, to see if they are even palatable.
(Otherwise, it's like a few college kids sitting in a room with windows saying, "Hey do you think there is a god?" and someone says, "yeah, man," and another says, "No way," and then they all nod and laugh. The abstract question has no teeth unless it is connected to a tangible proposition that can be explored.)
but there's the loophole of a purpose behind the bible being not a straightforward read. you can always go deeper, like when studying shakespeare. you may get it, but that doesn't mean you'll catch everything that's in there, or interpret it correctly. it's unarguably rich text; it's no light reading.
I agree with that. Regardless of any apparent flaws that people might perceive, it is definitely one of those things you can read at different stages of life and be catalyzed to see something new. That actually is why I think the Bible is so popular and why Christians believe the faith is "real" -- because of the depth of the wisdom inherent in the book. If it was based on "Harold and the Purple Crayon" or "Harry the Dirty Dog," well, it would have died out quickly.
Well since there are many different versions of the Bible and many different sects of Christianity, sometimes with contradictory interpretations of the Bible, it would seem clear to me that either the Bible is fallible or God is.
*gasp*
Well, that's because all of them but [my denomination here] is wrong.
Honestly, though, the actual translators have a much realistic sense of things. Even the general texts describe all the typical problems in translation.
I really get this idea that the average layperson is extremely ignorant of the origins of the Bible and the transmission process, in general, because their expectations/interpretations seem unrealistic/naive, if they'd know anything about document transmission and language translation at all. Just very amazing...