Scripture, lets take the Bible as an example since everyone has an opinion on it.
a) Is it the exact word of God, word for word? Even the translations? Everyone of them?
No.
OR is it the inspired word of God? If so, does the individual person reading it read what the person needs to read? Always?
What do we mean when we speak of something being
"the inspired word of God"?
b) Did the authors have a specific message in their texts they wanted to spread? Is it relevant to know this? Is it possible to know this?
The authors clearly had messages (plural) they sought to communicated, messages that were at least in part a function of the time, place, and worldview of each author, and messages that got massaged, refined, and emended as each message worked its way to its final scribal form.
Seeking to correctly deduce intent is important to the extent that the text is deemed historically and theologically important, and to the extent intellectual honesty and responsibility are deemed likewise important.
Intent is kaleidoscopic and rendered ever less accessible as we find ourselves ever more distant from the culture and language that birthed the text and the various pressures that conditioned its latest variant. Just compare, for example,
and try to imagine just how much more difficult it is for today's Hebrew speaker to intuit the meaning of terms and phrases codified much, much earlier.
Nahum Sarna touches on this when, in an article on producing the NJPS Tanakh, he notes that the most frequent statement found in the commentary in [paraphrasing] "Heb. meaning uncertain."
And, of course, the problems go beyond those associated with issues of the vernacular and idiom of far removed cultures. Finally, note that we haven't even begun to address the problems associated with translation.
Some 'messages' are more straightforward [an adjective unheard of 500 years ago] than others, others are ambiguous, and some are enigmatic. We all need to be a bit more cautious and a good deal less presumptuous.
c) Are reading the analysis of others relevant to coming to an understanding and/or opinion on a topic? Yes, no, why?
Yes, but only if
- You believe that history and culture can be profitably studied.
- You believe that language can be profitably studied.
- You recognize that there is substantial and (most importantly) ongoing scholarship in these fields.
- And you acknowledge that one's understanding of any text can be informed and enhanced by such scholarship.
Otherwise, you are more than free to believe whatever you choose to believe.
