[erimir]

Originally Posted by Carnivale Ed

Oh man, can you imagine how fucked up the world would be if Ulysses was the central text of great religion? Talk about being open to interpretation ...

And that's the rub. When it's set up that way, then yes, I consider it a flaw. A document that important should not be open to wildly varying interpretations if you are going to claim it is without flaw. Unless its a religion that does not insist on uniformity of interpretation nor that any one interpretation is the Truth. And you don't see that in most Christian sects (and certainly not in Catholicism). If only one interpretation is the Truth, then yes, I consider it a flaw if that interpretation isn't immediately obvious from the text.

And yes, I can't remember the name of the person, but it was only ONE person I had heard of making this argument. I didn't say it was the official position of the Catholic Church, did I? Did I ever say that it was the position of the church? No, I only ever said some Catholics - hell, maybe it is only one Catholic, but I doubt that he's the only one.

Originally Posted by TomJoe

I just get a kick out of people telling me what I believe. Sort of like I'm sure you'd love me telling you that the only reason you're an atheist, is because you hate God.

Yeah, saying some Catholics believe the Bible is flawed because it is so open to interpretation, and thus you need someone to guide you in interpreting it is the equivalent of telling me that my beliefs are insincere and purely an emotional reaction. Especially given that I never said that YOU believed that, nor that it was the general Catholic belief. As I said, you are being defensive, i.e. overreacting. They are not equivalent.