On the other hand, if you consider the text to be an organic whole, the range of interpretations that can be considered valid narrows tremendously.
>>If you’re just going into the Bible, or the Constitution, or The Wizard of Oz to find what you need to support your predetermined positions, of course you can find something in there that will do it. If you ignore the obvious contradictions with other parts of the text.<<
Exactly. And humans are very fallable. They see things from their own slant. I am too stupid to interpret scripture, seriously. Telling me that I can, doesn’t change the wrong answers I’ve gotten before.