“If individuals could correctly interpret Scripture, then all interpretations would be exactly the same as there can only be one Spiritual Truth for the plural of the word “truth” never appears in Scripture.”
That’s a silly statement. Just because people can do something doesn’t mean that all will do it. Most people misinterpret Scripture, not because they are incapable of understanding it, but because they don’t want to accept what the Scriptures say. Sinfulness leads to a lack of understanding, not a deficiency in the Scripture, nor in the abilities that God gave us to understand it.
If Scripture is truly as inscrutable as the Catholics around here like to claim, then it would have been completely pointless for God to give it to us. Yet, He gave us not just one book, but dozens, and commanded us to study them night and day. Yet, you seem to be saying that all that is an exercise in futility. If He didn’t want us to understand it, He could have just send us some Golden Plates written in an unknown language, and then made them disappear after His appointed keeper of the truth gave us the correct interpretation.
I never suggested that reading scripture is an exercise in futility. On the contrary, the Catholic Church, which compiled the canon of the bible, encourages its members to read scripture. Is the Bible to be taken literally - "word for word?" No. The Bible doesn't state anywhere that It should be taken literally. The Bible was written by different authors with different literary styles at different times in history and in different languages. Therefore, the writings should be interpreted with these circumstances in mind. The Bible is a religious book, not a scientific or a history "textbook." Can there be more than one interpretation of the Bible? No. Is private interpretation of the Bible condoned in the Bible Itself? No, it is not (2 Peter 1:20).