[editor-surveyor]

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>> “since you have no one “final authority” by which you can say which Protestant interpretation of Scripture is *correct*” <<

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I guess catholics will never get it.

All “interpretations” of the word are false. All interpretations are “Private.”

It is the plain word itself, without the padding men insist on stuffing around it, that is truth.
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[paladinan]

I guess catholics will never get it.

A friend of mine used to give out what he called "the Irony Award", to comments such as that one... :)

All “interpretations” of the word are false. All interpretations are “Private.”

So, by your reasoning, your interpretations of the Word are both private and false? I'm not sure how that helps your case...

It is the plain word itself, without the padding men insist on stuffing around it, that is truth.

That sounds very pretty... but it completely shreds the plain, dictionary definition of "interpret". Whenever you explain what a verse of Scripture MEANS, you interpret it. I'm not trying to be fancy or sneaky, here; I'm simply telling you what the word means.

For example: when Jesus says "I am the gate" (John 10:9), and you whisper to your son/daughter/whomever, "Psst! By the way... Jesus isn't really a physical gate! What He really MEANS is that He's the 'entryway' to eternal life!", then--my FRiend--you have just INTERPRETED the text. It seems as if some Protestants on this board want to deny (seemingly at all costs) that they "interpret" anything... but that's just silly. They're setting up an artificial (and false) distinction, in order to try not to run afoul of some favorite Bible proof text (or advice of a pastor, etc.).