I'm not sure any of the analysis of the texts in this thread has really touched upon the root of the issue here. It's not what words may have been translated wrong, or right, and why, and from what language, and when, and what was ommitted - these are all very interesting questions which I'm really not equipped to answer through my intellectual background as an atheist. Hell I've only read the bible once. I think that "Christians" and "Catholics" and "Jehovas Witnesses", etc, have different views on what should be in the bible, but even within some of those traditions, especially Christianity, there are so many different interpretations of the SAME text that it becomes a personal interpretation at the end of the day, and not an objective one (If such a thing even exists). Even if you grant that this was God's word at one point (Which must be taken on faith, I might add), and even granted that it hasn't been changed much over the centuries, two people look at the same passage and get something completely different out of it. Hermaneutics is very interesting, especially when applied to the bible. I think what this proves is that, even given all these things, you've still got to make your mind up for yourself, given that there are so many possible literal and figurative/metaphorical interpretations. And so... Good luck
