Cheryl

I should add that the fact that scripture is multi-layered is the reason why we need each other and can learn from each other.  Each person is able to unpeel part of the onion.  When I read your take on a verse it is like “iron sharpening iron”.  I am able to see a perspective to the verse that I may not have seen before.  This isn’t a conflicting view of scripture but an unlayering of the text that allows me to sharpen my own focus.  I also believe this is why Paul said that we are all allowed to prophesy.  Each of us has a perspective that allows us to see the verse from a different angle.  When we put it all together we can see the meaning of the text from the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.  Nothing should conflict.  It all fits together like a giant puzzle piece.  We really do need each other so that we can see outside our own individual “box” that at times causes us to be blinded by a perspective that we may have missed.  In the end it is not a bunch of people sitting around and giving conflicting meanings but Christians giving additional depth to the passage by uncovering the layers.