DiscipleDave - You are nuts. All you need is Jesus and the Word of God. Firstly you need to know a language. A language is made up of cultural summaries of objects, ideas, relationships etc. Each culture uses different symbols and pictures to mean similar and slightly different things.
Did i not say Jesus AND the WORD of God, by saying AND THE WORD OF GOD, it is implied that that person knows the language of that WORD of God. And by saying that i am nuts, is that of God or of satan? Tell me, Where is your LOVE for me? If Jesus were Truly in you, would you not LOVE ME, and not me only, but everyone. Do you say to someone you LOVE, you are nuts? Jokingly, i can see, but it does not seem to me you said this in a joking manner, but said it in a way to cause hurt, to put down someone else, to belittle another. These things are not of God.
By looking into what the writer meant and the symbols they were using can help bring to light the intention and nuance intended. This is a good thing, to look at things from different angles, and to see possible meaning that we no longer have because our culture is so different.
This thinking is in error, Is it not written interpretations belong to God. When men, through their own power and intellegence started interpreting the Word of God and what THEY (man) thought it means, is the reason we have so many false doctrines today, the reason we have so many different denominations, the reason we have so many different versions of the Bible. Interpretations belong to God, NOT TO MEN. True interpretations of the Word of God comes from the Holy Spirit of Truth, NOT from the minds of men, from their own thinking, from their own intellegence.
A person can study Hebrew and Greek, Study the Bible, study all the ancient manuscripts their entire life, and NEVER come to the knowledge of the Truth. The Truth comes from God, NOT from the minds of men with their own interpretations.
2 Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
This applies to ALL the Word of God, not just to prophesies. Notice Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the HOLY GHOST, they were not moved by their own thinking, or their own interpretations, but moved by God.
On top of this the reader and listener are biased by their own experiences and biases so meanings and implications can be lost.
And it is because of this Truth, that God interprets, and men are NOT to interpret, because of those very reasons you just mentioned. And because men to interpret, we now have a thousand false doctrines being taught, hundreds of different denominations, and many versions of the Bible, ALL of which came about, because of men and their OWN interpretations of what THEY THINK the Word of God means.
The funny thing that makes me laugh, is Jesus put such simple and yet complex concepts in parables which transcend language and are often easy to translate. But to get "new" meaning people love to delve too deeply when the obvious is hitting them in the face. Take a simple phrase, women should not have authority over men.
Now the context is women of Pauls time had no education, had very limited experience and interaction. Much of their questions and issues were from the lack of information, not because women are inferior to men. You could validly argue that most of the conflict in the world and problems are caused be men. Our agressive attitudes lead to conflicts where there could more easily be compromise. The church has often grown where women have been given caring, pastoral roles, because us men are often not sensitive or observant enough to see struggles or issues going on but are hidden.
Now where is the truth. Is it in the plain words or also in the context? Where is the love, is it in seeking the best for all people or in disagreement about what a writer might or might not have meant?
Tell me, which is better in the eyes of the LIVING GOD?
A woman who merely believes the verse that says "women should not have authority over men." And thereby lives by it.
or
A woman who reads the verse that says "women should not have authority over men." Does not believe it, and therefore goes to the Hebrew and Greek to figure out what it is REALLY trying to say, OR they excuse that verse saying it no longer applies to women in this last days generation, because Paul spoke to the women in those days who were ignorant.?
i will tell you the Truth, those who merely believe the Word of God and live it, are more pleasing to God then those who disagree with the Word of God and do whatever they must to CHANGE the Word to fit their own beliefs.
^i^ Responding to Post #22
...........well, that may be part of the problem? God will not settle for being our CO-pilot........He wants to be our PILOT. 
