"Hay tantos cuentos como lectores"-Borges

    Jorge Luis Borges was a famous Argentine author known for his depth of thought.  The quote in the title says this, "There are as many stories as there are readers."  We talked about this quote in class a little bit, and interestingly enough, it has kind of been the teacher's M.O. when looking at literature.
  In just about every Bible class that I've ever taken, the first day is dedicated to the debate of "Who determines the meaning of the text?"  Of course the obvious answer is Jesus, as is every answer in every Bible class... We toss around big terms like "author's intent" and always come to the conclusion, that God determines the meaning of Scripture.  The students are always warned not to add their own ideas to the Bible (at least in the Bible classes that I've taken).
   There are as many stories as there are readers... Borges makes an excellent point.  Each person is going to take whatever they perceive from whatever they read.  It's rare to see a reader who actually delves to see what the author truly meant.  I would hope that Biblical scholars are an exception.  Unfortunately, it's difficult not to read into the Word what you have learned/heard previously.  Checking your bias at the door is much easier said than done.
  What the author says is important, but what do you make of it? Every person can place whatever meaning they want to anything they want. It doesn't necessarily make it the correct interpretation or the intended message.  In a literary sense, I'm not very concerned about how literature is interpreted. One's world view plays a large part in that.  But as far as the Bible is concerned, I pray like David;

     ¹⁷ Deal bountifully with Your servant,
That I may live and keep Your word. ¹⁸ Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law. ¹⁹ I am a stranger in the earth;
Do not hide Your commandments from me. 

Psalm 119:17-9