Thanks for your thoughtful commentary, David; interesting. I myself haven't read much of the Holy Scriptures, as the English translation of the Torah was called back there in Hebrew school, where my parents sent me so as not to make waves with my grandparents. I never saw this stuff as more than fables or fairy tales, but do intend to read it at some point, because it really is one of the most important literary works of our culture.
Regarding the meaning of the original scriptures, known to Christians as the Old Testament, it's my contention that no one can have a really accurate idea of its meanings; the ancient Hebrew and Aramaic in which it was written had different meanings than even modern Hebrew and Aramaic so no one can really know what was meant to be conveyed by the scribes who compiled it thousands of years ago. Look, for example at how the English language has changed even in modern times, and would have changed a great deal more without valid dictionaries -- which weren't really around until the 19th century -- to fix meanings. I do know that several names were used in the scriptures that have all been translated to mean God (whose true name was never spoken), and one of these names, Elohim, was a plural. The Christian translations, such as the King James version, are known to contain many inaccurately translated words. My point is that if even those fluent in Hebrew aren't really able to know with any certainty what these ancient scribes meant to convey, how can anyone else?