i certainly see how we all come to this conclusion, even BreadofDeath, simply because it is what we are raised believing. But fwiw i could easily direct you to passages that are just being plain ignored, that would refute any belief you might have--Paul assured us that "wolves" would take over the churches as soon as he left, etc., so what about that, for instance?
So these might be considered, and we have not even broached that God is surely not interested in our religious rituals, but instead cares about the practical aspects of a spiritual walk, loving your neighbor, etc--"I desire mercy, not sacrifice."
Of course with someone raised with the assurance that seeking God can only be accomplished in a mortgaged building we now call "church," by a guy in a tie who has signed a Contract for Jesus, it is only natural to also assume that literal water must have been literally turned into wine, and so a different lesson will be taught, just like @ "communion," as long as it is perceived to be a dead religious ritual. So then all kinds of retarded doctrines that mean absolutely nothing--Transubstantiation, etc--must be developed, because the real communion is not even understood.
The Bible works fabulously to reveal hearts in other ways too, for instance if one insists upon a literal interpretation (reading history), a fair chunk of Scripture can now be immediately ignored by any new believer, who for instance is never encouraged to put themselves in the place of Cain or Esau, even though these parables are meant for spiritual instruction of the new seeker. But of course as long as the ego is allowed to dominate--and after all why shouldn't it, if one has just been assured that "I am going to heaven when i die"--we are encouraged to put ourselves in the place of Job, and everyone else in the place of the three friends; or put ourselves in the place of Jesus or Moses, etc.
And i suggest that the authors were not stupid, and even encourage this, so that the blind do not see, and reveal themselves, me surely being one of them.
