I goes to the point I was making that once you come to such a conclusion then you have to go back and redefine other verses to make them fit an interpretation that has become fixed and immovable.
If your group had started with, Created in the image of God and applied their regular reasoning style they would have had: -
Created = the instant of coming into existance
Image = a representation, in this case of God in substance
Created in the Image of God = an aspect of all humans when coming into being sees them attached to a same aspect or substance or essence as God.
Then your religion would have been telling you that you should believe humans have an immortal soul, etc.
But because other verses were interpreted as literal death as opposed to spiritual death, as in, let the dead bury the dead, then a revision is required and the image of God then becomes some notion of qualities which just doesn't make sense at all.
So it's not about me finishing anything, it's just fascinating to see how such beliefs come about. Your group are pretty literal even when it contradicts science and reason, yet in this case they have interpreted the meaning way outside both literal and symbolic.
