What kin ya learn from readin old religious texts?

The Bible is a good example of how people will find what they're looking for. If you're looking for justice, love and mercy in the Bible, you can find it. If you're looking for blood, gore, sex and angry retribution you'll find that too. The unfortunate part is that people often refuse to take the "bad" parts with the "good", whatever their perspective.

Because the Bible is so open to interpretation, and so many people are so selective in what they read and apply to their own lives...I think most people get out of the Bible whatever it is they WANTED to get in the first place.
Many people take and use the Scripture that reinforces what they already believe...reinforces their own bigotries and prejudices...and ignore that which might cause them to think, or to change their beliefs.

If you are a whack-job who hates gays, you'll find plenty that appears to support being horrible to gays. If you are looking for peace, love, mercy, tolerance, forgiveness, joy, and unconditional love, you can find that, too. I just think a lot of the whack-jobs don't really want to find that stuff. they want to find that which allows them to point fingers at others, and be shitty to others...while maintaining that they, themselves, are simon-pure, and that they...and they alone, are of the elect.

They will find that justification, if that is what they seek.

towards something that is entirely direct and
without centrallized authority by the very nature
of the private life.

Books lock in to fixed words, fluid dynamic truth,
and for that folly, are forever doomed to be wrong
and misinterpreted unless realized to be merely
pointers or symbols of something not communicable.

That would be my pick.

...you might want to read the book "Misquoting Jesus" by Bart Erhman. He makes comparisons between the Hebrew, Greek, Latin (and other) manuscripts from which the Bible was written, and talks about the discrepancies that have been found between the different interpretations.

It is like the old game of "Telephone" that children used to play in the 50's....as the story is passed on the meaning can change entirely.

From ancient religious texts to essays by your favorite Liberal.