The Bible is I agree, interpreted and in my experience I think that is no accident. Different people interpret scripture differently and sometimes their interpretation changes over time. I long ago stopped thinking there was some correct, definitive way to interpret scripture and God which is why I don’t align myself with any institutionalized “churches”.
In fact my original interpretation was “this is antiquated claptrap perpetuated by uneducated primitives” but that began to change as my life experiences unfolded.
Well the “eternal damnation” is an interpretation, what this term means is itself an interpretation. There are different ways to interpret what’s written, for example I am a universalist - I believe every human will be saved from an eternal death, not just “the good” people.
There are scriptural arguments for and against almost any doctrinal position because we cannot know everything, I am a Christian who is not afraid to say “I don’t know” for example is abortion right/wrong? Frankly I don’t know, there are arguments for and against it being wrong. I also take the view that each person has their own private struggle with these and other questions and that the struggle is actually intended, we are intended to struggle it is part of our spiritual development.
Regarding the subject of interpretation, I recently heard this aloud, I’ve read it a hundred times and it was a curiosity but when I heard it a year ago, aloud, I saw a deeper profound meaning:
Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, b 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
It suddenly struck me (i interpreted it) as metaphorical (in the way Christ spoke in parables) stating that each one of us experiences God and God’s reality in different ways. It uses literal physical speaking in foreign languages to convey the fact that God can interact with people in different ways, using “language” specific to them.
Thus I - a former student of theoretical physics - did experience God as a result of exploring the boundary of physical laws, the edge of what is materially knowable. Another person might get their insight from profound music, perhaps they are a composer, or a painter or a teacher - each one of us can experience God in ways peculiar to us.