THE Bible must remain the central source for Christian faith and life but not everyone should necessarily have the same view on its interpretation, an influential Kirk committee claims.

There never had been, ''and presumably never will be'', one agreed interpretation of scripture, said the Panel on Doctrine in a report to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

''This is not something to be regretted,'' said the panel, which maintained that while it might seem disappointing that there was disagreement over interpretation, it was also reassuring because it allowed diversity.

Every Christian, it said, brought some interpretative process to bear while still according scripture a unique status.

Among church members, said the report, a ''remarkable'' number did not feel sure there was any life after death.

The panel said people should not feel defensive about ambiguity and that Jesus had seldom given quick, easy answers.

''The gospel cannot be expressed by means of soundbites or proof texts. If our faith does not involve development, growth, sometimes change, it bears little relation to the faith of the Apostles.''

The panel, in its report, did not challenge the authority given to the Bible in the Church but maintained it was ''the only authoritative witness to the word of God available to the Church today''.

The panel also claimed scholarship could distance the Bible from the membership and there was widespread concern about the level of biblical literacy inside and outside the Church.

There was also often a gap between the pulpit and the college.

''Preachers sometimes feel they are protecting their hearers, whose faith may be shaken by what is commonplace in the colleges.

''They feel that the suggestion something is not what it seems will open the floodgates to a fatal loss of faith,'' said the report, which stated that some people felt ''patronised to the point of no return''.

The panel document is not intended to be a definitive statement for all time but a way of helping to inform debate on studies in the future as well as contributing to the use of the Bible within today's Church.

Expert witnesses, including Roman Catholic and Methodist representatives, were consulted during a two-year study that covered scripture in major world religions and liberation theology.