Nor do I but I do see where Jesus tells us to "take heed and follow no man". Jo kus I may not have explained myself well. I don't mean that we should not listen to teachers. I was responding to the statement of he defends those Christians who never read the Bible - and he praises them!"
While we obtain knowledge from others we should always check them out in the scriptures.
The Catholic Church has encouraged reading the Bible in ancient times - we have numerous commentaries from the various saints. However, they are always done in context of what the Church has taught.
Other religions also base their beliefs on what their church teaches. Surprisingly - they all think they are correct. No one should be blindly led by any church, or any man, ever. They are all founded by men and men's beliefs of the Bible. God wrote His letter to you and He wants you to read it. It is the only safeguard we have against false teachers or being misled.
..Ping
I do not think ANY Christian teacher (me being one) should be concerned about "bible knowledge" in of itself, but rather whether this knowledge of God is put to practice in one's life or not. THAT is why we teach. The barbarians of Gaul whom Irenaeus speaks of were living out there faith in love, WITHOUT reading the Bible. I would imagine that this was very common up to the time of the printing press. I read that the literacy rate during the first few hundred years of the common era in the Western Roman Empire was less than 10%. Bible reading was out of the question for many people, even if they were so inclined to read it.
While we obtain knowledge from others we should always check them out in the scriptures.
I understand your desire to ensure that the Bible is adhered to when people teach us. I agree with it in a manner of speaking. However, when we place our own readings of the Bible above the community's, then we have moved into "private interpretation" of the Scriptures. There is very little precedent for such things. Rather than saying we should check them against the Bible, it would be more correct to "check them against the Traditions given, both oral AND written", as Paul wrote the Thessalonians. We have been taught, both orally and in written form. We have a particular idea of what is right and what is wrong. We compare teachings to this paradigm that we hold, given to the entire community. Thus, the apostles tell their charges to look to the body of teachings they had been given.
Other religions also base their beliefs on what their church teaches. Surprisingly - they all think they are correct. No one should be blindly led by any church, or any man, ever.
Is this to state that our conscience be our guide? St Aquinas agrees with you. He said that if our conscience tells us that Jesus did not rise from the dead, we shouldn't believe it. We must adhere to our conscience - while opening searching for the truth. We cannot blindly believe something because someone else told us so. As long as we are open to the truth, we should examine teachings, using our reason WITH our faith. The latter does not dispense of the former. They are wedded. So if that is what you mean, I agree with you. We should subject the "truth" to some test. That includes the Bible itself, if we are to use it as a reference point later in our search for truth.
Regards