What the apostles and New Testament writers intended us to know is in Black and white but do not ask the multitude.   They are likely to give you the talking points of their denominational ancestors without regard to what the Bible actually says.

Isaiah 29:11

The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

The wall of literacy is too much for many leaders and they refuse to climb it.   They make excuses for people who are satisfied to repeat the slogans they have I inherited.   The generations of New Testament times also were not into much reading.  They preferred to take their quest for knowledge to the scribes who our Lord recognized as authorized scoundrels.  This makes me shudder because the one thing that the church needs is competent scholars, and among the hordes of denominations and pastors one (1) is hard to find.

From the frying pan to the fire

Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”

Isaiah 29:12

Where this leads is clear as day. The literate makes an indecipherable mystery and idol of the sacred text and the illiterate admits that he cannot even read it. In many church services they might as well exalt the Reader’s Digest. The speakers pretend to know. The tables in Judah were piled high with non-edible vomit and excreta. That was Isaiah’s observation.

Recitation is not learning

Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

Isaiah 29:13

“Say after me” is shallow and shameful but that is all that many religions have. Tell your brother what he needs to be a Christian leader. Giving him a handgun to kill house flies is rank unprofessionalism.