Unfortunately, some people assume they must get all their Bible teaching from some kind of religious “expert.” The idea is that Joe Average is bound to get it wrong if he tries to understand the Bible for himself, so he needs an expert to interpret it for him.
Which reminds me of a story I heard about one of the most notorious bank robbers from the days of the Wild West. Pepe Rodriguez would regularly sneak across the border into south Texas to rob a bank, then escape back across the border before he could be caught.
The story goes that eventually the Texas lawmen cornered Pepe in a Mexican bar. Since Pepe didn’t speak English, they asked the Bartender to translate. With guns drawn, they told the bartender, “Tell him if he doesn’t turn over the stolen money right now we’ll shoot him dead on the spot!”
The Bartender translated, and Pepe started shaking in fear. In Spanish Pepe said, “Tell them the money is in the town well. The loot is hidden in a pouch behind the seventeenth stone counting down from the handle.”
The Bartender turned to the Rangers and said in English, “Pepe is a very brave man. He says you are
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