"But the bible says..." as a hermeneutical strategy

This gave a me good chuckle.

"...Any Christian using New Testament words could fend off the most brilliant theological argumentwith the simple retort that one was using God's word against human opinion. All the weight of Church history could not being to tip the scale against the simple declaration that the New Testament did not contain such phrases as total depravity and communion of the saints. For every republic's gentlement theologians, this ingenius argument was both perverse and frustrating."

I chuckled at the huge dichotomy placed between the "educated" and the "non-educated" in post-revolutionary America. There were some (Methodists) who provided a good balance between the two but never in a manner befitting a proper catechism. The book continues, however, to describe the importance of the invention of music in the vernacular and sounds of the common person. It is here that John and Charles Wesley shine. Perhaps through music the "educate" and the "non-educated" could find a common theological languge. Perhaps the dischotomy is false to begin with and the Church needs to realize that in the Eucharist she receives a truer knowledge than even music can give. Either way, hopefully we are moving beyond prooftexting and entering into communities who read the Holy text together and for purpose of faithful living.