Beware, teachers, for "we who teach will be judged more strictly" (James 3:1). In this case I do not mean teachers in general education, although this warning could easily apply to them. I mean teachers in the church and people who teach in the name of Christianity. The very book Christian teachers hopefully derive many of their teachings from carries a strict warning to them: they can expect a more intense judgment from God due to their status as teachers.
Yes, it is the intellectual responsibility (and moral responsibility, by Biblical standards [1]) of someone being taught to not merely accept what is stated by teachers. I, as a rational, autonomous being, ultimately do not have to believe something just because I am told to by someone in a certain church or social position. It indeed is a sign of fallacious reasoning and beliefs in someone's life if that person listens to a human teacher over reason or Scripture. A teacher is only useful inasmuch as he or she teaches in alignment with logic and the Bible, and, because of this, should be regarded as a legitimate teacher only to the extent that he or she is rational, consistent, truthful, and Biblical.
Just because individuals under teachers are responsible for their own intellectual and spiritual growth does not mean that teachers have a lenient position. They still are commanded by God to represent truth clearly, accurately, consistently, and to the best of their abilities. A Christian teacher who hopes for leniency in judgment from God seeks something that does not exist within the Christian worldview.
Laypeople in churches need to keep in mind that, just as a government is only legitimate to the extent that it operates within God's revealed moral obligations, a teacher is only reliable and worth supporting if that teacher is sound. God is not behind any church leader who does not operate within rational and Biblical parameters or teach truth, at least not fully. Do not mistakenly think something different.
[1]. See 1 Thessalonians 5:21, Proverbs 19:2, Acts 17:11, and 1 Peter 3:15.
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