A very long time ago (nearly a decade) I wrote a not-very-polished blog piece observing that within church circles there seemed to be a new kind of anti-authoritarianism that was particularly opposed to acknowledging that there are any "experts" in theology. Anyone can have faith, ran the argument, so why should some ivory tower theologian think their view has any more weight than mine?
I would write it differently now, but I still stand by my opinion at the time.
I'm interested, then, to see someone else tackling the same argument. I absolutely agree that bigotry, intransigence and the refusal to embrace new ideas are poisonous qualities. But the reply to that doesn't lie in the myth that everyone's opinion is of equal weight. Imagine you needed heart surgery. Would you go to the best heart surgeon you could find, or to your neighbour who is pretty good with a needle and thread? Genuine expertise? Bring it on.