but also, when all the paranoia, all the fear mongering, all the hysterical scenarios whipped up the the psychologically disturbed underbelly of the Republican slime machine turns out not to be prophetic - when all their loudest, most strident leaders turn out to be false prophets, and the mainstream Protestant/Catholic denominations turn out to be the truer prophets, will those who claim to be the followers of Jesus seek after the truth, which was there all along, or will they continue to follow those who say "Lord! Lord!" but don't know and don't want to know the Jesus of the Gospels?
Likely some will, but no matter what the shift in religious truth or even scientific reality, there will always be those who cling to the false worldview they share with a number of other, equally psychologically dysfunctional folks. After all, there are gatherings of folks who still believe the world to be flat (which is the picture painted by the Biblical creation story, though the "creations science" folks don't seem to want to push things that far).
There are also prominent scientists who have never made it past Newtonian Physics to discover the miraculous things allowed by the theories of quantum mechanics or the latest discoveries in subatomic particle physics.
Probably the best we can hope for is the admission on all sides of every issue, that no one has the full picture or complete understanding of anything. We humans are simply too limited in our own internal computing power, not to mention our ability to take in and comprehend all relevant data on the subjects at hand.
It is when we refuse to acknowledge our limitations and insist that "my" point of view is completely, totally, unassailably right and correct that we run into the kinds of troubles we've lately had whether in politics, science, or church denominations.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
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