Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
And even more to the point, it was to parallel the theological assertions of us who are not theologians, like actresses declaring an epidemic based on correlation without actual evidence (and so many buying into it). We need real theologians just like Jenny McCarthy needs real research. And the theologians do not take the position that we and the LRC's non-theologian leadership has dreamed up.
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Yes, this is more to the point. Einstein had an absolutely incredible year of releasing ideas that he worked on while he was not a "professional" scientist, but a clerk. The fact that most people who practice science are untrained and as a result have faulty methodology doesn't in any way support an assertion that theology should be left to the theologians. On the contrary, "lead or get out of the way". Autism is an excellent example of research and breakthroughs coming as much from the amateurs as the professionals.
The lesson here is that epidemics, Autism and AIDS are two examples that come to mind, have to be dealt with in a way that all people can trust, otherwise you open the door to panic. And, theories have to be investigated quickly, it is an easy enough proposition to prove or disprove a link between inoculations and autism, however it requires a lot of work doing statistical analysis. Some of these studies can take 5-10 years to be definitive, so it is critical that you begin 5 years before the movie stars start to hear about it.