Speaking of forcing magical beliefs...

Here's a statement by the Vatican on the Schiavo case, loaded with inflammatory phrases, and here's a story from the Vatican ethicist just four days later repeating the language of cruelty and another, even worse. But neurologists agree that there is no functions in the brain other than the most rudimentary - no consciousness, no pain, no thought, no identity, no perception. Terri Schiavo died 18 years ago, yet why does everyone still speak of her "life" or her "death"? Yet the debate uses the language of cruelty, pain, and even murder. A guy I work with believes that Terri's husband wants to "kill her to get the money." This is factually wrong on every level, but straightening him out is not possible without rearranging his whole worldview. Which is why facts are no longer relevant for the other side. There is a traditional two-part test to determine the truth: it must be internally consistent, and it must agree with objective facts. When there is a conflict, some cannot adjust their view to comport with reality, and so, must ignore facts. His worldview is consistent, but he must ignore facts more and more often. The dissonance increases, leading to an inability to sustain a coherent worldview, and a psychic crisis ensues. As my mother says, "Everyone's entitled to his own beliefs, but not his own facts." It helps expain why talking to these people makes you feel like you're talking to a fence post.