I recently saw a video that show cases what happens when a reasonably intelligent person attempts to put together events in a story from which they only have hear-say and pieces of what actually happened. In this video a young lady tries to re-tell the story of Star Wars, however she has never seen it (gasp!!!) or knows what she is talking about. She tries to piece it together based on what she has heard other people say. Add her friend's animated montage based on her re-telling and hilarity ensues.
Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.
This reminds me of everytime I hear someone talk about Jesus and the Bible who have never studied the scriptures for themselves. They twist things. Misunderstand things. If their mistaken understanding wasn't so important it would be funny. Instead of just going by what other people say about history and the Bible, we all need to look for the truth for ourselves.