Should We Judge By People or Ideas?

Rabbis vs. Karaites in The Culture Wars

Should we judge a philosophy/religious denomination/political ideology by what its founding theorists say it’s about or by what its adherents do in its name? And should we be consistent in your answer—or can we judge one ideology by its adherents but another by its founding theorists?

Let’s say you dislike the founding theorists, but find the practitione…