Mind drones?

Are Christians mind-numbed robots? One BBC news article seems to support that theory.

The article tells how evangelical Christians cannot agree on global warming. Jerry Falwell is saying that the issue is still inconclusive while other evangelicals are signing onto global warming initiatives.

According to the article, the students at his brainchild, Liberty University, submissively follow his lead. Or, as the BBC puts it, "His word is taken as gospel by the university's students."

I'm not going to say that the BBC reporter who penned this piece of news went into the story with the intention of showing Christians as mind-numbed drones. By the end of the article, that's definitely the implication.

I don't know if there are student discussions being held on Liberty University's campus regarding global warming. If there are, that certainly was not mentioned in the news article.

This isn't the first time I've seen this perception of believers. The first time I met it face-to-face was when I talked to a professor last semester. We were discussing Christians and creationists. His take on creationists specifically was that they become creationists by accepting the word from on high: the opinion of some well-respected, science-ignorant leader. It's never by personally searching out the issue and coming to their own conclusions.

What do you think? How far should Christians take the word "sheep"? Are Christians more likely to take someone's word blindly than the average citizen? How does this jive with the example the Bereans gave? And what is the lowdown on global warming?