That's not a fair characterization. Thomas for example, while i don't always agree with him, does try to do real research on the history of these issues/subjec

That's not a fair characterization. Thomas for example, while i don't always agree with him, does try to do real research on the history of these issues/subjects. He's also not exactly "inexpert". It's not bullshit attempts to rationalize an ideology (like say, Gorusch, AFAICT :P). If he's wrong about history, and you can show it, he's generally been willing to change his view. As mentioned, they also definitely rely on experts for this (and are often experts themselves), and cite the expert historical analysis they rely upon.