Whether the angel Gabriel was really there is inherently the most important and meaningful question because how people act based on that can leave me dead.
Very few people act on whether or not the angel Gabriel was really there or not. A lot of people act on whether or not they think the angel Gabriel was really there. If James thinks that Gabriel was there, then James will act as if Gabriel had been there; if John think Gabriel wasn’t there, then John will act as if Gabriel hadn’t been there.
You are replying as though “X is an important question” means “the truth value of X has important effects”, but in this context it really means “knowing the truth value of X has important effects”. The fact that people will act based on what they think the answer is, rather than the actual answer, is irrelevant to the latter parsing.
Very few people act on whether or not the angel Gabriel was really there or not. A lot of people act on whether or not they think the angel Gabriel was really there. If James thinks that Gabriel was there, then James will act as if Gabriel had been there; if John think Gabriel wasn’t there, then John will act as if Gabriel hadn’t been there.
You are replying as though “X is an important question” means “the truth value of X has important effects”, but in this context it really means “knowing the truth value of X has important effects”. The fact that people will act based on what they think the answer is, rather than the actual answer, is irrelevant to the latter parsing.