in reply to Combining multiple lines into one line

Assuming that there is a missing blank line between your first two records, then a one-liner with 'paragraph mode' will do the trick: 

perl -e"BEGIN{$/=''}" -ple"tr[\n][]d" input.file > output.file

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Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error.
"Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority".
In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.

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