Conspiracy Theories and the Christian
In the past few years, I have noticed a dramatic uptick in conspiracy theories being embraced by people in my social circle (mainly right-wing, conservative Evangelical Christians). The increase has been so sharp, it has caused me to give serious thought to the entire issue, and to ponder what is causing it, and how concerned I should be.
As with any topic, I always like to define terms first. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says this about “conspiracy”:
“A combination of men for an evil purpose; an agreement between two or more persons, to commit some crime in concert; particularly, a combination to commit treason, or excite sedition or insurrection against the government of a state; a plot; as a conspiracy against the life of a king; a conspiracy against the government.”
That definitely gets us in the right ballpark. The Oxford Dictionary says of “Conspiracy Theory”:
“A belief that some covert but influential organization is responsible for a circumstance or event.”
So, it’s basically bad guys planning ahead of time to do bad things.
How Do Conspiracy Theories Form?
I believe all conspiracy theories arise from suspicion. The motives of certain people are called into question and are not given the benefit of the doubt. That seems obvious, but what causes this inherent trust to be broken?
It seems to me that on a macro-level our society is reeling from a credibility problem. Modernism developed institutions that we were taught to respect and revere from a very young age. A few examples are: Healthcare professionals, clergy, journalists, educators, scientist, politicians and lawyers (okay, did anyone ever really trust politicians and lawyers?!). In the mid-twentieth century, you turned to the news media for unbiased facts that were reported by impartial observers. The thought of that now makes us laugh with incredulity.
Postmodernism, with is deconstruction (tearing down) of cultural structures, has attacked each one of the aforementioned fields and has caused us to believe that nothing is certain or trustworthy in the world. Our experience sometimes seems to verify this.
A Crisis of Belief
It happens at a different place and time for everyone. For some it’s when they realize that Santa Claus doesn’t exist. For others, it’s when they realize the government educational system has lied to them (perhaps about evolution, or history, or any significant life-impacting fact). Maybe it’s when they believe their doctor has his own pocketbook primarily in view rather than their personal health. For some it’s when scientists declare we will all die in ten years from greenhouse gases and carbon emissions (and then we don’t). Worst of all, some have been victimized sexually by clergy, leaving them emotionally devastated and questioning the existence of God Himself.
What ever the impetus for the crisis, there it is. The person can never again go back to the naiveté they had before. Sadly, a new jaundiced cynicism has replaced the previously trusting nature of the individual. The betrayed victim now sees the world through colored lenses of doubt.
When the things that were the most certain in a person’s life are stripped from them, they can lose faith in virtually everything. This can be a scary place. It’s like having both feet firmly planted in mid-air.
Skepticism
The newly disillusioned person can quickly begin to doubt what he hears on the news (especially if he catches the media in a brazen lie or distortion). If scientists are wrong on one point, perhaps they are wrong on everything. If global warming is a farce, maybe the lunar landing was as well, and perhaps the earth is flat. If history books lie to you, maybe John Kennedy was killed by the CIA, and perhaps 9/11 was an inside government job. Before long, it’s entirely possible to slide down the rabbit hole of internet legends and myths and never find yourself resurfacing to interact normally with the people who are still clinging to their Pollyannaish view of life.
Believing A Lie
In 2 Thess. 2:9, we are told that Satan works through various means of trickery to entice people who are perishing. That makes them sound like victims. Who can blame them for being hoodwinked, right? But then in v. 10, it says, “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” That seems to put the blame for their deceived state on their own shoulders. Then it says (v. 11-12): “For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
It’s kind of like, since they don’t want to love the truth, God helps facilitate a deeper level of deception than they were already in. A description like that hopefully dissuades us from having such a heart attitude.
Christians Should Only Ever Embrace Truth
I am not a Christian because I like church, or Christians. I happen to believe that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be (the Son of God). As a Christian, I believe the Bible corresponds to reality more accurately than other belief systems. I believe in the teachings of Christianity not because I like them, but because I believe them to be true!
In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the truth.” John 16:3 (ESV) says: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” Our goal is to align ourselves as closely as possible with that which is true, real, genuine, and accurate, because that is what the God we worship is like.
When First We Practice to Deceive
One of the great ironies of the truth of Scripture is that it affirms that there are conspiracies existing in our world. “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together, against the LORD and against His Anointed One: ‘Let us break Their chains and cast away Their cords.’” (Ps. 2:1-3, ESV)
We are assured that there are powerful leaders who gather covertly to hatch diabolical schemes. The existence of conspiracies is a worldview that most closely corresponds to reality (that makes your head hurt, doesn’t it?!).
Guidelines for Considering Conspiracy Theories
Here are some questions I’d suggest for evaluating conspiracy theories in which you may be tempted to believe:
- Have I done due diligence to seek out reality and truth and not merely sought to affirm my confirmation bias?
- Am I continually open to new information? Will I change my mind if I am convinced by the evidence that my previous views were false or inadequate?
- Are the sources I am reading and researching deemed by respected friends of mine to be trustworthy and reliable? (This is a good self-check for our own honesty in our search.)
- If I find this information is true, what difference will it make in my everyday life? If there is zero difference, how important is it for me to spend extensive time studying it?
- How is my interest (obsession?) with this topic impacting my relationships? Is it separating me from important people in my life? Is my belief in this more important than maintaining closeness with those I care about? Am I willing to continue being friends with people who do not share my convictions on issues I believe are important?
- Can this theory ever be proven with certainty? If it is completely non-falsifiable and can’t be proven true or false, is there value in my pursuing it with much devotion?
- How does studying this topic impact me mentally and emotionally? Do I feel depression, anxiety, fear, loneliness, etc., the more I delve into these issues? Have I been making life decisions that could harm me and my family financially or our health and well-being based on my beliefs about alleged conspiracies?
I have seen some people become so entrenched in conspiracy theories it truly harms their mental and emotional health. They can become paranoid and begin to lose touch with reality altogether. I have also seen people become alienated from others and socially isolated because of their eccentric views on disputable matters. Surely that is not a healthy or advisable lifestyle to sustain.
Some people like to process their thoughts out loud when they are considering new ideas. This may seem harmless, but it can cause genuine concern on the part of those hearing it fleshed out. It may be a good idea to keep your more radical ideas closer to yourself until you become more convinced of how everything fits together. Example: “Lately I’ve been thinking the dinosaurs were all abducted by aliens. That’s why they vanished so suddenly from the fossil record!” (This will probably earn you some strange looks from co-workers around the water cooler!)
Our Messaging
As Christians, we do not merely represent ourselves to the watching world. We also reflect our Lord. We need to be aware of what kind of impression people are getting of Christianity from our example. Most non-Christians think Christians are tin-foil-hat-wearing-wackos anyway. We want to be careful we don’t justify their caricatures of us by promoting weird and esoteric stories that aren’t well-founded and demonstrable.
With social media, it is especially easy for false information and hoaxes to travel quickly and we can often inadvertently become party to spreading rumors, gossip or just false narratives. A quick search for confirmation from a reliable site will often save us a lot of embarrassment from posting something untrue. If, on occasion, we are snookered into participating in the spread of erroneous information, we should quickly remove the material, try to contact anyone we shared it with to inform them and apologize, and in most cases post a notice on our page that newer, more truthful information has becomes available to us.
People will respect you and take you more seriously if you own mistakes. The person who glibly shouts out all kinds of flaky tales that are proven wrong later will be discounted as a reliable resource for information. That will almost certainly restrict their efforts at evangelism and witness as well.
Sounding Boards
I believe it is important for all of us to have a few close and trusted friends with whom we can share openly and honestly what we believe and are struggling through. We should seek relationships with people who have a track record of making wise life choices and have stable long-term relationships with others. These are people we can learn from and grow with. We should be willing to consider their input and counsel as a self-check for our own ideas, to help keep us from growing delusional or imbalanced. Obviously, it is possible for us to be correct on an issue and them to be wrong, even though they may be wiser than us in many areas of life, but simply having them in our lives will probably help keep us more grounded and less likely to become destruction in unhealthy beliefs.
Most importantly, saturate yourself daily in the Word of God and spend time seeking direction from the Lord. The Holy Spirit will lead and guide us into all truth if we abide in Him and God’s Word.
Additional Resources:
Todd Friel of “Wretched” has done two broadcasts on QAnon and Conspiracy Theories that I think you’ll find instructive:
Part 1: https://youtu.be/UG9ao9fY75c
Part 2: https://youtu.be/8ziJwXOVBSw
Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker and founder of Family Renewal, LLC. He serves as Site Editor for www.ChristianWorldview.net.
Thank you Israel. I have printed it out, so I can share it.
This is excellent and a timely read. I hope many will find this post.
Very good, Israel, thank you.
I find that one of the driving factors in delving into these theories is a pride in knowledge or in being right. It’s a natural progression from armchair theologian to conspiracy expert.
Thanks again for your helpful thoughts on a growing concern to Christianity and truth in our day.
Thank you Don Stenberg. What you wrote is simply the truth. There are things about that day that are clear, and things that are less so. What you described is unfortunately very clear. It does not bring me pleasure in knowing it to be true. It is not a seeking after esoteric knowledge to one-up my fellow man. It’s instead a rather an undeniable fact, corroborated by much more evidence that’s readily available to anyone who does some research. Architects and engineers for 9/11 truth is a great place for a clear, unbiased and uncontested account of the details of building 7 and the events of that day.
Much appreciated. I’ve also noticed a significant increase in conspiracy thinking in my circles. Even more prevalent, though, is a lack of critical thinking in response to claims from sources that are seen as “on our side” vs. claims from sources seen as “not on our side.” The conspiracism seems to be an extension of the same kind of tribalistic thinking/paranoia/zenophobia.
Very relevant and much needed Israel (I seem to say that often about your articles!). I am in the process of writing a sermon on Truth and Deception and will refer to some of this. I would also add to your list of guidelines to consult your elders. They are charged with keeping watch over your souls (Heb 13:7) as ones who must give an accounting to God. It is a sober responsibility they do not (should not) take lightly.
One other reflection: in Matthew 7 Jesus says that you will know false teachers by their fruit. It is interesting that he doesn’t say you will know them by their teaching. In other words, the nature of deception is that it is difficult to discern from the truth. It is believable; it has the ring of truth. But what is the fruit of that teaching (or teacher)? Like you say, does it lead to fear, anxiety, loneliness, etc? Or does it lead to love, joy, peace, etc?
Thank you for a great piece.
Israel,
I have found your teaching helpful since we started homeschooling 10 years ago. Thank you.
In this article you state, “I believe in the teachings of Christianity not because I like them, but because I believe them to be true!” I agree completely, this is also why I believe them.
I have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and graduated at the top of my class. I have a firm grasp on Newtonian physics including F=ma, force on an object equals the mass times the acceleration. So if you know the acceleration you can determine the net force.
When it came to my attention that World Trade Center building 7 was not hit with an airplane but still collapsed with an acceleration of 32 feet per second per second (32 ft/s/s or 9.8 m/s/s), acceleration due to the force of gravity alone, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt (because God faithfully upholds his laws of heaven and earth per Jeremiah 33:25) that there was zero upward force being provided by the structure of the building as it fell for over 10 stories of the collapse, and very little upward force during the rest of the collapse. Moments before it fell, the structure had been providing an upward force equivalent to the weight of the building. Furthermore, the building fell straight down, meaning beyond a shadow of a doubt that the vertical structural columns all failed simultaneously. The only way that humans know of for this physical behavior to happen is if the columns are all intentionally destroyed at the same time using explosives/incendiaries that are designed and installed intelligently by demolition experts. Who could have planted these explosives? I don’t know, but the building had been used by some of our intelligence agencies, so it seems unlikely that it was terrorists from the Middle East because they would have easily been discovered.
I hate this conclusion. I wish the evidence was not pointing in the direction of this attack being an inside job. But once the laws of physics along with the building occupancy pointed in that direction, it was not difficult to find heaps of corroborating evidence. I believe 9/11 was an inside job not because I like that conclusion but because I think it is true. People I respect, like the “Architects and Engineers for 9/11 Truth” agree with this conclusion.
I think it might be dangerous thing to “bundle” all conspiracy theories together and make it all out as nothing. In the late 80’s there were some cassette tapes making the rounds that some members of the British royal house are looking for a single world leader. Last year King Charles said it at COP.
One might also remember Josephs story. How his brothers conspired against him.
It will not be a wise thing to dismiss them, but rather keep your eyes on God and let your focus be around Him only. Then whatever happens in the world does not matter in the sense it will for a non-believer.