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My previous article dug into why the Qanon conspiracy theories, more than any other theory, seem to sweep Christians into its bad Bible interpretation and extreme beliefs. However, the topic of conspiracy theories is important in a broad sense and gives us an opportunity to use a biblical worldview to better understand the world around us.
This article will have three main parts. First I’ll discuss two ways the Bible warns us against getting involved in conspiracy theories. Next I’ll discuss three aspects of our sin nature that makes us susceptible to getting involved with them. Then I’ll conclude with a word of encouragement for those who are either tempted toward them, or know others who are.
What does the Bible say about conspiracy theories?
It may seem obvious that God never says “Don’t get involved in conspiracy theories.” And when we remember that the Bible isn’t a rulebook, it makes sense. However, we also know that God has provided us everything we need for godly living within the pages of His word. And within that word, we can see two important principles that should help us realize that conspiracy theories have no room in the life of a Christian.
The pointlessness of speculations
As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. (1 Timothy 1:3-7)
Paul’s letter to Timothy starts with a bang. Immediately after his greeting, Paul creates a divide between those who are living a gospel-filled life, and those who are getting swept up into foolishness. He reminds Timothy to pull people away from silly speculations and pointless discussions so that he can instead lead these men toward spiritual maturity.
There is clearly no room for both in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ.
But what specific things is Paul talking about? While there are many theories, we simply can’t say with certainty what these genealogies and myths were all about. But it’s clear that whatever they were, they centered around Christians debating things with no foundation, evidence, or support within God’s word. These men were making a lot of noise, but none of it was of value. It wasn’t leading anyone to truth, just pride and division.
This is exactly what conspiracy theories do. They are more than ideas – they take on a complete worldview that affects our lives and beliefs. They create divisions within the body of Christ. Yet they aren’t founded in solid truth, but instead most often exist in an echo chamber where people who agree with us shout loudly that we’re right, and thus we become convinced that an idea without proof is true.
Yet whatever proof exists within a conspiracy theory is always suspicious and impossible to prove. It relies on facts that cannot be checked, events that have better explanations, and an amount of emotional manipulation which makes people think that anyone pointing out flaws in the theory is either fooled like everyone else, or is “one of them.” Whatever obvious contradictions or impossibilities exist within a conspiracy theory, there’s always an explanation that strays even further from reality.
Yet these beliefs, even if they try to shoehorn Bible verses to prove the conspiracy, get us nowhere. The conspiracy becomes our passion and obsession, rather than the gospel. We become devoted to talking to our friends about the conspiracy, rather than the glories of Christ. And we become motivated to tell the conspiracy to others, rather than telling them about the gospel.
The people in 1 Timothy were swept up into the same kind of beliefs we still struggle with today. The theories may be different, but the heart behind them is the same. We waste time trying to prove things without evidence rather than devoting ourselves to the truth God has revealed within His word.
The sin of gossip
Gossip may seem like a strange way to discuss conspiracy theories. Yet if we look at what God has to say about gossip, and why it’s a problem, we’ll see how much the two actually have in common.
For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances; (2 Corinthians 12:20)
There’s no question that God hates gossip, so we don’t need to labor on this point. However, the definition of gossip can be difficult to pin down. Let’s look at the other, more specific warnings we see about how we discuss other people.
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. (James 4:11)
Gossip and slander go hand-in-hand. We gossip by speaking about a person with the goal of either tearing them down or building ourselves up. We dehumanize the person, removing their value and making them nothing more than something we hurt for our own enjoyment. Slandering is that first half, where we tear someone down in front of others because, thanks to our wretched love of sin, it makes us feel good to do it.
At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention. (1 Timothy 5:13)
Here, Paul speaks against some particular women who weren’t being productive, instead getting wrapped up in gossip and slander. They were stirring up problems by spreading lies and half-truths rather than stirring people to good works for the sake of Christ.
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29)
And here we see the greatest issue with both gossip and conspiracy theories. When we speak, we have the opportunity to build up or tear down. We can glorify Christ or ourselves. When we gossip, we are not just tearing down another human being, making twisting the truth about them to do so.
What do conspiracy theories do? They make wild accusations about individuals with little-to-no evidence, often demonizing them into a villain and setting entire groups against them. A person’s true actions aren’t judged and evaluated, but instead we believe truth about them based on what others are saying. Or perhaps we’ll just state something as truth based on what we suspect they’re doing without a shred of proof to back up our words.
And this isn’t just about groups like Qanon accusing Hillary Clinton of being involved in a Satan-worshipping pedophile ring. In America, it’s become downright fashionable to blame big groups for doing all sorts of things that we can’t prove.
But who is the Government? Or “Big Pharma”? Or The Media? We’ve all blamed one of them at some point, citing all sorts of wicked things we suspect they’re doing.
What we forget is that these big, faceless groups we love to blame aren’t a single entity, but a collection of specific individuals. So when we sit and grumble about “the government” or “the media” or “Big Pharma” without starting with solid evidence (and not just evidence” we heard on the news or read online), then we’re taking part in conspiracy theories about people.
We’re taking part in gossip.
We’re taking part in sin.
The problem is that we forget these celebrities or big corporate entities aren’t just some faceless enemy for us to rally against. They’re genuine human beings, often still living under the wrath of God and in desperate need of salvation. Yet we don’t focus on that – we focus on idle gossip, wasting time making ourselves feel better by spreading lies than bringing glory to God.
Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?
Objectively, no one should fall for such nonsense. Yet something causes intelligent, rational human beings to ignore facts and embrace beliefs held together by bubble gum and spaghetti noodles. Psychologists and sociologists have their own ways to explain it, but as followers of Christ we know that a biblical worldview gives us insight into human beings that is totally unique, because it sees their spiritual side. We can start with our natural, sinful inclinations to help us better understand the motivations behind following these conspiracies.
While there are surely more reasons at play, I think there are three major motivations someone may latch onto conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy theories feed our fear
Covid-19 introduced me to a new term: doom scrolling. This is what we do when we go on a news website, social media, or discussion board and keep scrolling through discussions about the terrible things happening in the world. We know we aren’t gaining anything by it, and often we’re just piling on anxiety and depression. Yet we persist wit surrounding ourselves with doom and gloom, giving ourselves a skewed picture of the world.
Conspiracy theories feed this strange desire to live in fear. We want there to be something sinister happening. We need there to be more at play. We know the world is broken with sin, so anything that includes extreme human depravity just makes sense to us.
To use my Qanon example – conservative Republicans are given the choice between Hillary Clinton being a Satan-worshipping child trafficker.. or just being someone they strongly disagree with on almost every policy she stands for. You’ve seen the images frozen at the perfect moment to make her look insane; you’ve read all the quotes that spout beliefs that are totally opposed to a biblical worldview; and you’ve heard your preferred media sources confirm that she’s wrong in every way imagineable.
With all that conditioning, is it really so hard to believe she’s even more evil than we realized? Doesn’t that make her defeat in 2016 seem even more incredible as we spare our country from a follower of Satan himself?
It’s terrifying to think that there could be whole groups of people out there, working in the shadows to control the world. Yet no matter how much we don’t want to be true, we’ll choose to suffer the anxiety and depression in order to believe it.
I don’t know if fear is a motivator on its own. I think it plays a large part, but I think it is dependent on our next motivation.
Conspiracy theories give us control
The older I get, the more I realize that people who are labeled as “control freaks” are just those who take a trait we all share and don’t hide it. The more I talk to others and seek to understand my own motivations, the more I realize that everyone needs to feel a sense of control. This desire seems to be core to our very sin nature, and is often why we reject the authority of Jesus Christ.
Conspiracies give us control by letting us put the world in a box. If we’re terrified of being out of control, then the best we can hope for is to at least explain why things are happening. Think of all the things that happen that we need some explanation for:
- Covid-19 was made in a lab, rather than coming from animals like many diseases before it
- If one presidential candidate doesn’t win, it’s because the other side cheated or hired outside interference
- A natural disaster happened because of global warming…
- Or because God was judging a particular sin
- We’re late to church because of Satan, not our own poor time management
- The president was infected as an act of terrorism, not recognizing that he and his staff have been exposed to many people over the course of his presidential campaign
- 5g gives us cancer, rather than every other harmful substance we expose ourselves to
- Scientists or governments are pushing vaccines to mind-control the population, failing to recognize that an atheistic worldview leads them to believe it may be humanity’s only hope for survival
We need someone, or something, to blame for the pain, suffering, and confusion in the world. Or sometimes we just want a villain to blame everything on. We don’t want to accept that we live in a world broken by sin, where God allows or ordains things to happen for reasons we can’t fathom. We don’t want to accept that we’re the architects of our own misery, hurting and being hurt because we love sin more than God. So, like children, we blame someone else.
And even though conspiracy theories don’t let us control the world, we feel in control because we know what’s happening. We’re comforted because we are no longer confused. We have an enemy to blame, and that outrage lets us push aside truths we don’t want to face.
We have everything figured out. We may not like the truth we’ve embraced, but at least we can find the root of our problems. The world is no longer random because we found a way to make it all fit together in a grand conspiracy.
Conspiracy theories feed our pride
Ultimately, everything boils down to pride. And with conspiracy theories, pride tends to be on full display.
Why do conspiracy theorists say people are controlled by the media? Why do they call people “sheep”? Why do they insist everyone is blind to these obvious coverups?
Because they aren’t so easily fooled.
These people have knowledge no one else possesses. They see through the lies to what’s really happening in the world. While millions of people are distracted by shiny objects, they are part of an elite group who sees beyond the distractions. They stand on the side of truth, sometimes mocking those who go along with the herd.
They possess the knowledge that can save people who are willing to accept it. Anyone who doubts, mocks, or rejects these truths is still under the control of “them.” No matter how outlandish or overwhelming a particular conspiracy may be, they can find comfort in like-minded individuals who have also been awakened to the truth.
And, ultimately, it feels pretty good. There’s a certain pride in having knowledge that no one else even realizes they lack. Despite the mockery from others, they can feel like martyrs for the truth.
If you’re a fan of church history, this may sound shockingly similar to Gnosticism, a popular belief during the time of the apostles. Even 2,000 years ago, entire worldviews sprang up around the idea that some people could possess a special knowledge, even if it required increasingly-improbable explanations to maintain the belief.
But it doesn’t matter, because conspiracy theories boost our pride. We surround ourselves with like minded individuals who will comfort us and tell us we’re right. And we’ll continually seek our stranger, darker, and more impossible beliefs in order to keep that feeling going.
In the end, whether it’s fear, a need for control, or something else entirely, conspiracy theories are attractive because they make us feel good. They allow us to serve ourselves, allowing us to revel in how our knowledge and insight has saved us from the lies. It allows us to be our own gods because it was us who found out the truth.
Meeting conspiracy theories with the gospel
None of us are immune to slipping in to some level of conspiracy. Growing up, I was attracted to all sorts of nonsensical ideas about how the world worked. It didn’t matter if they didn’t make sense, nor even if two beliefs contradicted. As long as the belief allowed me to be different from everyone else, it held appeal to me.
There’s no shame in being duped. None of us are so wise that we are able to discern everything all the time. What matters is what we do when we are faced with casting aside false beliefs or clinging to them.
When we realize we’re involved in such foolishness, we need to repent. It can be tempting to stick with the beliefs we’re familiar with, perhaps even being afraid to quit something we’ve invested so much of our time, energy, and belief in. However, a true desire for truth must lead us to the cross at the expense of everything else.
Whether we need to approach Christ because of gossip, wasting our time, or just feeding or pride, we know that there’s boundless forgiveness waiting for us. We can know that we don’t need to keep chasing control and knowledge because we can trust that, even if we don’t understand why things are happening, our King is still on the throne.
As I discussed at length in my article on Qanon, our greatest safeguard against false beliefs is a worldview that has been shaped by the Bible. Let God’s word not only protect us from what is false, but be our guide for what is true, good, and honorable to think about.
