(updated 2.14.2015)
Conspiracy theories abound, and at times can be really misleading. You need to think Biblically about life and about various theories that exist so that you can choose to live life in a God honoring way.
The purpose of this post is to help the reader to be able to discern the difference between the sensational and the true, so that he can quickly sort through the maze of garbage that is out there and determine what content is useful and helpful from that which is useless and should be jettisoned.
There are all sorts of things out there that have been and will be published… after all, ‘publish or perish’ is the mantra of academic circles; that regardless of the value of the post. However, we have to live lives that are purposeful and guide our wives and children into areas that are helpful, strengthening and relevant. Additionally, we have been warned in scripture that in the last days, perilous times will come. What are we to do with all of the information out there that may or may not be information that we can actually use?
To understand the levels of information that exist out there, we will go ahead and look at the one element under consideration in this post: the Conspiracy Theory.
What is a Conspiracy Theory?
“1. a theory that explains an event as being the result of a plot by a covert group or organization; a belief that a particular unexplained event was caused by such a group. 2. the idea that many important political events or economic and social trends are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.” (Here is the reference)
I will define ‘Conspiracism’ as the content of the teaching of any sensationalized ‘Conspiracy Theory’. You should expect that any Conspiracy Theory can have some measure of truth and may be relevant to our lives in some measure, but the truth contained at times can be ‘far fetched’… in that the things addressed are not at all likely to happen.
So, we see the relevance that these things have to our lives, but how do we deal with the consideration that a number of things may or may not be related?
Let’s go back to the Bible and consider a few truths:
- God is Sovereign. He is 100% in charge and in control of all elements, details, circumstances and minutiae down to (and even further down) the movements of electrons in the atomic structure of the elements. He is also in charge of every element all the way up to the rotation and orbit of heavenly bodies, galaxies, stars, wormholes, etc. Although not the author of evil, God is in complete control of everything that ever happens. By the description that God gave us of Himself in the Bible, God is completely Good, and there is no darkness or evil within His character. (We will address the topic of evil and its existence later)God planned the whole of human history prior to its existence and actively worked to set it in motion by way of His creating the cosmos and in an ongoing way by virtue of His providential ordering of all of the events that happen in the world.In consideration of God’s control over the universe, as Christians, we can rest in knowing that whatever happens does so in a way that will be for our ultimate good and God’s ultimate Glory, regardless of the outward assessment of something being ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
- Satan and the Demons are Real, but Limited – Satan is the spiritual entity that actively plans and seeks to thwart God’s work, but is ultimately on God’s leash. God has allowed Satan to have a limited degree of freedom for a time, but ultimately, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire with all of those who do not embrace the Gospel.That being said, Satan is invisible and can move very quickly. He is actively working to thwart God’s plan in whatever way he can.
- Evil People are Really Wicked – Evil people are actively working to try to destroy God’s work, and actively are plotting ‘on their beds’ how they can destroy the good people. The person who has no conscience and willingly plots to hurt others should be contained and / or rendered incapable of perpetrating evil on others. It is our God-given right and responsibility to oppose such people.
- Unintentional Evil Still Hurts – When people do bad things unintentionally, we still at times experience the consequences. It may be that a wrong done was plotted. It may be that it wasn’t. It was still wrong, but we at times don’t necessarily have a person actively plotting to hurt others.Sometimes this happens through carelessness and negligence. Other times, it can happen as a corollary effect of something bad another person actively plotted to do. Because we are made in God’s image, we were designed to see relationships between different objects, ideas, elements, understandings, etc. From seeing those pieces, we reason from particulars to the whole. However, because of what is called the ‘noetic effects of the fall’ i.e., how Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden affected our thinking, our thinking is flawed, incomplete and at times just plain wrong. Besides that, our thinking is many times colored by our experiences. So, by virtue of creation, we want to see connections and interpret events in terms of reasons for things happening, because God made us that way.
Knowing these things, what should we do?
- Contain and Eliminate Evil – Evil, like cancer, will continue to grow unless it is contained… regardless of it being the evil of our flesh or the evil in this world that we live in. This containment and elimination must happen regardless of if it is in ourselves or in others. Containment and Elimination can happen in a number of ways, but should always be pursued with Justice and Righteousness… meaning, if you are not the police, it is not your responsibility to incarcerate others.
- Use Judgment and Understanding – The Book of proverbs was written so that we can have good judgment and discernment. We need to be familiar with the teaching of the book of Proverbs. Additionally, we need to be familiar with God’s law, which will go a long way toward being able to think accurately and understand life according to God given distinctions.
How to Discern Whether a Line of Thinking is of a Conspiratorial Nature or Not:
- Off the ‘beaten’ path – The line of thinking is not a part of the main stream of discussion or consideration.
- Fear Evoking – The line of thinking trends toward or is bent toward evoking feelings of fear. This type of fear isn’t the same as a healthy ‘respect’ of a lion when you are on a safari, nor is it the type of fear you experience when standing next to the Grand Canyon’s edge. The fear is a fear that is content to do nothing but advance its cause of creating more fear. This type of fear breeds on itself and spins out of control.
- Outlandish – The line of thinking has a characteristic of being bizarre or unfamiliar.
- Sells a Product – The fear can be solved by purchasing a product, voting for a person, etc. This technique is referred to as a ‘call to action’ in marketing strategies and advertising techniques.
To sum up, God is the one who has planned everything, but His plans are for good. Satan also has plans. His plans are for evil. God allows Satan and those controlled by him to plan and carry out evil plans. The evil planned by the evil people results in their condemnation and work for the good of the blesed people. The evil people are not necessarily aligned tactically in their evil, but because they are enemies of God, they are aligned via purpose, mission, goal and strategy.