Big Foot. Lochness. Area 51. "Conspiracy Theories" are all the rage today. How do we process these sorts of things from a Christian perspective?
The Brian Dainsberg Podcast
Q&A: Conspiracy Theories
What God has directly revealed in His Word ought to be the object of our obsession far more than things not revealed in His Word. What God has made clear is far more important for us to know than what God has not made clear. Greetings ladies and gentlemen boys and girls, welcome to the Brian Dainsburg podcast Christian Living in a Complicated World. I'm your host Brian Dainsburg, Lead Pastor of Alliance Bible Church and we are diving into the murky waters of conspiracy theories. We're continuing the series on answering questions that were submitted throughout the summer months and last month we delve into the subject of politics and voting and there were a couple questions that came in about conspiracy theories. So we're going to dive into that today. I don't know if this is real or perceived but there seems to be an expectation that pastors are experts in everything just in case you didn't know that's not true. Pastors are generalists, not specialists. We know a little bit about a lot of things but we're not really experts in anything. When I delve into a topic like this one, conspiracy theories, which is just a labyrinth, I'm offering the reflections from the perspective of a generalist. I have not spent a lot of time thinking about this topic. I've given it a couple of hours reflection but I'm no expert. So the point of this podcast really is to offer the listener six ideas to think about as you engage the topic of conspiracy theories, bringing to bear our Christian faith, our Christian worldview, the grand story of the Bible. Let me offer six things to consider when we engage with or contemplate so-called conspiracy theories. The first one is this, be wary of labels like conspiracy theory, be wary of labels. I've expressed my dislike of try labels in previous podcasts. I think labels can be sloppy. They tend to become imprecise over time. They often change and therefore they prove unhelpful. This is not just the case with conspiracy theory but all labels, you've got to be careful with those. For this particular topic, we really do need a more precise definition of conspiracy theory that remains fixed. Potentially, here's a suggestion, just get rid of the word conspiracy and use the word theory by itself. No matter how ridiculous you think the theory is, don't attach the label conspiracy to it. I'll explain why in a minute but here's what I did. I did a Google search. I just typed in conspiracy theories and went to a number of websites that list them. Talk about them, whatever. Here are some of them that were on the lists of these various sites. 9/11 was an inside job performed by the US government. JFK assassination was an inside job. The moon landing was staged. The earth is flat. The COVID-19 virus was due to a lab leak. The COVID-19 vaccines injected digital chip into the body. Area 51, the government's hiding evidence of life forms from other planets. There was one website that listed this. There were multiple shooters involved in the Trump assassination attempt. Then, of course, you got the classics, Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. All of those, but the list is long. That's just a sampling. All of those have been labeled as conspiracy theories at one point or another by multiple sources. One of the reasons I dislike labels and it's true of conspiracy theory is that it becomes unnecessarily pejorative. Just like the term woke, it can become unnecessarily pejorative. Now, that doesn't mean I endorse the worldview typically associated with woke, but do the work. When addressing conspiracy theories, being pejorative shouldn't be the goal. When addressing conspiracy theories, being pejorative shouldn't be the goal. All we should care about is being accurate. Additionally, because the term conspiracy theory can become pejorative, it also tends toward being prematurely dismissive and even intellectually lazy. As I mentioned in the list above, there was one website that talked about the conspiracy theory that the COVID-19 virus was a result of a lab leak in China. I have not followed this all that closely. That idea was labeled as a conspiracy theory, but it seems to me as time has gone on, this so-called conspiracy theory has become more and more accepted as a viable hypothesis. Apparently, in some medical circles or scientific circles, as the leading candidate to explain where it came from. Now, it's not true that everything listed in the category of conspiracy theory is going to prove to be true, but I just don't think the label conspiracy theory is helpful for this case in point. It's unnecessarily pejorative, it's prematurely dismissive, and it can create laziness in those who use the term. So whether it's the Loch Ness Monster Area 51 or the moon landing, it's a theory. It's a theory. We can't be afraid of theories. No matter how ridiculous it sounds, it's a theory. Now, in the same breath, we must insist the one who posits the theory is responsible to prove it using sound methods. So my second reflection is this, beware of so-called conspiracy theories or theories that lack sound logic and verifiable proof. Unless your God, saying so, doesn't make it so. There's been an explosive trend in people using inflammatory language in order to make an emotional point without providing substance to establish the tenets of what's been stated. Just because someone says the moon landing was staged and the government has covered it up doesn't mean it's true. Saying so doesn't make it so. The onus is on the one positing the theory to walk through all the fundamentals of logic. And those include question, research, hypothesis, experiment, data analysis, conclusion. In order for a theory to be true, there has to be sound logic and verifiable proof of the theory. So many people today are not able to jump through the necessary hoops to establish the veracity of their claim, a claim they likely heard from someone who also hasn't jumped through the necessary hoops to establish the veracity of the theory they hold to. Compounding this problem of not offering sound logic and verifiable proof is a tendency to rush to a conclusion. We have to remember that speed is not a virtue. If you're hearing a theory you've never heard before, don't prematurely dismiss it out of hand, but don't prematurely rush to acceptance of it. Speed is not a virtue. Let it play out. Does the theory have the necessary methodological backing to hold water? So I would say this, beware of so-called theories that lack sound logic and verifiable proof. Third, you don't have to be an expert in everything. Now I have a theory. I have a theory that if I had enough funding, I could produce a documentary that could work powerfully to convince you anything is true. Why? Because I could overwhelm the listener with statistics, literary references, expert-sounding testimony, and all such manner of rhetorical flair to persuade you what I'm advocating for is true. If I had enough funding, I could persuade you anything is true. If I had enough funding, I could create another project, another documentary that contradicts everything I produced in the first documentary, everything I just argued for. Why is this possible? Here's why it's possible. We don't have enough time, nor do most of us have the capacity to chase down the details pertaining to this or that theory, to chase down the details that pertain to establishing the truth of this or that theory. We just don't, we don't have that, just because something sounds academically legitimate doesn't mean it is. I think people are easily fooled by intelligent sounding, but in the end substance lacking information. But the problem is, we don't have enough time, nor do most of us have the background, for us to step by step, point by point, work through the proof of that theory to either affirm or deny its soundness. And you know what? That's okay. You don't have to. My personal stance towards most of these, these things, these theories, conspiracy theories, whatever you want to say, my stance towards most of these is saying so doesn't make it so, and maybe, maybe not, maybe, maybe not, unless it makes a mockery of God or a mockery of the Christian gospel or a mockery of the word of God or it denigrates Jesus, his church. I probably won't spend a single minute thinking about it because I feel no pressure whatsoever to have to be an expert in it. None. And neither should you. You don't have to be an expert in everything. Fourth, related, the words I don't know would mitigate conspiracy theories. The words I don't know would mitigate conspiracy theories. When people in positions of authority give confident explanations for some such phenomena, and those explanations later prove to be wrong, it creates suspicion in the eyes of the public. The public then goes looking for different explanations. But without adequate resourcing capacities and time, the public is prone to falling prey to explanations that may not be sound. Leaders shouldn't pretend to know. The words I don't know are perfectly acceptable. And as the public, part of the public, we need to be okay with those words. Right? We tend to have an unhealthy, overly optimistic view of so-called experts. As Christians, we need to respect those in authority, but they aren't impeccable. As a society, I think it would serve us well to take down a few notches or lofty views of professionals or experts. They don't know everything. They are fallible. They can be wrong. What they have to say can be off the mark. So the words I don't know, well, it's very hard for us to use them, would mitigate conspiracy theories. Fifth, some things aren't known. Not only are leaders fallible wrong off the mark, guess what? So is everybody else. Human beings have severe limitations. Some things aren't known. Some things can't be known. But we have a hard time accepting that. The subtle pursuit of omniscience, knowing all things, is an insidious form of idolatry. When we believe there's nothing we can't know, we have subtly ascribed to ourselves an attribute that characterizes God alone. That is idolatry. And if we insist on clinging to this faulty notion that we can know or discover anything, we will end up subscribing to conspiracy theories. Why? Because there will be instances where something can't be known, but because we insist we can know, we'll push until we've convinced ourselves we know. Whether or not our new found belief is true. Now, this is a big problem, I think, particularly for Christians because it creates another problem, and that's this. Circulating some belief that is false is the biblical definition of slander. Circulating some belief that is false is the biblical definition of slander. You can throw gossip in there too, both of which are sins. Circulating false information is sin. So we need to remember that some things aren't known, some things can't be known. Sixth, and finally, the most important things for you to know have been clearly revealed in God's Word. The most important things for you to know have been clearly revealing God's Word. Deuteronomy 29-29 says, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." What is this saying? This verse affirms that there are things unknown to us, but known to God. And we are not responsible for those things. There are far too many Christians obsessed with these theories flying around out there. They are negligent in their duties to meditate on Scripture day and night. What God has directly revealed in His Word ought to be the object of our obsession far more than things not revealed in His Word. What God has made clear is far more important for us to know than what God has not made clear. So, six reflections on conspiracy theories. How do we think about these things? What are the things to be cognizant of as we engage? We'll be aware of labels, right? Be aware of labels. We don't want to be unnecessarily pejorative. It often leads to laziness. Let it be a theory. Beware of so-called conspiracy theories that lack sound logic and verifiable proof. So much stuff out there has not actually gone through the right tests to prove whether or not something is legitimate. Third, you don't have to be an expert in everything. Be okay with not knowing. The words I don't know would mitigate conspiracy theories. It's okay for us to use those three words. I don't know. Number five, some things aren't known. Some things can't be known. Remember, you're not omniscient. God is. There are some things that we will never know. And last, the most important things for you to know have been clearly revealed in God's word. Make that your passion. Make that your confident, your persistent place where you put your love and your loyalty. So, when it comes to these theories, I often have a simple posture. The two reflections I most often adopt are saying so doesn't make it so. I often will say that. And maybe maybe not. Maybe maybe not. May God give us better focus on the things He wants us spending our time and energy thinking about. Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next time. [BLANK_AUDIO]