The amount of conspiracy theories shared on Facebook in the last month is absolutely staggering. Humans are meaning making creatures. When something doesn't fit our current paradigm of thinking, we pull together disparate facts...
...to make a story to that gives meaning, purpose, or reason. Using facts makes those stories believable. But just because something is believable doesn't make it true.
Sadly, most of the people I see sharing conspiracy theories are Christians.
Sadly, most of the people I see sharing conspiracy theories are Christians.
They are people I know who deeply love Jesus. Why are Christians so susceptible to believe and propagating conspiracy theories? I blame Left Behind.
Seriously.
Seriously.
Pre-millennialism is founded on having secret knowledge about how the world will end. It was built by uncovering the secret narrative hidden in disparate verses (facts) that gave meaning to the events around us.
Articles and news reports were dissected in order to line up current events with apocalyptic signs. The goal was to predict the coming of Jesus and the end of suffering in the world.
Finding secret knowledge that made sense of the world around us was the means of finding hope.
And that's the goal now. Conspiracy theories promise special knowledge that is hidden from the general public. Salvation is promised to those few who are willing to believe the story.
And that's the goal now. Conspiracy theories promise special knowledge that is hidden from the general public. Salvation is promised to those few who are willing to believe the story.
And of course, there is always an enemy trying to keep it hidden.
Conspiracy theories offer the false hope of special knowledge. But here's the truth: none of us really knows what all this really means.
Conspiracy theories offer the false hope of special knowledge. But here's the truth: none of us really knows what all this really means.
Our true hope comes from the promise that the one who does know holds all things together will one day bring restoration. When? Don't know. How? Don't know. But that's the salvation that's coming.
