One of the prevailing connections I see among those prone to embrace conspiracy theories & prepackaged information is that they're often embedded in American consumer culture.
Critical thinking & drawing conclusions is hard. If your life has been marked by consumption, you're likely to opt for easy narratives & prepackaged answers.
Also, I'd add this: Be very wary of the temptation to distance yourselves from your brothers & sisters who claim the name of Christ & act in opposition to his teaching. It's too easy to wash your hands of them to preserve your own sense of righteousness.
Like it or not, we're in this together. And if my Christian brother or sister behaves in a way that is inconsistent w/ family values, I have a responsibility of some kind to them & to the name of Christ.
I am not responsible for their actions, but I am responsible for how I respond to their actions. And at some existential level, I am bound to them.
ISTM that some folks are more concerned with defending the name "Christian" than the name of Christ.
Hear me & hear me clearly:
This is not a moment to try to save face. Stop trying to defend the indefensible. Stop the spin. Some of the critiques aimed at American Christians right now are deserved.
Instead, humble yourself, listen to them, own our sins, repent & receive grace. This is a far greater witness to the truth of the gospel than stubbornly refusing to acknowledge our failures or deflect critique.
I've been listening to Ecclesiastes this week & man, if this wasn't on today's portion. Smh.
8:11 "Because the sentence against an evil act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit evil."
Followed by this:
12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and prolongs his life, I also know that it will go well with God-fearing people, for they are reverent before him.
13 However, it will not go well with the wicked, and they will not lengthen their days like a shadow, for they are not reverent before God.
"Person X is behaving badly so we better not make him more angry by holding him accountable..."
👆👆👆👆
This, this right here, is the lie that enables & fuels the plague of narcissistic leadership & abuse in the evangelical church.
Evangelicals are not unique in our temptations. This lie is present in other spaces. But of all people, we *should* be the ones to speak truthfully & stand against it.
I am not at all surprised to see this logic emerging in current circumstances. I am grieved by it though.
Co-sign. Working poor do not have the means or freedom to engage in what we saw at the Capitol last week. It is the privilege of those w/ expendable cash & free time.
Think about the time & money involved to travel, stay over night, purchase supplies, follow the conspiracies, etc.
Beyond this, only those with something to protect feel threatened by what happens politically. If you have little power to begin with, it really doesn't matter whether you're ruled by Ds or Rs.
One more quick thought & then I need to log off again:
So much of what we're dealing w/ right now is not simply about #alternativefacts. It's about rhetoric. That's why presenting new or differing facts doesn't move convo forward.
It's about the narratives we write--or who we trust to write them for us. It's not simply about data points but how you arrange that data & which facts you choose to highlight as important & pay attention to. It's the *connection* btwn data points & the meaning we assign to them.
It's about where we see patterns & how we interpret those patterns. That's why you *must* pay attention to the underlying assumptions, stated goals, & rhetorical structures.