Avoiding Conspiracy Thinking
by Jeff Reed
The Apostle Paul once offered some great advice to Timothy that is urgently relative to our world today. “As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith” (1 Timothy 1:3-4, ESV). These speculative myths, Timothy was told to call out, have a modern equivalent.
Contemporary conspiracy theories are unproven speculations that lead individuals away from the fundamentals of faith in Jesus. Mainstream Christian conspiracy theorists will often combine their theories with biblical prophecies to promote imaginary fears. This behavior makes these teachers biblically unfit stewards spreading paranoia and fear to those who listen to them, and it is the opposite of what Jesus wants for His Church. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27, ESV).
Conspiratorial thinking is a thought process of seeing collusions and evil when none exist. Despite overwhelming objective proof that their conclusions are wrong, conspiracy theorists are unwavering in their delusions. The typical reaction to evidence is to conclude that the source of these facts is part of the cover-up. Surprisingly, according to a Washington Post poll, at least half of Americans accept at least one conspiracy theory. Belief in these falsehoods can affect mental and physical health and dangerously lead Christians away from sound doctrine. It is essential to understand that humans tend to develop a herd mentality, and large groups of people can believe misinformation due to emotions rather than reasoning. As part of the Church, we are told to be different.
“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4). Currently, many in the evangelical Church believe some ridiculous myths.
Frankly, most conspiracy theories that sound insane are insane, and the individuals misled by them could develop distorted thinking patterns. These thinking patterns could, and sometimes do, prevent Christians from rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). So, can Christians avoid conspiratorial thinking? Yes, it is possible with a few biblical fundamentals to avoid being misled.
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions” (1 Timothy 1:5-7, ESV). A true Christian teacher will preach love. False teachers have vain discussions. In other words, they teach nonsense. Listening to confident nonsense from someone who appears knowledgeable could possibly deceive us. As Christians, we must be able to identify when someone teaching is a deceiver.
Here are some examples of the behaviors a deceiver may use:
They will cherry-pick their information, pretending to be objective, avoiding anything that counters their narrative. A false teacher accomplishes this by avoiding certain Bible verses or news sources that disagree with them. Biblical teachers are instructed to “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV).
They never will admit they are wrong. God’s Word instructs us to confess our faults to each other (James 5:16).
If one of their theories or predictions fails to occur, they will incorporate this into the conspiracy acting as if they were teaching this the whole time. But God tells us that “When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:22, ESV). We can also apply this verse to false predictions made by conspiracy theorists.
They use weasel words or statements that are ambiguous or misleading. Changingminds.org explains that “weasel words are designed to give the appearance of truth whilst protecting the speaker from attack or legal redress.” Jesus tells his followers to “let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” True biblical teachers teach unambiguously.
Another biblical practice that helps us avoid being consumed by false conspiracy theories is learning to trust experts. An expert is someone who has studied a particular topic, subject, or science and is trusted by their peers to be a reliable source of information. Most often, conspiracy theorists will use unreliable or dubious sources for support. God encourages us to pursue the best information. “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors, there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14, ESV).
Say, for example, we have 100 experts on a particular topic, and one of the experts believes that he is correct and that the other 99 are wrong. He could be accurate, but most likely, he is wrong. It is safer and wiser for us to believe the 99 over the one. “Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” (2 Corinthians 13:1, ESV). The more witnesses, the likelihood of their testimony being true increases. If conspiratorial thinking has corrupted your mind, you would be more likely to believe the one over the 99 if they agreed with your preconceived notions. And with actual conspiracy theories, it is more like believing the one out of a thousand or ten thousand. The minority opinion about something could sometimes be correct, but it is wise and prudent to be skeptical of their claims.
So what does a Christian need to do to examine conspiratorial claims objectively? “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere” (James 3:17, ESV). We need to ask for the wisdom that God can provide us, and this pure wisdom will present itself peaceably and gently. This behavior is the opposite of conspiracy theorists who often use vile language towards their opponents and hate those involved in their fictional hypotheses. This wisdom from God will make us open to reason, and we will examine facts with a genuinely open mind putting out our preconceived notions. Impartiality is a quality of the mind of God, He knows all the facts, and His conclusions are always right and just. God will give us this wisdom if we humbly let Him.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2015/02/19/fifty-percent-of-americans-believe-in-some-conspiracy-theory-heres-why/
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/liberal-fever-swamps/530736/
https://www.americansurveycenter.org/rise-of-conspiracies-reveal-an-evangelical-divide-in-the-gop/
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/quick-to-listen/conspiracy-theories-qanon-bible-christians-jesus.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_mentality
http://changingminds.org/techniques/language/modifying_meaning/weasel_words.htm