257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
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“The popularity of conspiracy theories is explained by people's desire to believe that there is – some group of folks who know what they're doing.”
Damon Knight
July 4th, 2010
Did you know that there are actually individuals who have suggested that the BP Oil spill was the result of a “tree hugger” conspiracy? That the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, occurring as it did on the eve of Earth Day and the impending Cap and Trade Bill announcement and just after President Obama's allowance of new drilling leases was really done by some underground group of “environmental whackos”? The premise is that it’s a small step from spiking trees to blowing up oil rigs and to radical environmentalists. In their minds, the destruction of the Gulf is a small price to pay to save the Gulf from destruction.
Of course, you have heard of those who believe that our government was actually behind the September 11th attacks. One survey found that 36% of those responding to their survey said they thought it was "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that "people in the federal government either assisted in the September 11th attacks or took no action to stop the attacks because they wanted the United States to go to war in the Middle East."
For some reason Americans have always loved conspiracy theories. Several hundred gathered at a recent Chicago conference to hear Steven Jones, a Brigham Young University physicist who is studying the idea that the World Trade Center towers were brought down by explosives detonated from inside. Amazingly, there is still interest in spite of the fact that the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and other independent non-governmental groups, concluded that the massive fires caused by the crash of the hijacked planes were enough to bring the buildings down.
So what's really going on here? Why do Americans love conspiracy theories so much? Historian, Richard Hofstadter, in an essay titled, "The Paranoid Style in American Politics," written a year after the Kennedy assassination, argued that we often lack a crucial sense of "how things do not happen."
Many Christians also buy into conspiracy theories about cataclysmic events. Consider the impact that popular interpretations of the book of the Revelation have held on Christians since the 1st century. The 2nd century teacher Montanus' vibrant millennialism spawned a mass hysteria that led many followers to believe that the ancient city of Perpuza, in Asia Minor, would become the apocalyptic New Jerusalem. The results of this conspiracy theory were more than harmful to the Christian witness. Even the early church father, Tertullian, became a convert to this sort of teaching before his death, demonstrating that extremely bright and devoted people can be taken in by fantasies. While Tertullian remained orthodox in almost every other essential doctrinal area, he went to seed on prophecy. Church history is filled with the names of religious conspiracy theorists all the way down to our present day.
Today we have a new version of these radical prophets who risk their lives and that of their devoted followers like the late David Koresh. And there are a good number of lesser known pastors and teachers who convince people of a number of other dangerous conspiracies. Many of them publish bestselling books, assuring their readers that they really know and understand the “real” meaning of Scripture. Have you noticed though that when these teachers make predictions about the direction of current events they are very often badly wrong? Prophecy Guru, Hal Lindsey, assured his readers of the timing of the terminal generation which he said would come in forty years. Fifty years have now come and gone since he made that prediction. Jack Van Impe predicted that the Communist flag would wave over the U.S. capital on the 200th birthday of our country in 1976. It didn’t happen but nothing creates a buzz among church groups like a great discussion about the end-times. To question this is to be seen as not really believing the Bible literally. And who wants to have a low view of the Bible if they love Jesus and the Scriptures?
Many Christians engage in the kind of scriptural exegesis that Augustine appropriately called fantastica fornicatio. The simple facts are clear–history is littered with people who sincerely sought to interpret end time events and were sincerely wrong. Those apocalyptic texts of the Old and New Testaments tend to tempt us to become preoccupied with signs and wonders, with secrets and mysteries. Those who assure us that they understand them appear to have insights the rest of us lack...they know that the end is near. The problem comes when these fantasies lead to conspiracy theories that actually cause believers to seek God's will through their teaching and actions and thus even to try to hasten the end-times.
Many "true believers" are willing to fight over their understanding of the meaning of the prophetic Scriptures. You’ll find them in nearly every evangelical church. They watch television preachers, listen to CDs, read popular books on prophecy, and follow the events of the Middle East waiting for the end.
So is there any real harm in this? I believe so. It’s been my experience that those who are preoccupied with conspiracies typically have no deep and abiding interest in the missional mandate of Jesus. They’re more concerned about winning converts to their theory than to the Gospel. Then, if we remain focused on conspiracies, we’ll miss the present opportunity "to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).
Conspiracy theories work, they sell books. Apparently, they also have a huge following in America, a nation deeply influenced by the Bible and prophetic ideas. The same Scripps poll that found out our views about 9/11 also uncovered information that suggests that 38% of Americans believe the government is probably withholding proof that there's intelligent life on other planets. So maybe you should start working on learning Vulcan?
Seeking to study and understand prophecy is important. Let’s be careful though, to be clear where God’s Word is clear, yet honestly admit that there are many passages that we can only speculate on. What is very clear though is that we are to seek to live godly lives and share the Gospel with everyone around us. So let’s focus on what we know and do that!
