What do presidential birth certificates, terrorist attacks, cloud seeding, and coronavirus response have in common? They are all subjects of conspiracy theories. I could tell you where I stand on each of the aforementioned conspiracy theories, but I think that would be helping the devil’s work as he tries to divert our attention from the real conspiracies that matter. Today, I’d ask you to think about three things: 1) Why do people gravitate to conspiracy theories? 2) Are there real conspiracies? 3) What should my response be?
1) Why do people gravitate to conspiracy theories?
I think there is in all of us a recognition that something is amiss in this world. In the latter portion of Romans 1, Paul talks about the reality of both our recognition of God’s hand in the world and the giving over of people to debased minds. We see that our world has gone fundamentally wrong, both individually and corporately. We see in history the tendency of people, individually and in groups, to use power to oppress and deceive. So when someone says, “Maybe they are seeding the clouds” or “I think they are locking down churches to take our freedom”, we see the plausibility of such theories in the reality of our broken world. Of course human conspiracies exist, and of course not every conspiracy is true.
Here’s an analogy: Before I saw the movie “Jaws”, the ocean was a beautiful, inviting place. After that movie made me keenly aware of sharks, I saw the possibility of a “shark conspiracy” under every wave. Are there sharks in the ocean? Absolutely. Are they under every wave? Of course not.
2) Are there real conspiracies?
As there are real sharks, there are real conspiracies, and I think there are two that we should focus on here. The first is the real conspiracy of evil. There is a force in this world that seeks to do evil (1 Pet 5:8). That force disrupts through lies and deceit (John 8:44), and this conspiracy is worldwide, with its tentacles into every government, every organization, and every human heart that has not been reformed by Christ. Perhaps we could call this the Anti-God Conspiracy, and according to God’s word it is real as you and I. But there is also a second conspiracy, what Dallas Willard calls the “Divine Conspiracy”, a conspiracy by the Creator of the universe to overcome the Anti-God Conspiracy, to silence the evil in human hearts through redemption and sanctification, to physically overpower the evil that exists in real form in this world, and to condemn for all time that evil that drives the Anti-God Conspiracy. A huge part of the Gospel message is the reality of this Divine Conspiracy.
3) What should my response be?
God’s word says that there are two real conspiracies. That’s why I say that every Christian should be a Conspiracy Theorist. But what do we do with that? Let me offer three suggestions:
To begin with, let’s not mistake the latest social-media-driven conspiracy theory for the real Anti-God Conspiracy. Satan would like nothing more than for us to tear ourselves apart with mistrust and backbiting as we accuse and counter-accuse. Is there a “conspiracy” driving us to economic catastrophe in response to the coronavirus? There may very well be. But that conspiracy is not centered in that terrified politician or that exhausted PhD who is giving advice on the news every day or that sensationalist reporter who makes every day seem like humanity’s last. Human conspiracies do exist, but even where they do, they are part of the greater conspiracy. We don’t need a human conspiracy to explain what’s going on. God has already revealed the Anti-God Conspiracy that has been going on for millennia and that is marching inexorably toward a final end that He has already decreed. Which means that we should realize one thing…
Realize that this big conspiracy is centered on lies. The Enemy in charge of the Anti-God Conspiracy has spent decades convincing Americans that they should be able to control nature, that “salvation” is found in government or human effort, that economics is only about evil wealth, and that death should be avoided at all costs. If there are smaller conspiracies going on right now, they are fundamentally based not in the collusion of an evil cabal of people but in people that are caught deception: the governor who is terrified that people will die “on his watch”, the physician-political-advisor who believes that any social lockdown is justified because the government is “the only answer”, and the ordinary citizen who (despite a very low mortality rate) cowers in fear that death is an ultimate end. Our fight is not against these “conspirators” but against the evil behind them and the lies that evil sells. Which leads to my last suggestion…
We must fight in light of the real conspiracies. That means we must PRAY for truth and the peace of God to invade people’s lives. We must ENGAGE in real, winsome discussion based on facts, logic, and the realities of the human heart –in order to defeat the lies that have been sown so widely. It is not generally helpful to protest and shout, “You are one of the deceivers!” No, our strategy is to say, “Let us reason together” (Isa 1:18) and discover the truth. To be clear, it is entirely appropriate to CONTEND with those who have been deceived, to advocate for the removal of those in power who are clearly off the rails, and to unflinchingly call out foolishness and untruth. But without love all of these actions become nothing (1 Cor 13:1-3). And always we must trust in the supreme Divine Conspiracy, knowing that all is in God’s perfectly capable hands.
Let me close by calling to mind the beginning of the church. God’s perfect conspiracy advanced after the resurrection of our Lord, and it did so through numerous small actions of inconsequential men and women who believed in Christ. And by their action, salvation has spread across the world. That time and that strategy have not ended. Invade your own small world with God’s love and truth. If we each do that, we will see human conspiracies crash and the Anti-God Conspiracy come to its predetermined end.
Fight the good fight! “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” Rom 16:20