Conspiracies and the Christian School
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The world is beset by conspiracy theories. Prominent conspiracies circulating include:
The QAnon conspiracy centered on a supposed cabal of celebrity sex traffickers and “the deep state.” This conspiracy theory, void of any evidence, is the work of an 4Chan poster named Q who claims to be a government employee with top-secret security clearance.
The allegation that big box e-retailer Wayfair is engaged in human trafficking by way of home cabinetry.
The assertion that 5G millimeter-wave spectrum used to transmit internet data to handheld devices interferes with the body’s natural chemistry making people sick with COVID-19.
The claim that Bill Gates wants to embed microchips into the human body through vaccines.
Conspiracy theorists like David Icke and InfoWars’ Alex Jones, claim that COVID-19 doesn’t exist but is a plot by the globalist elite to take away our freedoms.
The First Conspiracy Theory
Conspiracy theories are not new; they have plagued mankind since the Garden of Eden. Satan, the father of lies, promoted the first conspiracy theory — against God.
To lead Adam and Eve into sin and its slavery, misery and death, Satan suggested that the command not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was a sinister conspiracy by God to withhold knowledge and wisdom from Adam and Eve. Satan charged that God’s command was not to protect Adam and Eve but to condemn them to a life of ignorance.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. —Genesis 3:1ff
We are told in Ecclesiastes 1:9 that “what has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Falling for conspiracy theories is not new.
How to Spot a Conspiracy Theory from a Real One
Real conspiracies can be dangerous. False conspiracy theories are also dangerous to the spirtual and mental health of those who believe them and as illustrated by recent events in Washington DC, can lead to physical death and threats to our institutions.
To differentiate between actual conspiracies and conspiracy theories, Tangherlini, et al (2020) identified the differentiating narrative frameworks of each.
Conspiracy theories are largely fictional accounts accepted on faith and used to link and give meaning to stressful events. Conspiracy theories do not need to have any basis in truth. They are by their very nature uncovered, since they only exist in narrative.
Actual conspiracies, on the other hand, are factual events comprised of malign actors working covertly often in an extralegal manner, to effect some sort of outcome beneficial to those actors. 1
Real conspiracies are based on verifiable facts whereas conspiracy theories are based on conjecture and are by their nature never proven nor provable. Conspiracies exist in the real world. Conspiracy theories reside exclusively in the mind.
Truth is the Antidote for Conspiracy Theories
Just as Adam and Eve fell for the first conspiracy theory, many Christians are captivated by conspiracy theories that give rise to an enslaving fear, anxiety and a twisted, unhealthy and unbiblical worldview. This ought not be true of Christians. Jesus said that “the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) Paul tells us that we are to bring “every thought captive to obey Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:5)
Being captivated by truth frees us from slavery to lies. To set our students free from the enslaving power of conspiracy theories we must teach them the truth where the scripture speaks to an issue and give them the intellectual skills to assess fact from fiction and to distinguish credible sources of information from those lacking credibility.
Biblical Literacy
The precipitous decline in biblical literacy within the Christian community is well documented by researchers and pollsters. We can not assume that students or parents have a rudimentary knowledge of biblical stories and doctrine.
I was made painfully aware of this sad reality a few years ago. In developing a strategic plan I outlined three strategic themes to guide the plan.
One of those themes read: “create exceptional and unique world-class college preparatory programs to prepare our young men and women spiritually and academically to be modern Daniels.” I was told the theme needed to be changed because most students and parents, if they knew anything about Daniel at all, it was that he was thrown into the fiery furnace. They would not know of his impact on the king and on the Babylonian empire. The theme would not, therefore, resonate with students and parents. I ended up changing the theme to “create exceptional and unique world-class college preparatory programs to prepare our young men and women spiritually and academically to honor God through their service and their careers.”
This example illustrates the need to redouble our efforts to systematically teach biblical theology to our students. While practical life application is essential, effective life application must be grounded in an understanding of basic biblical theology. There are no shortcuts to studying the Bible.
Preparing Biblically Literate and Intellectually Astute Students
Intellectual laziness and information silos pose serious threats to our students, to our Christian communities and to our culture. As illustrated by the prevalence of conspiracy theories, we are easily led astray.
Our students need the intellectual tools to critically assess and distinguish between credible sources of information from unreliable sources. They need to understand basic logic. And, they need to understand the intellectual challenges of the related concepts of Confirmation Bias, Depth of Ingression, and Belief Perseverance.
Confirmation Bias
Confirmation bias is the tendency to process information by looking for, or re-interpreting, information that is consistent with one’s existing beliefs. This biased approach to information and decision making often results in ignoring information inconsistent with one's current beliefs. A prime example from history is the infamous battle between Galileo and the Catholic Church.
Depth of Ingression
Some beliefs are on the “periphery” of a person’s noetic structure (The total of everything a person believes plus the relationships between those beliefs) and could be given up without requiring much of a change in the rest of the belief system. Other beliefs, however, are so centrally held with such a depth that they could not be abandoned without requiring wholesale revision of a significant portion of a person’s beliefs.
Belief Perseverance
Belief perseverance is related to depth of ingression. It is a defense response when personal and core beliefs are challenged. It is the tendency to cling to one's beliefs in the face of contrary evidence. People resist anything that challenges deeply held beliefs, even if those beliefs are false.
Let's Set Our Students Free
Making our students aware of these intellectual dangers and inoculating them against conspiracy theories requires planning and hard work. It requires that we ensure they have a firm theological foundation. It requires that they are taught how to assess information and it requires that they possess the skills needed for clear and careful thinking. And, they need to practice these skills with gifted teachers who engage students in thoughtful activities and discussions to help them recognize conspiracy theories for what they are -- lies.
This is a tall task but an essential one if our students are to be set free by the truth.
Timothy R. Tangherlini. (2020). An automated pipeline for the discovery of conspiracy and conspiracy theory narrative frameworks: Bridgegate, Pizzagate and storytelling on the web. PLOS ONE.