Conspiracy Theory

We seem to love them -- conspiracy theories. They've been around since the beginning of time. The first one on record was the serpent's when he asked Eve, "Did God say ...?", suggesting that the Godhead was trying to pull a fast one on Man. It never lets up after that. To this day people swallow these theories of conspiracy wholesale, as if they can't get enough.

No matter who you are, you've either heard some good ones or even believed them at some time or another. We all know, for instance, that Lee Harvey Oswald did not kill J.F.K. We're not agreed on who did, but it wasn't Oswald. There are conspiracies about aliens (Who doesn't know the word, "Roswell"?), the government, the CIA, the Illuminati. There are the drug problem among blacks and the worldwide AIDS crisis caused by white supremacists. The Moon landing was a myth, TWA Flight 800 was actually shot down, and Princess Diana was murdered. Some people recommend aluminum foil hats because "they" (We're never completely clear on who "they" are) are trying to read our minds ... and they can. There are the Freemasons, the ACLU, the Communists (still), and the Vatican. It has been suggested in fiction and bought into as fact that the entirety of Christianity was a conspiracy.

There are conspiracies on the grandest of scales. World War II was actually a plot by F.D.R. to try to recover from the Depression, brought about primarily by the Industrial Military Complex (IDC). (Remember that one. They're big in conspiracy theories.) The government, nay, the President himself, conspired to have us believe that 9/11 was done by Islamic terrorists when, in truth, it was the government. The banks are conspiring today to bankrupt the nation, thereby giving themselves ultimate power. Did you know that the NSA is monitoring everything you and I do? They know what you buy, where you go, what you do. They know who you call, when you get up in the morning, what you read, and what you do on the Internet. (Shame on you!) Every single bit of data is compiled and stored about every single human in this country ... and beyond. The goal is ultimate power, and they already have it, you stupid sheep! Did you know that President Bush started the Iraq War for oil? Or was it for the IDC? (See? I told you they were big.) Or maybe it was just to recover from looming recession? I don't know. Sometimes there are too many to keep up with. I even heard one recently that conspiracy theories were being disseminated by secret government agencies to cloud the truth about conspiracy theories. You know, that way you won't know a real one when you see it.

The disappointing thing is that so many Christians buy into so many of these theories. It seems like at least once a week I receive an email from some good-hearted Christian who is concerned that we are under the threat of some conspiracy and we need to act now! Write your congressman! Get out the vote! Stop the ACLU! As if 1) the grand conspiracy against God and His people started recently by human hands and 2) we have the capacity to stop it. Don't you recognize that the only good conspiracy will be one without evidence? (That was intended as humor. If you nodded sagely and agreed, you missed the point.)

In a time when politicians are pressing for our votes and we are struggling to select the lesser evil and a time when Christians are losing favorable standing in our society and a time when we are called on to be more "involved" -- you know, part of the solution, not part of the problem -- it seems to me that we're being pushed into action against something we aren't supposed to fight. We, as Christians, have some very specific orders. Make disciples. Love God. Love one another. There are several specific commands, but none of them include, "Defend Christianity against annihilation." Jesus said, "I will build My Church." Maybe the notion that we need to save Christianity is a conspiracy theory too far. Maybe we have more important things to do than wrestle with conspiracy theories. I know I do.