Pentecost is the truest conspiracy
The church can conspire—breathe together—to bring goodness into the world.
Conspiracy theories do not present the best face of contemporary culture. The people behind them hatch sinister plots and disseminate cruel disinformation. Their theories mutate, garnering huge online followings and creating broad distrust of reputable institutions. A generation ago, most Americans would have found it preposterous to imagine that conspiracy entrepreneurs could successfully undermine essential science and fact-based scholarship through cockeyed suspicion. Today, we’re forced to put up with (or put down) every variety of incoherent claim, even or especially when there’s no supporting evidence that’s able to withstand the least scrutiny.
Not surprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has unleashed a flurry of conspiracy theories. Such theories tend to thrive in times of uncertainty and crisis, and the coronavirus has provided the perfect backdrop for some crazy ideas: the “deep state” is manipulating data. Bill Gates created the virus to further his plot to vaccinate the world. COVID-19 doesn’t actually exist.
What’s fascinating to me about all conspiracy theories, including those that intentionally sow conflict or nefariously foster danger, is the sort of people who end up becoming adherents. Many of them are thoughtful, intelligent people who wouldn’t seem otherwise susceptible to ruse.
