I’m a conspiracy theorist

(A repost from my update letter)

I was very well-behaved; I bit my tongue and didn't laugh, but as she started decrying the fifth conspiracy represented by the protest buttons on her backpack, it dawned on me that she was just an inner voice or two away from being genuinely paranoid. Though tempted to laugh, I left class that day with a feeling of pity for her, since it was evident she was very stressed and anxious about these things.

It all started when I asked one my French professors to explain a button she had pinned to her backpack. After a half-hour and a very vocabulary-expanding speech (on topics such as genetically modified grains, mineral mining, the construction of a new airport, etc), she finished recounting all the things she was protesting. I had to admire her spunk, but it was her deep conviction that all these things were being perpetrated by malevolent forces in corporations and the government that pushed it beyond what I would consider a normal concern for the environment or society to a genuine conspiracy theory.

I've certainly encountered several people here in France who seem convinced of major schemes in the world, and I've noticed an increase in such thinking in the States as well. In fact, in some ways it has become a mark of courage and intelligence to have a pet conspiracy theory. After a little internet-research, people are ready to rail against greedy capitalists, corrupt government, the medical establishment, the illuminati, the liberal media, Muslims, oil companies, banks, Mormons, aliens and the list goes on. And I'm pretty sure that I've heard conjectures of the Antichrist's existence in each one of these groups (well, maybe not among the aliens).

Certainly some of these things are concerning, but I find more disconcerting the power that many ascribed to these groups and the resulting fearful reactions to them. To listen to some, they have the power to suppress all information, to manipulate world events, and control us like mindless pawns. Again, the Bible is clear that we live in a fallen world and that the heart of man is deceitfully wicked, so I'm not saying there aren't causes for concern out there, just that we've perhaps taken it too far.

However, hearing all of this lately has given me fresh inspiration. So, here before you all, I'd like to confess to being a conspiracy theorist. Trust me; THEY do not want you to know about this. No event in history has ever been subjected to more numerous and vigorous cover-ups. They've hired historians to rewrite the books, scientists to produce studies to the contrary, and armies to chase down anyone professing the truth. Time to pin a Jesus-fish to your backpack because our Lord's crucifixion and resurrection is the conspiracy of conspiracies, the scandal of scandals, and our world still trembles under its impact. We are all too apt to forget this.

We obsess over and fear those things that we think might secretly control us, when all the while we've had this assurance: "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." (Rev. 1:17,18) We WERE mindless pawns being controlled by forces bigger than ourselves. The plot WAS well laid-out, the trap WAS SET, and we WERE lemmings marching to our deaths, but He's got the keys!

In Luke chapter 12, Jesus talks extensively about fear. He starts by talking about the Pharisees—a group that certainly held enormous power and who were actively involved in secret plotting. He says: "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops." (v. 2,3) He follows immediately with: "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do." (v.4) Their gig is up—they have been and will be exposed—and we are not to fear them.

A few lines later we are assured that the very hairs on our heads are numbered, and therefore we should not fear because He knows us. (v.7) He knows what we need, so we need not worry about what we will eat or drink. (v. 29) Instead, we are completely liberated to pursue the Kingdom. (v.31)

Let's live in that liberty and, as faithful servants, diligently tend to His Kingdom until His Return. Let's not participate in the fear mongering of the world or get so caught up in our own pet-theories that we lose sight of the very important work he has called us to here and now.