As iron sharpens iron,
one person sharpens another. (Proverbs 27:17)
In a recent USA Today article, “I concluded that ‘we need pastors, leaders, and everyday Christians to address this conspiracy, and others like it, before others are fooled.’ With this in mind, I wanted to address some pushback and offer some steps leaders can take.” - Ed Stetzer
Delivered By C.H. Spurgeon on Lord’s-Day Morning, October 27, 1889 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington.
“I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people and to His saints: but let them not turn again to folly.” Psalm 85:8.
“It’s been painful to see the church in America follow the national discourse….. Watching old college friends—who never expressed political opinions before—suddenly waging virtual war on Facebook regarding justice (on both sides) reveals just how all-consuming politics has become.” - TGC
“In today’s culture…we privilege instant answers to complicated questions. And wisdom is rarely speedy (Prov 29:20). This is not merely a problem of online media. Christian leaders in an effort to communicate effectively often (and understandably) give simple and speedy answers.” - Wyatt Graham
“Many Christians have sunk so deeply into Q that it fills a lot of their conversations and most of their time online. Cult expert Steve Hassan said he is swamped with thousands of emails from family members concerned about their loved ones who are suddenly deep into QAnon.” - WORLD
Paul lists three great virtues, “faith, hope and love” in 1 Corinthians 13:13, yet he informs us that “love” is the greatest of the three. Two books of the Bible are devoted to the virtue of wisdom: Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. How can anyone underestimate the importance of wisdom in light of this? But the fruit of the Spirit (Gal.5:22-23) and the armor of God (Eph. 6:14-18) are two more examples of “virtue lists” found in God’s Word—and there are many more.
President Trum’s recent “explicit endorsement of the theory’s believers, if not quite the theory itself, is new territory for Trump. It will bring QAnon further into the political mainstream and make this cultic movement a greater threat to the American church.” - C.Today
“Mark Fugitt, senior pastor of Round Grove Baptist Church in Miller, Missouri, recently sat down to count the conspiracy theories that people in his church are sharing on Facebook. The list was long…. But since 2017, a sort of ur-conspiracy theory, QAnon, has coalesced in online forums and created millions of believers.” - RNS
“It is not that all individuals are level-headed, or reflective, or kind, or merciful. It is that level-headedness, or introspection, or kindness, or mercy are only possible for individuals.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is God’s training ground. What are we learning? What will we be prepared to do in the future because of what God has taught us through this pandemic?” - M.R. Conrad
Discussion