Conspiracy Theories

“I’ve been asked this question more times and by more people than I can count over the past several weeks. …First of all, realize that the wisdom is true that one cannot reason someone out of something one was never reasoned into in the first place. …There is no easy step-by-step argument to pull someone out of a Facebook echo chamber.

“A new study from Nashville-based Lifeway Research finds 49 percent of U.S. Protestant pastors say they frequently hear members of their congregation repeating conspiracy theories they have heard about why something is happening in the country.” - BPNews

“As QAnon and other conspiracy theories begin to lose traction, pastors and church leaders face a decision. We can pretend that conspiracy theories were never really a threat to our congregation and simply move on unchanged…. Or, we can engage our people refocusing their attention back to the gospel and learn how we need to disciple better.” - Stetzer & McDonald

“…we have crossed a line from lone paranoid nuts to larger groups, who are starting to communicate with each other, all with an interconnected belief system.” - Geraghty

“ ‘Father, those that have lied, those that have stolen this election, those that have cheated, I place the curse of God upon them,’ Rev. Bob Rodgers of Evangel World Prayer Center in Louisville, which claims 9,000 members, said in a video clip from the service shared online.” - CPost

“This brings me to another question of discernment, viz., the question of falsifiability, or, ‘What would it take to change my mind?’” - Snoeberger

“Since Election Day, the president and his allied organizations have raised well over half a billion (billion!) dollars from supporters who have been led to believe that they’re contributing to a ferocious legal defense.

“A viral social media video insinuates that the COVID-19 vaccine contains trackable microchips that will be injected into vaccine recipients. The video, just under 4 minutes long, is a composite of clips …. they create a false impression that those who get vaccinated for COVID-19 will be injected with a ‘forced chip with a tracking device.’” - The Dispatch

“If you put your faith in President Trump’s claim of a presidential election stolen through massive alteration of votes through the use of voting software, and in the legal skills of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, I am sorry to tell you that you have been conned.” - N. Review

“… an important and informative paper authored by epidemiologist Dr. Tara C. Smith and law professor and vaccine advocate Dr. Dorit Reiss. I’ve linked to the journal article below. I urge you to read it.