Combating End-Times Disinformation
The strangely ill-advised notion of a federal Disinformation Governance Board came to a merciful end this week—thankfully, at least for now.
As Americans, we cherish our First Amendment freedoms of religion, speech and the press, and tend to oppose anything that even vaguely appears to threaten them. Furthermore, as has been expressed far and wide in response to this oddly-timed proposal, we rightly view it as our role as citizens to critique the government of this Republic—not vice versa.
My purpose here, however, is to introduce a greater dilemma. Specifically, how are we as Christians to Biblically combat doctrinal, especially prophetic, disinformation?
Drawing further upon our heritage in the United States, we would never want to outlaw or silence anyone—even if they are actually heretical—lest the force of government, or big tech, also be used to cancel our ability to communicate. In fact, there have been numerous examples in recent months which make such a frightening proposition hit all-too-close to home. So, what are we to do?
It’s my observation that the Internet is breathing new life into various heresies and isms, along with so-called theological oddities of various stripes, allowing previously debunked positions to thrive once again. The spiritually “untaught and unstable” (2 Pet. 3:16) may thus be drawn in, thinking they’ve found someone who knows a heavenly secret—uncovering something that no one else has seen or taught before.