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@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
🧵Christians & Conspiracy Theories🧵 There’s a growing trend of characterizing Christians who question a public narrative as unhinged “conspiracy theorists” guilty of “theological paranoia” But this is to ignore what’s obviously happening (admittedly incendiary examples below)
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
2 thoughts, then examples: A) Xians are to be “sober-minded” and SHOULDN’T childishly rush to believe (w/o evidence) theories bc they don’t like a narrative B) But, the list of things once labeled “conspiracy theories” that ended up having truth in them is long. Random order:
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
1A: Pre-2013, rumblings of the NSA spying on the American populace was a “conspiracy theory” https://t.co/36LvidDzw0
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
2A: Originally, President Trump’s claim that he was spied on during his administration / campaign was a “conspiracy theory” https://t.co/Na7YnbfrU5
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
3A: Famously, the Hunter Biden laptop story was originally a “conspiracy theory” that was “Russian disinformation” https://t.co/SnhUtUJc2f
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
4A: Originally, suggestions COVID leaked from a Wuhan lab were characterized as a “fringe conspiracy theory” https://t.co/lncXzYAw1W
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
5: Original speculation the FBI may have been involved in a 2020 plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer was characterized as a “far-right conspiracy theory” However, the accused men were eventually acquitted upon discovery of FBI agents’ involvement https://t.co/xNdddP7KsD
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
6: That President Trump colluded with Russia during the 2016 election was originally presented as a fact, and assertions contrary were “conspiracy theories” However… https://t.co/EMlOijpfA8
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
7: Originally, questions about the efficacy of mask mandates were censored as “misinformation” But then… https://t.co/wu3RkFl4GH
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
8A: Suggestions of inflated COVID death-rates were initially a “far-right meme” conspiracy theory https://t.co/3zqDfVkjoy
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
9: Questions about NIH funds contributing to gain-of-function research for COVID were initially “conspiracy theories” Eventually… https://t.co/M4ydByIyrm
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
10A: Originally, questions about US Navy involvement in the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline were conspiracy theories you only believed if you “consumed too much propaganda” https://t.co/qqbHqA7Cce
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
10B: Eventually published by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Seymour Hersh https://t.co/bBJHXD7x5A
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
11: Honestly, too gross to publicly discuss for me, but… https://t.co/NgASVhham6
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
12A: Initially, questions about hydroxychloroquine as an effective treatment for COVID were “conspiracies” https://t.co/sLI67FwJ5I
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
13: Original concerns that government agencies collaborated with social media companies to censor political voices leading up to the 2020 election were "conspiracy theories" However... https://t.co/RJDWJ3KDW3
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
14: Initial assertions about the sufficiency of natural immunity from COVID were censored as "disinformation" However... https://t.co/3qn52Km3Rq
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
SUMMARY: The above should NOT be foolishly taken as a reason to believe wild, unfounded (and often deranged) theories that don’t comport with reality or have serious evidence (flat-earth, lizard people… some of y’all are WEIRD!”)…
@howertonjosh - Josh Howerton
But, there are 2 ways to be gullible: 1) Rushing to, without evidence, believe conspiracy theories bc it’s what you want to believe (a sin) 2) Failing to understand it’s now a control-tactic to stigmatize any counter-narrative by labeling it a “conspiracy theory”