By doing our homework.
We live in the age of conspiracies. My Facebook newsfeed is full of the stuff. Some are funny, some are weird, and some are downright dangerous.
My favourite is the conspiracy theory that doubts that Australia exists. It’s truly beautiful. Very few people take this one seriously. It’s mostly an injoke, something people use to mock other conspiracy theories online.
It believes that, for some nefarious reason, Australia is a made-up land. After all, this so-called down under is filled with ridiculous mythical beasts like kangaroos, koala’s, and the worst spiders known to man. How could such strange creatures be real? Surely, they must come from the vivid imagination of the Illuminati.
The flat-Earth conspiracy theory is also pretty weird. Suspicious of modern science and astronomy, it teaches that the world is entirely flat. After all, it does feel kind of flat. Those pictures taken by satellites? Yep, they are fake. We have all been duped by the space agencies of this world, who, while pretending to explore the universe, are actually just siphoning our taxes into their scheming pockets.
Both of these conspiracies are fascinating and a little funny.
QAnon, however, is downright terrifying.
This one is massive, all based on secrets being leaked to the public by a mysterious figure named Q. At its core, it believes that the elite of this world, the higher-ups who have all the power, are essentially a gang of peadophiles. That’s the simple explanation. It’s actually got a lot more layers to it. It acts with revolutionary fervour, taking something good, our desire to protect our children and our families, and turning it in on itself.
It targets politicians like Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden, claiming Donald Trump is the one leader who is fighting for what is good. At its worst it is filled with racism, anti-semitism, and hatred.
These theories do really well when the world is unstable. As the world ain’t doing so good right now, we need to be aware of them and the threat they pose. Many in our churches believe them. Some of our family will, maybe unknowingly, be drawn into this stuff. In two of the articles I link to above, religion is connected to conspiracy theories.
The Guardian actually singles out evangelical Christians as people who are ‘vulnerable to magical thinking.’ Pretty harsh stuff.
In light of that, how can Christians protect themselves from falling for a bunch of lies?
Simply put, we need to do our research, and not simply believe what we read on the internet.
Contrary to popular belief, the Bible has a great deal of respect for good, solid, research. While it makes bold claims, and it wants us to believe them, it also expects us to do our homework well.
Luke is a great example of this. He wrote one of the gospels, which tell the story of Jesus’ life. Here is how he begins his book:
Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honourable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. (Luke 1:1-4)
Luke writes this stuff because it is true, and he wants other people to know about it. In particular, he wants a bloke called Theophilus to hear the story of Jesus.
Luke wants to tell the truth, so he puts the work in. He has checked other people’s accounts of what has gone on. It says that he has ‘carefully investigated everything.’ He has not simply clicked a link on Facebook, read an wildly misleading article, and then just pressed the share button. Luke has worked hard to find out if these things are true.
Accuracy matters to him. Truth matters.
While modern Christians aren’t always good at checking whether or not things were true, Luke, and the other early believers, took it very seriously. We should learn from their example. We should be investigators of the truth, dedicated to finding out what really happened.
At the heart of Christianity lies a message that claims to be true. It is the message that God has, God does, and God will save his people. It is a message that something is deeply wrong with the world, but God, through Jesus Christ, has brought a solution through his death on the cross. If this message is not founded on the truth, then it is worthless.
That is why the early Christians cared so much about what was true, and it is why we should as well. We should join with Luke and become investigators of the truth.
Next time your come across a new piece of information on the internet, try asking the following questions:
- Does this information come from somewhere or someone reliable? Generally speaking, advice shared by NHS England is reliable. A Facebook live video from your Uncle Dave may not be.
- Is this the whole truth? Check out other sources of information to find out if there is anything you are missing out on. Snopes should be able to help you out with this.
- Does this make sense? If it sounds bananas, it might just be bananas.
- Do I want this to be true? If you desperately want something to be true, you might be willing to overlook inconsistencies in a story.
Christians are meant to be people of the truth. Let’s act like it.
For an informal bibliography, see page 2.
One Hundred and Nineteen 
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