Read on Twitter
I been thinking from a pastoral angle about Dan’s tweet here in light of this week’s events as well as the last 5 years in particular. I’m particularly distressed.
1/ https://twitter.com/dandarling/status/1347923778811080705
1/ https://twitter.com/dandarling/status/1347923778811080705
I’m distressed because I’m seeing “normal” people in my extended family & friends believing demonstrably false lies and conspiracies. I’m distressed because I’m seeing former colleagues in ministry, who are godly men & women, believing and spreading conspiracies.
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I’m seeing people in my own church network, including leaders & pastors, believing & spreading conspiracies. Our own church is not immune. I know how to react to the “random” internet guy believing conspiracies. I don’t know how to react to & help people I love & respect.
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This is what else is distressing: *Some* of these conspiracies and lies come from MAINSTREAM sources, not fringe internet subreddits.
How do we confront conspiracies and lies that come from people’s favorite news channel? What about their favorite TV news host?
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How do we confront conspiracies and lies that come from people’s favorite news channel? What about their favorite TV news host?
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What about their favorite radio talk host they’ve listened to since the 90’s? What about when the lies are coming from the President of the United States, or their Senators? All of those sources directly or indirectly said the 2020 election was stolen through mass fraud.
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The people who stormed the Capitol to stop the count of the electoral votes leading to the death of 5 people did not do so because they were stupid, but because, it seems, they believed these *mainstream* sources who told them it was. They were deceived by these sources.
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I’ve tried to be clear with friends, family, church members, & acquaintances, online & in person, when they were believing or spreading direct lies or conspiracies. I’ve shared reliable sources with them. Far too often, I’m labelled as “liberal,” an “SJW, “or someone with TDS
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Or, sometimes, people just roll their eyes at me & appease me a bit. Thankfully, that’s not always the case, especially with people who are genuinely confused and seeking insight why their favorite sources are saying the election is being stolen and there is nationwide fraud
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That’s not to mention that many *mainstream* pastors and respected Christian theologians have also been sources of lies and misinformation. What is a lay Christian to do when a systematic theologian they love says “Trump is a good man and his presidency is God’s blessing”?
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What is a lay Christian to do when a respected seminary president tells you, “The only way a Christian should vote in light of a biblical worldview is for Donald Trump.”
So when that President says, “The election was stolen!” how are Christians not to believe the President?
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So when that President says, “The election was stolen!” how are Christians not to believe the President?
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I haven’t touched on anything with COVID. What is a lay Christian to do when a respected pastor of 40+ years of ministry says, “There is no pandemic”? How does one refute someone with that much clout? They are mainstream and not fringe pastors of small churches.
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So this all leaves me asking, “How do we actually address this conspiracy theory & radicalization problem when it comes from mainstream sources?”
I’m hoping especially the church will be able to figure it out. It will not happen through “just preaching the gospel.”
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I’m hoping especially the church will be able to figure it out. It will not happen through “just preaching the gospel.”
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“The demon is in too deep,” as Tim Keller once said. It’s an epistemological crisis. “What is truth?” is our problem. And *that* is a problem for every American Christian and every church and every seminary and every ministry. God, help us.
/End
/End
