Beyond ‘Plandemic’: A Christian Response to Conspiracies

Thanks to all the discussion around here and elsewhere, we have also responded to a few of the more recent instances of conspiracy that we have seen in our social feeds.

“The all-consuming urgency of the present crisis gives a stark reminder to why we need both good science and responsible Christian faith.”

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What makes you more equipped to determine the facts than the fact checkers? Don’t we all have access to the same internet? I think “own research” is how we get into a lot of this in the first place. What defines “research?”

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I appreciate this article. I especially appreciated that they refuse to call others “stupid” for believing conspiracy theories. I sympathize with those who believe them. Reading almost any kind of history will show far too many examples of ways governments and institutions have exploited peoples. So for me, I can understand a little why they think it makes sense.

I personally think that one of the biggest problems is echo chambers. It seems to me that social media platforms contribute to this problem themselves with their algorithms and whatnot, then decry the very problems they help create.

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Erick, welcome to the forum. You bring up,some good points, and I like your approach to encourage people to seek truth rather than dictate information. We have to be careful to seek truth in the right places, which is often a downfall when there are so many sources of information out there.
Your suggestion that we discuss it with fellow believers is good, as we need to listen to others and here their take on things, as I find I often have blind spots that need illumination. Now, does that get us to truth? That is a tricky proposition as truth can be defined in several ways. True information or facts are not going to be found through dialogue necessarily, though it may help identify what is true vs what is false, but wisdom may we’ll be gained in the conversation, as we decide what to do with truth we have learned, and we can grow in wisdom and in truth.

Hillary, I think how we approach research is a real problem in today’s information glut, as you state. Just from my experience in medicine, a certain level of knowledge of the subject is necessary to be able to judge whether an article makes sense, and if it is consistent with what else we know about the subject. Without that base of knowledge, we are left relying on experts who do know enough about the subject to have perspective and good judgement. That of course is what peer review does. It allows us to use the expertise of someone with known competence in judging whether a paper is trustworthy.

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What would you say are some trails that you were still following and what’s an example of a dead-end or something that doesn’t add up? What kinds of tools are you using to see if something adds up or not?

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The foundation that Bill Gates and his wife started is called the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, or the Gates Foundation for short. I’m really at a loss to explain why you think Bill Gates is evil. Please explain.

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Erick, that sort of stuff is why you need to use discernment in your sources. Many of the statements in your last post is grossly distorted from what I have read, and and you seem to be falling prey to false information. There is a lot of misinformation out there, so beware.
I do not see a reply from you to Hillary, so do not know if perhaps you failed to,hit the post button or what, but she raises good questions as to how we do research. We must be careful what we consider reliable. This is a discussion forum, so you should expect your ideas to be be challenged and should expect to be asked to support your ideas, especially if outside the usual understanding. Truth is important, especially to us as Christians.
While there is a lot of clarifying information out there on the Gates foundation, this article hits a lot of the points you brought up:

We are not going to settle the differences here and it is inappropriate to derail the post, so let’s just give a little grace and continue to guard against false teachers in all aspects of life.

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This fits here, as well as the under the CDC conspiracies topic:

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It was just questions. Try reading it in the tone of Mr. Rogers and not a screeching harpie or whatever tone you read it in to make a couple questions “an attack.”

Nothing has been deleted from this thread, are you talking about the first reply to the OP? Everyone can read it. Or are you talking about a second post? Maybe you forgot to hit the “reply” button, or replied to her in a private message somehow?

How does this make sense? They want people to die, so they promote vaccinations? Vaccinations in third world countries save hundreds of thousands of children from premature death caused by preventable diseases.

I work for a major Evangelical development organization. We actively partner with the UN and UNESCO. If “contributing to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world” is favoring a New World Order, I think I’m in favor too. As are all the Christian development workers I know.

That whole nano-chip rumor was started by Alex Jones who read an article about Bill Gates supporting a non-profit called ID2020 that is exploring tech that can link medical information to digital IDs. Alex Jones didn’t comprehend the word “biometrics” and assumed it meant “implanting chips and tracking people.” That’s not even close to what it meant. Alex Jones is a proven liar. It is actually a good humanitarian idea to provide vulnerable populations like the homeless and refugees digital IDs and medical records (including vaccination records) linked to biometrics (usually fingerprints) because they cannot be lost or stolen. No one is tracking anyone with implants.

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Did I take the blue pill or the red pill?

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I’ve definitely just taken a red pill.

But it doesn’t reveal an unpleasant truth about reality in general, except by way of a specific.

But I’ve no need to change my epistemology. It’s working just fine.

Depending on your notification settings, you can receive emails letting you know when someone has replied to you. If you reply to that email, you are sending an email to the software system, not to the person who replied to you. If you want Hillary to see your message and if you want it to be posted, you have to hit “reply” here on the forum.

Erick,
One other suggestion is to read the FAQ which give guidelines for discussion. Try to stay on topic (though we all wander off on occasion…) and save the grilling for ideas and assertions, not people.
Now, let us return to the topic of the post, discussion of the Christian response to conspiracies. Perhaps I am less gracious than the authors, but I do disagree at least in part with their statement,“We do not question the motivation of such people.” I may be cynical, but feel that while in a discussion forum like this we should not question motivation, in the greater world motivation is very important and gives insight as to why people do and say what they do. And if they say it not about the money, it is usually about the money. Often, their worldview is tied up so closely with an issue, that they are unable to be objective because of the personal threat to their psyche.
With the Covid-19 situation, I think we see those things and more driving the Christian community in their positions taken. Money seems to underlie the issue of when to open and whether to lock down. Among my friends and neighbors, the ones pushing to open quickly are either financially challenged by the lockdown, or are closely aligned with those who are. One the other hand, those who tend to be dogmatic about staying closed, tend to be more secure financially, and identify strongly with either the politics or the science, which is not the same thing though lumped together by the opposing side.
In any case, while we try to argue the issues, a big part of understanding a person and responding to them in love is understanding their motivation.

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Have you ever talked to anyone working for or with the Gates Foundation? I’ve worked on several Gates-funded projects and with many people working for them. If you want to hear what they’re actually like, just ask.

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I’m curious! I don’t think Bill Gates is trying to depopulate the earth, but I have read some negative reviews of his focus on vaccines. Basically, that the focus on vaccines, instead of health, was creating a problem. IOW, people were starving, but being given vaccines, when what they really needed was food, or really both. I’m sure the problem is extremely complex, and I can’t even imagine how difficult it is to coordinate something like that…

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I’m not sure where you are hearing that from as the Gates foundation for example does a lot of stuff with helping food supplies as well:

I would look at their ‘Opening Gates magazine’ that highlights lots of things they are doing to help which includes all kinds of public health and food growing initiatives.

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Interesting dynamic going on. Not to get too political, but I wonder how much the reproductive medicine part of the program has to do with the opposition, and a lot of the rest is a smokescreen. The foundation supports making safe contraceptives available to women, which should cut down on abortions, but in and of itself is a controversial subject for some, beyond the abortion issue.
Again, some of these issues provide cover for underlying motivations. Or maybe I’m just paranoid.
There was an article I will try to find discussing how the opposition to vaccines in Africa is (understandably) based on the history of Africa and colonialism, with distrust of outside influence. Trust has to be earned, and some of the trials suffered perhaps are consequences of the sins of the past by colonialists.

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Sorry everyone, wasn’t aware my questions came across attacking. Meant for them to just spur on conversation since nobody had bitten yet on the thread!

Also, yes Erick, i did not receive your response, you have to reply here or in a private message on this webpage for messages for be transmitted.

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