Some thoughts on "Conspiracy Theories" (and Why We Shouldn't Automatically Dismiss Them)

Labeling someone a “conspiracy theorist” or referring to something as a “conspiracy theory" is often a way of dismissing the person or the claim without having to examine the evidence.

I’m not someone who believes that every “conspiracy theory” is true, and I’m certainly not someone who automatically believes they are all true. But I also am not someone who dismisses every “conspiracy theory,” and I certainly do not automatically dismiss them all as untrue. Instead, what I aim to do as I hear about so-called conspiracy theories (or really anything else) is to examine, as best as possible, the facts that are known and the evidence that can be viewed before reaching even a preliminary conclusion as to what I believe. The reason I approach conspiracy theories this way is twofold: (1) my belief in the depravity of man and (2) the testimony of history. Let me offer a brief explanation of each point.

(1) First, I have a very strong belief in the depravity of man, meaning that I believe human beings—including myself—are capable of great evil. The Bible makes absolutely clear that all people are not only sinners but that they are great sinners (cf. Romans 3). Genesis 6:5 shows the comprehensive nature of our sin: “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (emphasis added). We also see numerous plots to commit great acts of evil (i.e., conspiracies) within the pages of Scripture. Here are just two examples:

First, consider how Joseph’s brothers conspired to kill him in Genesis 37:

“18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

Joseph’s brother Reuben intervenes and the brothers do not kill him, but Joseph is still sold into slavery and the brothers lie about what happened:

“31 Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.”

Second, consider how the religious leaders not only plotted to kill Jesus but how they covered up Jesus’ resurrection:

“11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place [concerning the resurrection of Jesus]. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.” —Matthew 28-11-15

Matthew explains that at least one of the reasons some Jews did not believe that Jesus rose from the dead was because the chief priests and elders “took counsel” (i.e., conspired) to lie about the resurrection and even paid off the soldiers so that news of Jesus’ resurrection would not spread. These leaders knew that Jesus had actually risen from the dead—they knew it, they had the evidence—but instead of being willing to acknowledge that Jesus had actually risen from the dead, they doubled down and paid off the guards and perpetuated a lie among the people.

These two examples highlight how people are willing to lie and cover up the truth in order to achieve their own ends or to protect their own interests, which is again only one outworking of people’s sinfulness.

(2) In addition to my belief in the depravity of man, another reason I do not automatically dismiss so-called conspiracy theories is because of the testimony of history. History has shown, time and again, that people in positions of authority and power are willing to do horrific and unspeakable things to achieve their own ends; moreover, they will often lie and cover up what they have done. Because of this reality, I cannot and should not automatically dismiss “conspiracy theories” because I simply don’t believe humans could be capable of such evil. I also should not automatically believe such theories, but I must not dismiss them simply because I cannot comprehend such evil. I do not think many people in the 1920s or early 1930s would have ever thought the Nazis would work to systematically destroy the Jewish people. Moreover, most people would not have anticipated the evils of the Great Purge or the tremendous loss of life caused by the “Great Leap Forward” in China. But these horrors actually happened, and they should serve as a reminder of the almost limitless capacity human beings have for evil. This leads to one of my greatest concerns for our own nation:

While we may look at history and acknowledge that such great evils can happen overseas or in distant lands, when it comes to those closest to us, either within our own close circles or within our own nation, we often tend to believe that Americans could not commit the same kinds of evils that have been perpetrated throughout history. To be clear, I am not here saying that people close to us or people in positions of authority in the United States are necessarily carrying out great evils, but to dismiss so-called “conspiracy theories” as impossible because “surely they would never do that” or because “that can’t happen here” is unwise for at least two reasons. First, it does not account for the reality of human sinfulness as discussed above. Second, it also ignores the reality that many things that were once called conspiracy theories in our own nation turned out to be completely true. As just one example, consider the revelations made by Edward Snowden several years ago that detailed the nearly unthinkable scope of NSA spying. Ten years ago, if someone said they believed the government was listening to your phone calls, reading your text messages, or collecting your emails, you would have been dismissed as paranoid or delusional and would have undoubtedly been labeled a “conspiracy theorist.” During my time in law school from 2009-2012, I studied multiple court cases involving government surveillance, and I became increasingly aware (and increasingly concerned) about the scope of government spying. But even though this type of surveillance was recorded in actual court documents, I was personally dismissed as paranoid when I relayed my concerns. But then, in June 2013, revelations about the NSA’s spying on American citizens came out, and those labeled “conspiracy theorists” turned out to be right.

This brings me to my final point: I have deliberately placed quotation marks around the terms “conspiracy theory” or “conspiracy theorist” throughout this post to draw attention to how the word is often used. When someone is labeled a “conspiracy theorist,” or when a claim is referred to as a “conspiracy theory,” this is often a way of dismissing either the person or the claim without really having to interact with the evidence. My prayer is that (1) believers will not engage in such dismissive tactics by labeling others as conspiracy theorists without addressing underlying evidence and (2) that believers and unbelievers alike will be willing to examine evidence as carefully as possible so that we discover what is actually true. Truth matters—and it matters a great deal—if we really want to help, serve, and protect our neighbors. What’s more, if we want to further the cause of true justice in our nation and our world, we must first know what is actually true about any given situation or issue. May God grant us grace and wisdom to discern truth from error and to act wisely and courageously in the times in which we live.