How come so many Christians fall for conspiracy theories?

Progressive Christian blogger Joe Forrest has a great piece up on Medium about conspiracy theories, that begins with the story of how he convinced his sixth grade class that the moon landing was faked. He rounds up plenty of thoughtful links, quotes, and observations about these dangerous beliefs in general, but also how they seduce and appeal to those who worship Jesus.

Maybe its because,from a young age, many of us were taughtthe scientific establishment was out to destroy our belief in the Bible.

Or maybe so many of us were convinced bytheLeft Behindbooks that a satanic one-world government was on the horizon, it just makes sense we need to be as vigilant as possible right now.

Or maybe because weve already been conditioned by our own belief system that there exists a hidden spiritual reality that making the leap to a hidden shadow government reality isnt all that big of a deal.

And its important to note thata lot of Christians share conspiracy theories out of good faith. They believe theyre exposing the truth. But most conspiracy theories arerotten at the core. Its obvious theyre rooted in fear, insecurity, and loneliness. And theyre often designed to give usmore reasons to loathe our ideological enemies.

Forrest's faith is clearly one of radical empathy, not of evangelical self-persecution, which gives him a unique perspective. He's clearly familiar with all kinds of Christian life, and writes with that audience in mind. Read the rest