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By Deborah Haarsma, Jim Stump\u00a0 and David Buller
\nBioLogos<\/p>\n
If your social media newsfeeds are like ours, then they have been chock-full of conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and our government\u2019s response to it. We see many of our Christian friends considering conspiracy theories\u2014if not believing them, at least listening to them. Why are conspiracies so appealing right now?<\/p>\n
The Plandemic<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>video has captured wide attention with its false claims about the COVID-19 pandemic. The film stars Judy Mikovits, who used to be a legitimate medical researcher, but has since fallen afoul of the scientific establishment. She promotes the view that vaccines are harmful and that the novel coronavirus was manipulated by genetic engineers. The video has been removed from YouTube (which for some only provides evidence of how deep the conspiracy truly goes!). And it doesn\u2019t take long to discover that Mikovits\u2019 work\u00a0was properly discredited<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also last week there was a viral image going around Facebook claiming that no employees of Walmart, Amazon, Target, Costco, or Kroger have tested positive for COVID-19, so it is ridiculous that small businesses have to remain shut. It is so easy to make or share such a graphic, and it \u201cseems correct\u201d to people who are frustrated that businesses are restricted. But\u00a0a quick fact check<\/a>\u00a0showed multiple actual news agencies reporting that many Walmarts have become epicenters of COVID breakouts and have had to be shut down.<\/p>\n We wish these kinds of conspiracies and spreading of false and dangerous information were limited to Facebook friends and fringe groups. But unfortunately that is not the case\u2014Christian leaders are also fueling the flames.<\/p>\n As one example, several days ago, a senior leader at a prominent Christian organization sent out an \u201curgent\u201d email about the pandemic. He made the disclaimer that he\u2019s not speaking for his employer in this, but his platform and credibility for his audience comes from there. His 2700-word email was full of all-caps warnings and conspiracies about\u00a0 the \u201cvery evil people\u201d pushing \u201cfake science and fake medicine.\u201d His main argument is that\u00a0Dr. Anthony Fauci<\/a>\u00a0and others are engaged in a demonic \u201cglobalist hoax\u201d to deceive and control the population to lay the groundwork for a \u201cnew world order.\u201d Add in further links like a lecture on the Illuminati, (\u201cthis is not conspiracy\u00a0theory<\/em>, but conspiracy\u00a0fact<\/em>\u201d) and a self-filmed expos\u00e9 under a\u00a0QAnon<\/a>\u00a0banner, and\u2026well, you have quite an email. Not only did the email contain advice that directly contradicts the overwhelming consensus of scientists and public health experts, but it urges prayer for \u201cpeople to rise up in peaceful civil disobedience\u201d against such guidelines.<\/p>\n When Christian leaders urge rejection of public health measures, we need to be blunt about the impact their words can have. An influential University of Washington\u00a0model<\/a> cited by the White House recently doubled the estimate for coronavirus deaths through August to a startling 137,000 (with an upper range approaching a quarter of a million), largely due to decreased social distancing and growing death totals. This is serious and life-threatening.<\/p>\n Coronavirus misinformation recently found its way onto even larger stages. The Q Ideas<\/a>\u00a0conference draws thousands of Christian leaders each year to hear TED-style talks by the world\u2019s most prominent Christian leaders and thinkers, with thousands more reached online by videos of past talks. We applaud much of what Q has done over the years with thoughtful analysis of complex cultural issues from a Christian perspective. Unfortunately this year some talks fell far short, in ways that were dangerous to public health. The Q leadership transitioned this year\u2019s event to an online-only \u201cvirtual summit,\u201d billed as an opportunity to equip Christians for our current pandemic moment. Yet two of the most prominent, double-length speaking slots were given to speakers who provided a stunning barrage of conspiracy theorizing and long-debunked claims.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n One of these slots was an interview Q Ideas founder Gabe Lyons had with\u00a0Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.<\/a>, a noted anti-vaccination activist. In it Kennedy asserted without challenge a number of long-debunked falsehoods about vaccines, from the claim that vaccines aren\u2019t safety- or placebo-tested (they are), to claims that vaccines poison children and cause autism (they don\u2019t). In another double-length talk, Josh Axe, a chiropractor and naturopathic doctor who sells nutritional supplements online, touted the curative powers of various \u201cnatural\u201d remedies, which he pitched as biblically-mandated immune-boosters. \u201cGod created your body to be able to fight off viruses,\u201d Axe said. \u201cYou just have to follow his Word and follow the principles in the Bible\u201d\u2014principles that, according to Axe, include using oils, herbal supplements, and thinking happy thoughts. By taking this route, we\u2019ll show that we have faith in God, instead of \u201cfaith in a pill or a shot\u201d\u2014a disturbing translation of the old faith-vs-science dichotomy into the realm of medicine. Lyons gave enthusiastic support to these talks (\u201cwe\u2026have another option to fight off a virus than just relying on medicine\u201d) and defended the promotion of their claims (so that anyone can decide if \u201cwe think it\u2019s true or we think it\u2019s not true\u201d).<\/p>\n We do not question the motivation of such people. We think they genuinely believe they are providing an important service to get truth out there. And we agree with so many of their Christian convictions. But unfortunately, in this matter they are undermining the public\u2019s trust in the very people who are trying to keep us safe. In our recent\u00a0livestream<\/a>\u00a0with BioLogos founder and National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins, he praised his \u201cdear colleague and friend\u201d Anthony Fauci, whom he speaks with daily, as \u201cthe most remarkable expert in infectious disease in the world.\u201d \u201cSo when Tony answers the question, listen carefully,\u201d Collins said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to get the straight scoop. Tony is a truth-teller.\u201d What a shame that Fauci has become the focus of so many misguided conspiracies.<\/p>\n As\u00a0Christianity Today reported<\/a>\u00a0a couple of weeks ago, Christians seem disproportionately susceptible to misinformation and conspiracies about COVID-19. That is due, undoubtedly, to the way ideas are packaged in the culture wars in our country. Scientists and their expertise have been lumped together with other academics and left-leaning causes. And all of us are hard-wired to find affinity with the groups we identify with.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not hard to see how conspiracy theories can be appealing in times like this. A complex world inevitably leaves gaps in our finite understanding. But a \u201cgood\u201d conspiracy theory can fill in every gap, every unknown, by conjuring up invisible forces, secret motives, and double agents. (Have you ever had a 9\/11 conspiracy theorist tell you there are still a few contradictions and explanatory gaps he hasn\u2019t been able to figure out?) There\u2019s an implicit appeal to our human pride, too\u2014who wouldn\u2019t enjoy the ego boost of \u201cknowing\u201d what the majority doesn\u2019t, of catching a glimpse behind the curtain, of being smarter\u2014or at least more clever\u2014than the world\u2019s top scientists?<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Haarsma, Stump & Buller<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Nor can we say that advocates of fringe ideas are unintelligent. The chemist\u00a0Linus Pauling<\/a>\u00a0was one of the greatest scientists of all time, yet he spent the later years of his life advocating that large doses of intravenous Vitamin C were an effective treatment for cancer\u2014a fringe idea that he advocated right up until his own death (ironically yet tragically, from cancer). Pauling was a true genius and made passionate arguments that we nonspecialists would hardly have been equipped to rebut. And yet\u2014crucially\u2014he was unable to marshal the scientific evidence to convince the broader scientific community of which he was a part.<\/p>\n When we at BioLogos prioritize the consensus views of the credentialed scientific community, we don\u2019t do so because we think any scientists are infallible. We do so precisely because we know they are not. The painstaking processes of the scientific community, from rigorous peer review to pointed questioning at a professional scientific conference, would have no reason to exist if scientists (collectively at least) were not acutely aware of their own ability to make mistakes and overlook competing explanations. And while none of these processes are themselves guarantees of infallibility, they are the best methods we have for weeding out errors and cohering around the scientific explanations most likely to be true. What\u2019s amazing about science is that it\u2019s\u00a0continually self-correcting<\/a>. Scientific errors are corrected by other scientists\u2014hardly ever by an armchair commentator sitting down in front of a webcam.<\/p>\n Relying on expertise might sound elitist, but it is grounded in the biblical principle that we have different gifts.\u00a01 Corinthians 12:14-26<\/a> reminds us that all parts of the \u201cbody,\u201d from the most prominent to the most overlooked, serve an essential role as part of the greater whole. There\u2019s no room in Christianity for disdain for the humble and often thankless work of sanitation workers, food producers, and truck drivers. But there\u2019s likewise no room for dismissing the essential role of scientists, doctors, and public health experts. We all have a role to play:<\/p>\n \u201cThe eye cannot say to the hand, \u2018I don\u2019t need you!\u2019 And the head cannot say to the feet, \u2018I don\u2019t need you!\u2019 . . . God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n As we steward the power of our influence through every Facebook post and every retweet, we should remember that we\u2019re not following Jesus\u2019 command to be \u201cwise as serpents\u201d if we\u2019re swayed by the emotional manipulation of a conspiracy theory or a slickly-produced video. And we\u2019re not \u201charmless as doves\u201d if we spread misinformation or sow confusion in the midst of a global health emergency.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve come a long way from the world of medieval scribes, to the printing press, to our current world of retweets, blogs, YouTube documentaries, and mass emails. The frontiers of our knowledge have grown exponentially, and yet often it seems that each grain of truth gets diluted in a sea of misinformation. The algorithms of social media platforms are specifically designed to boost engagement (and therefore ad revenue) by rewarding emotionally-charged content. Ironically, as conspiracy theorists cry foul if their ideas are \u201ccensored,\u201d the reality is that endless contradictory voices contribute to what has been called a \u201ccensorship through noise\u201d that drowns out real information.<\/p>\n For the past decade, BioLogos and the numerous scientists, biblical scholars, and Christian leaders in our network have worked hard to show that quality science and biblical faith can go together in a mutually-enriching harmony. Over the years we\u2019ve addressed a number of tough issues, from evolution to gene editing to climate change. But the all-consuming urgency of the present crisis gives a stark reminder to why we need both good science and responsible Christian faith.<\/p>\n In a world of conspiracies and misinformation, we\u2019ve been able to provide podcasts and articles from top scientists. We gained fresh insights from Old Testament scholar\u00a0John Walton on the book of Job<\/a>\u00a0and how it can reframe our thinking about these chaotic bits of God\u2019s world. Tens of thousands of people watched\u00a0our livestreamed conversation with NIH director Francis Collins<\/a>. And we\u2019ve produced several other\u00a0articles<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0podcasts<\/a>\u00a0on the topic (you can find them all by browsing for\u00a0resources with the coronavirus tag<\/a>).<\/p>\n We\u2019re hard at work on content like this because we\u2019re convinced it\u2019s needed now more than ever. We aim to promote deep Christian faith that is relevant for our times\u2014shaped by a careful reading of Scripture and the Christian tradition, and informed by the best of contemporary science.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s recommit ourselves to finding reputable sources, vetting claims, pushing back against misinformation, and promoting solid science, in loving service to God and our neighbors.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\nWhen Conspiracies Are Fueled by Christians<\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\nResponding with Science<\/span><\/h4>\n
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\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\nResponding with Faith<\/h3>\n
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\n\nAbout the Authors<\/h3>\n
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![\"Deborah](\"https:\/\/wp.biologos.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/haarsma_deb-400x400.png\")
<\/a>\n\nDeborah Haarsma<\/a><\/h4>\n
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<\/a>\n\nJim Stump<\/a><\/h4>\n
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