“I don’t believe in witches, but do they exist? This popular saying expresses, I believe, what we must believe about the existence of conspiracies in our world. I want to make it clear right now that I’m not a conspirator. I don’t believe in the Illuminati, I don’t believe in the existence of Area 51, nor that the arrival of man on the moon in 1969 was a farce, I know that you have to be very careful what you read and what you see, otherwise we will go out on the street with aluminum hats on our heads. However, I think there are conspiracies.
You see, I don’t mean specific conspiracies like the ones mentioned above. In any case, one cannot forget the immense capacity of the human heart to do evil, and also to plan, to engender the most varied perversities, with gigantic consequences. At the beginning of biblical revelation, the Lord God saw that the whole plan of man’s heart was continually evil (Genesis 6. 5). For this reason, the Bible presents several episodes in which evil men conspired against the covenant people: “As for Zinri’s other acts and the conspiracy he made, they may not be listed. in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?(1 Kings 16:20). The same is said of a man named Salum: “As for most of Salum’s actions and the conspiracy he committed, behold, are they written in the book of the history of the kings of Israel?(2 Kings 15:15).
- Before that.
- In Genesis 37:18.
- The scriptures declare that Joseph’s brothers “saw him from afar and.
- Before his arrival.
- Conspired against him to kill him.
- “The Hebrew term expresses the idea that they planned in such a way that they showed nothing to Joseph.
- There was a plan.
- A conspiracy to end Joseph’s life.
- There were deliberations in the shadows.
- There is no doubt that the Lord God had determined all the events in Joseph’s life (Genesis 45.
- 8; 50.
- 20).
- But there is no doubt that his brothers were responsible for all his murky plans and wrongdoings.
On some occasions, the psalmist David prayed to God, asking for deliverance from plots: “Hide me from the conspiracy of evildoers? (Psalm 64. 2). He complained to the Lord:” Because I have heard the murmur of many, terror on all sides; conspiring against me, are they conspiring to take my life? (Psalm 31. 13). The Hebrew terms in these passages refer to meetings, private councils, assemblies (Psalm 64. 2), as well as men sitting together who are planning a way to take the life of the psalmist (Psalm 31. 13). One of the most notable examples of the conspiracies devised against David is that of his son Absalom, in 2 Samuel 15. His plan was to get a group of fifty men who would support him and were ready to fight for his cause (v. 1)) . Furthermore, Absalom did not explicitly speak out against his father. He did not immediately invade the palace with his men to arrest and kill David. His conspiracy involved sitting in the doorway and stealing the hearts of the men of Israel, showing genuine concern for the welfare of the people (vv. 2-6). This lasted about four years, at the end of which, finally, Absalom realized his evil designs and proclaimed himself king in Hebron (vv. 7-10). The text also tells us that two hundred men who accompanied him to Hebron, went with their simplicity, because they did not know anything about this matter? (v. 11). Is it true that the text does not use the term “conspiracy”? to discuss Absalom’s actions. However, based on Joe Carter’s definition that a conspiracy theory “explains an event or set of circumstances as a result of a secret conspiracy” [1], we can be sure that Absalom conspired.
It is interesting to note that God Himself complained of a conspiracy among the men of Judah, to return to the wickedness of his first parents:?The Lord also said unto me, A conspiracy was found among the men of Judah, among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. . They returned to the evils of their first parents, who refused to listen to my words; they went after other gods to serve them. Did the house of Israel and the house of Judah violate my covenant with their parents?(Jeremiah 11:9-10). The term translates as conspiracy?It refers to the idea of planning treason. [2] The men of Israel and Judah tried to betray the Lord and carried out their plan.
However, of all the biblical statements, none is as strong and serious as that of Psalm 2. 2: “The kings of the earth rise up and the princes conspire against the Lord and against his Anointed One. “The terms translated by? And “conspiring,” together, gives the impression of a behind-the-scenes encounter. In this meeting, the kings of the earth and princes gathered together and took counsel against the Lord and his Son, Jesus Christ. are made with a goal: “Do we break their bonds and shake their handcuffs?”(v. 3). This is not open hostility, according to Calvin. It is not a public uprising, an explicit rebellion against God. On the contrary, these men cover up their rebellion in every way possible and presumably boast of having God on their side. “These are men who are publicly honored and even on God’s side.
This conspiracy is shown to the fullest in the New Testament, when evangelists repeatedly speak of conspiracies, plans, conspiracies made for the death of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 26. 3-5; John 5. 18; 7. 1; 11. 53-54). when the conspiracy was finally executed and the Son of God was crucified. The Apostle Paul was also the target of a conspiracy by the Jews, so he was prevented from embarking on a journey to Syria to preach the gospel (Acts 20,3).
How should we act on conspiracy theories?
In Isaiah 8:12 we find advice on this: “Do not call the spell at all what these people call a spell. ” The term translated as? Conjuration? it is the same as that used in the above-mentioned Jeremiah 11: 9 passage and is translated here as “conspiracy. ” A conspiracy is nothing more than the association between certain people with a common goal, a common goal. On many occasions in such an association there is an oath among those present. They form an alliance with a particular goal in view. Not all spells are bad. However, in the case of Isaiah 8:12, the reference is to a conspiracy. The New Updated Bible (NAA) translates this passage this way: “Don’t call everything these people call a conspiracy. ” The passage presents a very interesting beginning. Not everything should be called a conspiracy. But the fact that not everything should be called a conspiracy also admits the existence of certain conspiracies. Joe Carther’s article cited here is a warning against the ease with which Christians get carried away by conspiracy theories. The article says that when Christians hear conspiracy theories, they are doing the work of Satan, who was the first to spread conspiracy theories, by telling Adam and Eve that God planned to prevent humans from having theirs. the eyes open and become like God. The article provides a valid warning, but it is flawed because it ignores the possibility and ability of humans to conspire.
I do not mean that our current pandemic situation is an important conspiracy; I do not intend to claim, as many people do now, that the Covid-19 pandemic is a conspiracy of dark groups. Carther lists some theories about it: because coronavirus is caused by the wave spectrum used by 5G technology. There are also those who say it’s a biological weapon created by Bill Gates. I don’t think it’s entirely true.
However, all the biblical data seen so far is sufficient so that we do not have a naive view of reality and those in great positions, who see the need to defend their status quo. national and global policy, in ecclesiastical life or in the scientific community, in these meetings plans are drawn up, reputations such as those that will be destroyed are hand-picked, dissenting voices are calmed, writings and research are selected to be publicly discredited by those who dominate the community and must maintain their positions. In his presentation of Psalm 2. 2, Christopher Ash states, “Apparently, the greater our power, the more we conspire. “[4]
If we have to be careful not to be fascinated by conspiracy theories, at least we must admit that none of this is impossible. Just remember how Galileo Galilei was publicly discredited and persecuted for questioning what was then the scientific canon. -Scene meetings have been held and plans have been ordered to do so.
The scientific philosopher Paul Feyerabend made an important warning in his work Science, to Monster. According to him, there is no “science” but “science”: a heterogeneous and fragmented aggregate, a conflicting mixture of methods, approaches, thought traditions and epistemic tendencies says:
Anyone who says that science determines the nature of reality assumes that science has only one voice, believes that there is a monster, SCIENCE, and that when it speaks a coherent message is repeated and repeated over and over again, nothing can be further from reality. Different sciences have very different ideologies [?] Then we see that science is full of conflict. The SCIENCE monster that speaks as one voice is a collage made by propagandists, reductionists and educators.
What does that mean? It simply points out that the so-called “scientific consensus” is not really a consensus. It’s just the opinion of the majority, peer review that validates each other. There is no scientific worldview, but different worldviews. There is no scientific knowledge, but knowledge. There are conflicts in science. There are different conclusions about the same experience. There are different readings of the same evidence. There are interests at stake when dealing with research and studies. If, on the one hand, we must be careful not to attribute evil to science, we cannot simply assume that science cannot be used for greedy purposes.
Science is a divine gift, no doubt. He in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (Colossses 2:3), is the one who endows men with knowledge. Science is extremely valuable. Scientists must work with the awareness that they are servants of God, although many rebel against this. In our current time of pandemic, science is extremely important, as it has been in many other epidemics and pandemics. However, science is not homogeneous and is done with objectivity and impartiality. There are human hearts behind it, and where is the human heart present?Well, we already know the story.
[1] Joe Carther. Christians are not immune to conspiracy theories. Available in.
[2] R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer Jr. and Bruce Waltke. International Theology Dictionary of Theology of Testamento. So Paulo: Vida Nova, 2001, p. 1381.
[3] Joo Calvino. The Book of Psalms. Vol. 1. Santa Burbara d? West: Edies Paracletos, 1999, p. 63.
[4] Christopher Ash. Teaching the Psalms: from text to message. Flight 2: Scotland, United Kingdom: Christian Focus Publications, 2018, p. 30.
[5] Paul K. Feyerabend. La science, a monster: lessons from Trentino. Belo Horizonte: Autontica Editora, 2016. p. 85.