Today, Thanksgiving Day, many of those who seek to follow Jesus Christ and the Word of God are convinced there is a dangerous conspiracy against such followers and other conservative voices in this country. Certainly, former president Donald Trump and his followers believe that to be true. Modern news outlets are spouting "fake news." Elections are rigged. Washington is biased. The far left socialists are planning to take over this country. On and on it goes, fed by Facebook and other social media.
However, this is not a modern phenomenon. Many serious Christians for years have held to conspiracy theories and projections. From a dire projection of the Tribulation days cited in the book of Revelation, to various number theories about "666," to the evil happenings in our nation and world today, such people truly believe we are living in end times and dark days. They are hoping for a reprieve and praying that Jesus will come again -- the sooner the better. All that is happening politically and socially, they claim, point to such terrible times. And a number of them believe this darkness is being engineered by a secret government society seeking to overcome this country and, in fact, the whole world. After all, the Antichrist will rise up and take control of the media outlets and the freedom loving nations of the world. Perhaps he is already here at work.
In a more sophisticate vein, places like Hillsdale College and its newsletter, Imprimis, are publishing authors and speakers who are telling us that far left conspiracies abound and why they are growing and increasing in this country. Classic college and university institutions have been invaded by woke-inspired professors and administrators (Issue April/May 2022). The Department of Justice has become politicized (Issue August 2022). Inflation in America has been spawned by radical economists and pundits. And on and on it goes. The Constitution is being assaulted and overtaken by anti-God socialists and others, pretending that they are supporting human rights and American freedoms. Conservative think tanks are producing papers and court cases citing the effects of conspiratorial thinking in America.
Is there a conspiracy against Christians in America? Well, yes and no. It all depends on your view of freedom, government, the Bible and the reality of sin and evil spawned by a real Devil and his forces in this world. Most non-Christians I know do not have a secret agenda against Christians and Christian churches. To claim they all have been brainwashed by left wing media and woke-inspired institutions and policies may be over the top. There is indeed anti-Christian godlessness in the news rooms and governmental institutions in this country. They have an anti-God point of view and claim that conservative religion is harmful to American freedoms. To say that this is a thought out conspiracy against followers of Jesus may be saying too much. That people have been "brainwashed" by anti-Christian and anti-biblical media teachers, professors and outlets may be very hard to prove, at least not in the classic definition of brainwashing.
What we can say, I believe, is that there are indeed anti-God forces at work in the media and governmental institutions at all levels. Anti-biblical, yes, conspiratorial, not really. There is a blindness to God and biblical spirituality that is apparent. Most non-Christians do not even think these things through. There is also a growing degree of biblical illiteracy among many Christians, and this increases their lack of informed perception about what they hear and read. We should not be shocked by anti-Christian reports and influences on us. This has always been the case in Christendom in any age.
How should we respond to such forces? It does not help to try to pin conspiracy theories on most non-Christian social and media and institutional pundits. There may be a few who want to overthrow all biblical Christian teachings and churches in this country. They may even try to convince many that we as biblically minded believers should be silenced, fined and even jailed for our beliefs. Such a day may increasingly come upon us (this is not to say there are not instances of such happenings today). We need to be informed, perceptive and smart Christians, people who indeed understand the times and sinful forces around us, but seek to lovingly and patiently teach those who will listen God's Word and God's truth. Becoming more and more "closet" or "cocooned" Christians who read and study only what we agree with will not help our country. The Bible instructs us to "test" all things, to hold fast to what is good and not to repay evil for evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21, 22; Romans 12).
