A reader writes:
I just had a discussion with a friend of mine who is a very good Catholic and a very spiritual person. I know she loves to read and she loves to surf the internet too. She started talking to me about some conspiracy-type theories that sound so far-fetched to me, and I didn’t know how to respond. One is that breast cancer is cured, but that the pharmaceutical companies don’t let us know that so that they can keep making money: lots and lots of money. Also, that the CIA gives guns to some of our notorious killers (like those who walk into a theater, business, etc… and shoot innocent people). There’s something else about an “evil eye” perpetuated by Lady Gaga…. Anyway, I walked away feeling that this was crazy and feeling upset about it. I believe people are basically good, though I don’t think I’m a polyanna. Could you please point me to any resources I could find to dispute these claims? I don’t know know where to look or how to respond. Thank you for any help you could give.
I think that, rather than playing whack-a-mole and trying to shoot down each and every conspiracy theory your friend battens on, you should consider a different approach. The common denominator here is not the massive number of conspiracies. It is your friend and her need to populate the universe with malignant forces in league against her. In other words, it is her pathological fascination with fear. You could disprove every one of these these theories and she would simply find more, because there is something in her that is afraid and so feeds on fear as an attempt at control. The result, of course, is not control, but simply more fear (this is one of the corollaries of Jesus' warning that "He who saves his life shall lose it."). What is needed, therefore, is for her to lose her life for Christ's sake: to really internalize the truth that "greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." Are there conspiracies? Sure. A conspiracy is what killed Jesus. The heathen rage and kings take counsel against the Lord and his Anointed. There are powers and principalities. There are real human conspiracies. There are a massive number of imaginary conspiracies. Due to original sin, we are all conspirators against God and his Church to some degree or other, usually unwittingly, but sometimes with a certain degree of knowledge.
And yet the apostles are happy men and the Church says to us "Lift up your hearts!" and Jesus says "Thanks" (Eucharist) on the very night he is betrayed by a conspirator in his own circle of friends. So the trick is to start thinking like a treasury agent. Treasury agents don't look at every possible permutation of a counterfeit bill in the feverish fear that some small slip will cause them to fail and destroy everything they know and love by lack of panicky vigilance. They look at real bills. They learn what the Real Thing looks like so well that they instantly know a fake. That is what Jesus means when he says, "My sheep hear my voice and will not follow another." So rather than listening for every creak on the floorboards that might be the approach of another conspiracy, we should instead listen for Jesus' voice and respond only to that with love that comes from faith, not fear that comes from the sin of despair. While we are not to be unaware of the evil one's schemes, neither are we to focus on or obsess over them. Hell is murky, says Lady Macbeth. You get lost in the fog if you chase the devil into his lair and try to figure out what all he may be doing in there. Jesus does not call us to fix our eyes on the devil. He calls us to fix our eyes on God and "be not afraid." Your friend needs to find the courage to hand over to Jesus all her fears and have confidence that he is bigger than whatever conspiracies, real or imagined, are out there. Mass is a good place to do it (and keep doing it till our grip on our fears really is relinquished and we really do lay hands on Christ in the Eucharist as our anchor instead). Confession is also good here, specifically confessing lack of faith and dalliance with despair and asking Jesus to supply us with courage and fortitude and prudence to attend to obedience to Jesus and not fear of this world or the devil.
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I find that a good way to pierce the fever dream of conspiracy theories is to picture the everyday effects of Murphy’s Law in the fantasies. If you imagine the sinister plotters’ air conditioning conking out, or someone getting the date wrong and missing the Shadowy Meeting, that for some reason helps people to think about it more prosaically.
A little rationality training can go a long ways too. God gave us the gifts of intelligent minds and an orderly universe in which to use them. Plus we’ve been blessed to live at a time following a tremendous amount of study of probability and human cognition. Occam’s Razor will cut most conspiracy theories from your list of worries.
Bookmarking Snopes is helpful, also.
“Bookmarking Snopes is helpful, also.” LOL! Yes, indeed.
I just read that a book by a “birther” [anti-Obama; look it up] says, ‘Proof that he follows his father’s anti-USA rants and opinions is that he chose to name himself Barack also!’ Common-senser replies, ‘He chose his own name at birth???’
There is one conspiracy concerning God that existed ‘way back and was prophesied to be revived: Jeremiah 23.
23:23-27, Douay: Am I, do you think, a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Shall a man be hid in secret places, and I not see him, says the Lord? Do not I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord? I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, and say: I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, and that prophesy the delusions of their own heart? Who seek to make my people forget my name through their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbour: as their fathers forgot my name for Baal.” From there to the end of the chapter, in most Bibles, appears the word “Lord” or “LORD” some nineteen times.
Significance? Compare the same passage in the NWT and the JB. Aside from updating the English substance and the meaning are the same. The major difference is that the other two show God using his personal name, which he did according to the Hebrew writer and copiers of Jeremiah.
The conspiracy? Few Bibles these days have a name for God, and your Pope wants Yahweh removed even from your songbooks.
@Doug regarding the Name of God: if you do a search on the Holy Tetragrammaton, you’ll find that God’s name is so holy that we aren’t permitted to utter it, so instead of using His name, LORD is substituted for it. The Jews used ADONAI in the Old Testament instead of pronouncing the Holy Tetragrammaton. So, “our” Pope would simply be doing his duty by guiding his flock in not abusing God’s Holy Name.
The comment feature’s working now…..
:)
I have an in-law who’s wrapped up in a multitude of conspiracy theories but who tries to be a good Catholic.Recently they heard of some dismal conspiracy theory involving the Church.
I sent them Fr. Barron’s Catholicism DVD series.It’s one of the most upbeat, yet orthodox Catholic videos I’ve seen.
Angela, that’s an idea I’ve heard before, but your Bible itself refutes it. I’m happy to address it here. We’re agreed that “LORD” is not a translation of the “ineffable name”, but a substitute. So YHVH was written in the Hebrew mss., but various editors substituted LORD or its equivalents in other languages. (Adonai is the Hebrew, Kyrios the Greek, and so on.) As an experiment, let’s ‘back-substitute’ in the second chapter of Ruth.
Verses 3,4; Douay: “And it happened that the owner of that field was Booz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. And behold, he came out of Bethlehem, and said to the reapers: The Lord be with you. And they answered him: The Lord bless you.”
Now, our revised version: “And it happened that the owner of that field was Booz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. And behold, he came out of Bethlehem, and said to the reapers: Yahweh be with you. And they answered him: Yahweh bless you.” This rendition more accurately reproduces the conversation of Boaz and his workers. This inspired written record of their spoken words shows that secular Jews respectfully used God’s personal name in talking about him, in the most routine ways. This, without incurring censure from the writer of Ruth’s story, much less suffering lightning bolts or any other Wrath of the Almighty.
This is not the only example, but I find it the handiest. Please do further research of your own.
I try to stay away from the religious theories - too hot button of an issue. the government ones I’ve heard all sound like they’re real. I think there is a lot of bad stuff going on that a lot of people don’t realize.
http://everythingconspired.blogspot.com/2013/01/im-hit-viral-video-blatant-government.html
<a >I’m hit viral video conspiracy</a>
I try to stay away from the religious theories - too hot button of an issue. the government ones I’ve heard all sound like they’re real. I think there is a lot of bad stuff going on that a lot of people don’t realize.
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Angela wrote: “regarding the Name of God: if you do a search on the Holy Tetragrammaton, you’ll find that God’s name is so holy that we aren’t permitted to utter it”
Seems you agree with my response. If so, have you considered collateral teachings that illustrate the importance of accurate knowledge of God’s personal name?
For example we find ‘and then they will know that I am the LORD’ or equivalent 60-some times in Ezekiel. Usually the passages refer to a ‘lowering the boom on sinners’ passage and are often clearly seen as an Armageddon scenario. That means that those who aren’t using God’s personal name, if not ‘making it mainfest’ (John 17:6,26) are in for a serious eye-opening at the end. The other implication is that the moment will be too late.
BTW do you happen to know about how many times the revisionist translators had to remove Jehovah in favor of LORD? You can make a quick check with any Strong’s Concordance, as here:
http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=lord&t=KJV&sf=5
Doug,
in the last few years, as I’ve really struggled and grown in my faith, I’ve truly come to feel God’s closeness and intimacy to me. I love the idea of acknowledging this personal God as if he really is my father, welcoming back this prodigal son with open arms.
I don’t know how that ties in with the naming and calling of my Father as “Yahweh” or “God” or even as “Abba.” But, in the defence of the good and true way of my Father, I’ve got to suggest… that you chill out a little.
I’ve never found my Father by goading any of his children.
As I said earlier, “BTW do you happen to know about how many times the revisionist translators had to remove Jehovah in favor of LORD? You can make a quick check with any Strong’s Concordance, as here:
http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/translationResults.cfm?Criteria=lord&t=KJV&sf;”
You don’t find that significant? Has any other word or phrase been substituted- not translated- in that way?
Is there anyone in your life who is significant or important whose personal name you do not know and use regularly?
Please pray for me. And please consider that some conspiracy theories are real. I was an Army wife and I believe that 25 years ago I was kidnapped on a military base and taken to a national park and tortured and thrown into a huge spillway. I feel like God saved my life. I wasn’t a great swimmer but I was a good floater. Another soldier a couple of years later had a plane to fly low over his house and drop rags out soaked in flammable liquid and his dogs were poisoned as were dogs on our base. I am going to see a psychiatrist next month. But please consider reading 8/14/92 The Seattle Times. Also, I know that the military is behind people thinking they’ve been abducted by aliens.
Not all Conspiracy Theories are theories. The Bible tell us all about Satan’s conspiracy against us as individuals, groups, and as nations. I believe in the conspiracies of Masons and Communists against the Catholic Church. I believe there’s a conspiracy within the Church to suppress the Fatima message. As far as conspiracies by bankers, pharmaceutical companies, and Monsanto, I’ll have to get back to you later.
The “Birthers” are being unfairly smeared as comspiracy theorists for asking questions about aspects of our president’s life that are hidden and are being kept from public view. Education is supposed to teach us critical thinking, but when we apply it to our president and to other world events, we’re called crazy.
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