What the Bible Says About QAnon

Quick to Listen

Christianity Today

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.3 • 622 Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2020

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Transcribed highlights of the show can be found in our episode summaries. Plandemic? QAnon? Bill Gates creating the COVID-19? As the novel coronavirus has traveled around the world, so too have conspiracy theories about the origins of the disease and the winners and losers that have emerged as result. In the past month, a video making claims that Gates and Anthony Fauci, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, used COVID-19 to gain money and political power, went viral. At the same time as Plandemic, The Atlantic launched a new series examining conspiracy theories, including an in-depth look at the QAnon, a movement that makes bold claims about the global elite. The Bible has many things to say about conspiracy theories, specifically with regards for how Christians should determine what is real, says Dru Johnson, the director of the Center for Hebraic Thought and who wrote about conspiracy theories for CT in December. “The biblical diagnosis, the biblical impulse here, is not that you have to be afraid of someone lying to you. It's that somebody will always be interpreting your world for you,” said Johnson. “And you have to lean into the wise practices that God has given us as people to discern what is worth listening to and what's not.” “People say that God sent COVID-19 to bring the Church in America together to teach us the lesson. How could we know such a thing?” said Johnson, who also teaches biblical studies and theology at The King’s College in New York City. “But I certainly do believe that God is using this as a test of us. A test of who we trust and how we think about what's worth trusting and understanding.” Johnson joined digital media producer Morgan Lee and editorial director Ted Olsen to share about how the Bible discusses conspiracy theories, what Paul means when he writes about the mysteries of God, and what differentiates a conspiracy theory from a religion. What is Quick to Listen? Read more Rate Quick to Listen on Apple Podcasts Follow the podcast on Twitter Follow our hosts on Twitter: Morgan Lee and Ted Olsen Follow our guest on Twitter: Dru Johnson Visit our guest’s website: Dru Johnson Music by Sweeps Quick to Listen is produced by Morgan Lee and Matt Linder The transcript is edited by Bunmi Ishola Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is brought to you in part by The Apologetics Guy Show, the podcast that helps you find clear answers to tough questions about Christianity.
0:11.1	Learn to explain your faith with courage and compassion. Join Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikhail Del Rosario at apologeticsky.com.
0:22.6	Several weeks ago, millions of people began watching and sharing a clip from a documentary known as
0:26.9	Plannedemic. In it, according to a New York Times summary, a woman animatedly described
0:31.9	an unsubstantiated secret plot by global elites like Bill Gates and Dr. Anthony Fauci to use the
0:37.3	coronavirus pandemic to
0:38.5	profit and grab political power. The video repeated narratives, which conspiracy theories have
0:43.4	pushed on social media channels for weeks, some of which have gone so far as to suggest
0:47.5	that Gates himself created the outbreak. Plandemic's viral popularity coincided with a special
0:52.4	series from the Atlantic on conspiracy theories,
0:55.1	including an in-depth look at the QAnon community.
0:57.9	Here's how writer Adrian LaFrance described its beliefs.
1:01.5	In its broadest contours, the Q&ONM belief system looks something like this.
1:05.7	Q is an intelligence or military insider with proof that corrupt world leaders are secretly torturing children all over the world.
1:12.0	The male factors are embedded in the deep state. Donald Trump is working tirelessly to thwart them.
1:17.0	The eventual destruction of the global cabal is imminent, Q. Prophosize, but can only be accomplished with the support of patriots who search for meaning in Q's clues.
1:26.2	To believe Q. Requires rejecting mainstream institutions, ignoring government officials,
1:31.0	battling apostates, and despising the press.
1:33.8	While many may roll their eyes at conspiracy theories and increasing number of people around the world,
1:38.1	believe, propagate, and act on this knowledge.
1:40.6	And we wanted to discuss their appeal and how Jesus instructed his followers to confront them.
1:46.8	You're listening to Quick to Listen, where we go beyond hashtags and hot takes, discuss a major
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