As an educated Baby Boomer (but not an American history major), I found much of the narrative informative. For instance, at the pivotal Battle of Kings Mountain, there was only one British officer present who led Loyalist regiments against the Patriots. Throughout the series the Loyalists were presented fairly, as persons who followed their conscience, not as fools or villains, although some, like Colonel Tarlton, were.

George Washington is highlighted as man of tact and courage, indispensable in keeping the poorly supplied Continental Army and its untrained militias together. The series stressed that the American victory ultimately came because the Americans wore the British out, not that they had won many battles.

Washington’s choice of resisting being crowned after the war and retiring to Mt. Vernon, plus his refusal to run for a third term, were shown as pivotal for the democratic development of our nation. We can be especially thankful of this in view of the tragedies and tyrannical governments that followed the 1960s era of independence from French and British colonial governments where insurgent generals often became cruel and long-lasting tyrants.

On the other hand, The American Revolution made a frank presentation of Washington’s involvement in land speculation of Indian-owned territory and his order for the destruction of towns and crops of the Indians in Western New York. The description of that campaign was especially difficult to watch, as it must have been for many of my Baby Boomer contemporaries. We were not normally taught these negative aspects about Washington, even though such things are now routinely taught in practically every American history course. Washington’s role as slave owner was also clearly shown, including how he meticulously administered the return of runaway slaves to their owners at the end of hostilities.

This differs with the traditional versions we Baby Boomers learned as high-school and college students. You can find such a perspective in the video, “The First American” (2015) put out by the Gingrich Foundation and hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich along with a roster of conservative luminaries. In this presentation, the only reference to Washington’s relationship with slavery was about his will, in which he freed his slaves. Also not mentioned were the campaigns against the Indians. However, to be fair about the latter, some sort of military action was necessary to secure the New York and Pennsylvania fronts from constant Indian raids.

But conservative critics do have real reasons for their claim that Burn’s The American Revolution was partly a “hatchet job” (pun intended). A detailed review by Dan McLaughlin in the National Review, “No, Ken Burns, the United States Is Not an Iroquois Nation” (Nov 22, 2025), cites several historical errors including a big ideological misinterpretation.

Most disturbing was the absence of any description of English constitutional history in forming the opinions and attitudes of the Colonists. All but the most uneducated Colonists were aware that their “rights as Englishmen” were related to the Magna Carta and its interpretive development. They also knew that the English Civil War overthrew and executed one King, and later the “Glorious Revolution,” idolized by most colonists as a triumph of Protestantism, deposed another. All of this makes the colonial attitude towards their rights and their King historically located and understandable. None of this was mentioned in The American Revolution. This reflects a Leftist disdain of constitutional history as “bourgeois” and irrelevant. Indeed, this is the most serious error and omission of the series.

Despite these flaws, I would affirm that The American Revolution reflects in a major degree the biblical perspective of history. That is, that heroes have serious flaws, but are still providentially used by God. In the Bible the real hero of the Old Testament is God, with multiple “supporting characters” who are imperfect and sometimes disreputable. Moses sinned by destroying the tablet of the Ten Commandments. His brother Aaron, first High Priest, lied about his role in forming the golden calf. In fact, the heroes in the Book of Judges, who were chosen by God to save the Israelites from destruction and oppression, had major flaws, as in Samson and his inability to keep his pants up. David, certainly Israel’s best king, is not spared narrative criticism. His adultery and murder of Uriah was exposed by the prophet Nathan and detailed in the book of Second Kings (chapter 12). And although David repented (Psalm 51) he could not avoid the consequences of his sins. These included a rebellion against him by his son Absalom and ultimately a divided kingdom.

In the New Testament, we see Peter denying Christ three times. After Pentecost, when he was indeed strengthened by the Holy Spirit, he slid away from the freedom of the Gospel and cowardly appeased the “men from Jerusalem” (Galatians 2:11-14).

So perhaps the “heroes” of the Bible were mostly like our Washington. He was the Father of a nation, hero in battle, master of fortitude and resiliency in the midst of setbacks But he also had the flaws of accepting slavery even though he knew it was evil, and perpetuating injustices towards the Indians.

The Founding Fathers’ faults have been routinely taught in American schools for decades now. Most recently, The New York Times’ “The 1619 Project” exaggerated these to the point of mendacity. The ill effects of such a negative focus will be felt in American educations for decades to come. It has resulted in a noticeable, some say catastrophic, decline in patriotism among the younger generation. (What will be the outcome of some future conflict with China fought by a demoralized and unpatriotic draftee Army?)

We can never revert to the traditionalist narrative of neglecting the negative aspects of American history – that would be both impossible in a free society, and more importantly, unbiblical. The Trump administration has begun to undo some of the gross exaggerations by attempting to mold educational textbooks and curriculum to a patriotic position. But American education is largely a state issue, and reversing decades of the exaggerated anti-American narrative and “The 1619 Project,” now embedded in the attitudes of teachers, would be an especially difficult task. Saying this, I commend reasonable attempts, as for example those done in Florida and other conservative states to correct the anti-American narrative with more balanced textbooks and curricula.

Since if we are not likely to get back the traditional patriotism of “The Greatest Generation” which lived through and fought the Second World War, what type of patriotism can come from a biblical perspective? That would be a reasonable love of country that cherishes its good points and achievements, but does not hide its sinful mistakes. St. Augustine, who did not use the term patriotism but rather love of one’s own homeland, noted: “So long as we are in this mortal body, we are away from the Lord… and we love, as is natural, our own land where we live for a time” (The City of God XIX.17).

Augustine also noted that our love of country was to be subordinated to our loyalty and love for the Kingdom of God, and he was especially aware of the temptation to glorify early kingdoms to the point of idolatry. This happened significantly in the Roman Empire when its citizens were required to offer incense to the Emperor – and many Christians were martyred for not doing so.

I talked about Mexico and how God must be pleased with how – after conquest and much injustice to the Indians by the Spaniards – Mexico has developed a largely “mestizo” culture, where their races have been blended and are now living harmoniously. Other countries, like Bolivia, have no done so well. I also noted how successive Mexican governments since the Revolution of 1917, which many Mexicans idolize, had begun a tradition of government corruption that was never effectively confronted. This led to the present danger of having Mexico divided into a collection of drug “principalities” where gangster lawlessness prevailed. Their patriotism and prayers for Mexico must continue in spite of an imperfect home country.

Then I called on them to love and respect their present homeland where they had come to live and work. Here they establish businesses without having to bribe the police or government bureaucrats. America fought wars for freedom which destroyed both Fascism and Communism, something to be immensely proud of.

And yes, American culture has many faults. But again, my congregants had the biblical obligation to pray for the American presidents and state governors and its governments. It was especially important to pray for wisdom in the American presidents with their ability to begin and end wars. At the time, several in my congregation already had children in the Armed Forces (that was fifteen years ago, I wonder if any died in Afghanistan or Iraq).

All of which is to say, there can be an Augustinian-Christian approach to patriotism that takes into account mankind’s universal sinfulness in its different national manifestations, but celebrates one’s national achievements.

PR

Similar stories of great men and women of God, who, like Luther, found little consolation amidst the darkest times of their lives, stir me and remind me that theological precision is a poor substitute for weathered faith. Life, it seems, has this annoying habit of knocking down our fragile, uncontested theological formulas like foul breath beating against a house of cards. Still we are troubled when we read about Luther, a champion theologian and accomplished composer, who was occasionally muted and numbed by personal tragedy. Nor is he an isolated example from church history. As we may recall that New England’s church leader, Cotton Mather, lost eight of fifteen children before reaching their second birthday. And if we are to add tragic marriages (John Wesley, William Carey) and constant illnesses (Charles Spurgeon, Mary Slessor) to the list of life’s tribulations, there would be no time left for the main point, which has been intentionally obscured until now. To the faithful pilgrim, there may be times in life when God alone has the answer for our grieving heart, and it may well be concealed until we pass beyond the veil of this life.

Image: Joshua Earle

I realize that this remark cuts across our American, have-it-your-way philosophy. Frankly, I don’t personally find these stories necessarily uplifting, but they are real and they remind us that death and sorrow are great equalizers while we sojourn on this planet. The first century Christians understood this truth all too well. Paul told the Corinthians of the many perils he faced constantly (II Cor. 11:23-29). The Hebrew author reminded his readers that faith is always rewarded, just not always in this life (11:35-39) as evident in the lives of past saints. Peter went even further, calling attention to our role as “aliens and strangers” (I Pet. 2:11) in this world. I take this to mean that we look to eternity for our ultimate hope, and not meaning that we forsake or despise our earthly, temporal existence. Even Jesus stated that, “in this world [we] will have trouble” (John 16:33a).

The stories we read from church history reinforce the notion that good and godly Christian people can often suffer inexplicably in this life. But having to wait for answers means that we must rely unconditionally on faith in God rather than the standard soapbox bravado and stereotyped propaganda-practices that are more deeply rooted in American business than the Bible. Of course we do not plan our “light and momentary troubles” (as Paul referred to them), but we expect good things from God and in this country we usually get them. But when difficult, even terrible times occur, it is best to remember that we are not entitled to always have a ready answer. Someday, God will “wipe every tear from [our] eyes. There will be no more death or mourning, or crying or pain, for the old order of things [will have] passed away” (Rev. 21:4). Faith is sufficient for the time being.

Copyright © 2003, Larry Taylor. Used by permission of the author.

Originally published on the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website. Later included in the Spring 2024 issue.

See the announcement from CraigKeener.com.

What’s been tickling your ears? Christian historian William De Arteaga argues that conspiracy theories undermine factual history and he offers practical advice to avoid falsehoods and grow in the truth.

But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the Day of Judgment. – Matthew 12:36 (NASB)

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles. For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.” – Matthew 15: 18-20

 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives,
but those who speak rashly will come to ruin. – Proverbs 13:3

“You are not to say, ‘It is a conspiracy!’ Regarding everything that this people call a conspiracy, And you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. – Isaiah 8:12 (NIV)

America is plagued by conspiracy theories (CTs) now more than at any time in its history, and they seem to be gaining momentum.[1] Facebook, Twitter, and the tribalization of our news sources have aided this lamentable situation.[2] For instance, millions of evangelical Christians have come to believe in the QAnon CT. That is, the slanderous CTs based on nothing more than suspicions which claims that liberal elites abduct and kill children for sexual and satanic ritual purposes. Such persons as Hillary Clinton and Chief Justice Roberts are supposedly engaged in this Satanism.

Defining conspiracy theories

This chapter is adapted from William De Arteaga, America in Danger, Left and Right: Biblical Analysis, Actions and Intercessions for the Current Crisis (2022).

Let us start by trying to define what CTs are. They come in many varieties, but in general they are attempts to understand the world, or some negative aspect of it, through false, mythical, or incomplete knowledge. Often CTs are generated by combining a negative event with pre-existing suspicions against some group or person. Similarly, predictive CTs are stories based on suspicions that an evil group or person will do something evil. In CTs, suspicions are considered facts, and little or no attempt is made to verify the information on logical or normal evidential grounds. The anger, suspicion and distrust embraced by the CT believer (and his/her social group with similar beliefs) often diminishes logical reasoning or factual verification. Societies under stress often experience a rash of CTs when events in history begin to go against them. A recent example of this is the gaggle of CTs circulating in Russia during “Putin’s War” against the Ukraine, as in the belief that NATO wants to partition Russia.[3]

One especially tragic and sinful CT occurred over five hundred years ago during Europe’s bubonic plague (1347 to 1351). A rumor and CT spread among Christians that the plague was caused by Jews who poisoned the wells to exterminate Christians. This CT spread rapidly, and mobs all throughout Europe gathered up Jews by the thousands and burned them at the stake without any trial or evidence other than their suspicions. Many of the Jews who survived were looted of their goods and exiled out of Europe into Islamic Spain and other places. This corporate event was both a sin of slander and genocide – the “careless word” of the Bible in extreme. CTs about the Jews would continue to circulate for centuries, reaching their climax in the Nazi holocaust.

At the root of most CTs is an unbiblical assumption that history and current events should be understandable and go mostly one’s own way. If it does not, it is the result of a specific group of evildoers who make things go wrong. The Bible teaches to the contrary: mankind is universally afflicted with sin, and the outcomes in history are constantly molded by sinful, uninformed, foolish, and selfish choices by all peoples and governments. This results in the “wrongness” and chaos of normal history – that is, history without God’s intervening grace.

The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place. But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his   people and there was no remedy.  He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and did not spare young men or young women, the elderly or the infirm. God gave them all into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the Lord’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there (2 Chronicles 39:15-19).

But back to modern CTs, let me describe a conspiracy theory I saw generated firsthand back in 1974 and which is typical of many CTs. The background to this: At the time Israel had just fought the Yom Kippur War. For the first days it went badly for Israel, but the Israeli Army and Air Force counter-attacked and gained the ascendency. However, Israel almost ran out of ammunition and other vital supplies. President Nixon organized a massive airlift to resupply the Jewish armed forces and enable them to continue their successful counterattack.

At this time a colleague at my job, Bob (not his real name) went to visit relatives in Louisiana, and there observed a large refinery and tankers offloading oil (probably from Venezuela). On his return he told me the oil shortage was “bogus” and a plot by oil executives to artificially raise the price of gas. “There is plenty of gas out there for everybody.” He saw one large refinery still operating, but he had no access to the details of whether it was working at limited or full production. Neither could he see at the same time the millions of cars in the US refueling at hundreds of thousands of gas stations, nor did he have any way to calculate if that refinery could supply all of America’s needs (of course not).

But Bob felt sure he had the truth and felt that he was a wise person with true, firsthand information that proved the oil executives were greedy and evil. This was a cheap way to bolster his self-esteem since he was not a greedy executive but a “regular guy.” To the contrary, he slandered gas executives he did not know. Of course, some gas executives were greedy and sinful, as in any group of human beings, but it is not true that they created the shortage, nor did they artificially jack up the price of gas. Note the sequence: a “wrong” situation (higher gas prices and low speed limit), a suspect group (oil executives), a leap of logic, and behold: a new CT is born along with its attached speculative slander – the “careless word” that the Bible warns us against.

Earlier, when I was a high-school teacher at an Atlanta public school (1970-1973) and taught at a predominantly African American high-school, I heard several conspiracy theories from the students. Among them was the CT that has now gotten wide traction among whites and African Americans alike: the moon landings were faked and never took place. This CT was partially driven, I believe, by their observation and hurt that none of the astronauts or supporting scientists manning the consoles at mission control in Houston were African American, and therefore the event was of little interest or joy to them.

This was not a harmless CT. I noticed that none of my students had any special interest in space science, unlike white kids of the era. Becoming a good scientist usually starts young, with curiosity and a passion to learn how the world works, but the CT about the moon landings cut that off, at least in space science. I have wondered how many more African American space scientists there could be now if that CT not been developed and believed. There was an element of speculative slander (careless word) and deception here as this CT created an imaginary group of high-ranking NASA officials who did not have the integrity to say that the moon mission was not possible, and therefore created a photographic studio to fake the landings, etc.^[5]

There is another class of CTs generated by people’s inability to accept the normal chaos and caprice of historical events. For instance, the Titanic struck the iceberg that sank it due mostly to the fact that the duty officer of that night did not give the sailors on lookout duty the required binoculars. Many other dramatic turns and events in history have occurred by such careless and trivial actions. But humans are tempted to believe major events are all intended by important figures or groups engaged in conspiracies.[6] To the contrary, chaos and mistakes are an ever present constant in history (as in personal life).

Are some conspiracy theories true?

Let me say that not all CTs are false, although most are. Sometimes a CT points to something that is true but not widely recognized.[7] It is indeed a serious problem figuring out which are true or false.

Let me also make a distinction between a conspiracy and a CT. Conspiracies and secret alliances, big and small, have occurred and will continue to occur throughout all of history. The most infamous one was the conspiracy to secretly exterminate the Jews from Europe that was plotted and carried out by the Nazis in World War II. A conspiracy is a plot to do something by real people. A CT is a hypothesis or theory that a group is plotting or doing something destructive without direct evidence, or on speculative evidence.[8]

Biblical wisdom vs. conspiracy theories

A significant question: Why is it that so many of the books of the Bible are historical? That type of religious writings is rarely found in the Scriptures of other world religions.[10] Especially unique in the Bible are the historical books that repeat with different perspectives the same events, as in the Gospels in the New Testament and the books of Chronicles and Kings in the Old. What type of wisdom does God expect us to receive from historical books? These are important questions that we must keep in mind as we compare the Biblical view of history with CTs.

The historical books of the Bible stress man’s freedom and responsibility in obeying or disobeying God and His commandments.[11] God does not interfere in man’s freedom to obey or disobey, to be foolish, or work out of misinformation. Sometimes He works though mankind’s sin and foolishness to get His providential way. An example is found in the account of Joseph and his brothers.

We see the Biblical view of restoration work out in the Israeli exile and return from their captivity in Babylon. In fact, the captives were first enticed by a false prophet called Hananiah to believe that they would be immediately returned to Jerusalem. He was prophesying out of his “flesh,” as Paul would put it, and confused the people’s yearnings to return home for God’s prophetic word. His words pleased but misled the exiles. But Jeremiah put Hananiah in his place:

Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord’” (Jeremiah 28: 15-16).

As a counter-point, Jeremiah wrote a letter to the exiles which really reflected God’s will and plans for them. It deflated heroic expectancy of the exiles. No hero would rescue them, the Babylonian king would not die in battle, etc. Instead, the true prophet had mundane but spiritually significant instructions:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:4-7).

The exiles obeyed the true word of God, settled, blessed and prayed for the local government, and awaited divine restoration. That came, as described in the same chapter of Chronicles which described the horrible fall of the Jerusalem, via an unexpected source, a pagan king:

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them’” (2 Chronicles 36: 22-23).

Conspiracy Theories are Counterfeit History

From the Biblical standard, CTs are counterfeit history. They rob persons accepting CTs of the wisdom one should have in reading and understanding historical situations or relating them to present crises. Persons under the sway of CTs, Christian or not, are encouraged to believe that the elimination of an evil group and the triumph of a “good” faction will bring about peace and harmony. In effect, politics is confused with messianic expectations. Christians who buy into CTs believe they must give divine providence a helping hand. They want the offensive group or faction removed or exterminated so that the golden age may come forth. That dream might be, as Donald Trump supporters wish, an America where the Left is reduced to impotency and America returns to the conservative interpretation of the Constitution. Similarly, a Left-leaning might dream of an America free of Republican and “fascist” policies with a socialist economic and political system.

Well, guess what?

How to resist conspiracy theories

The harm of CTs range from being the sources of genocide as in the CT that the Jews caused the Black Death in the Middle Ages, to less destructive ones such as the CT that the Moon landings were bogus. But now, a potential disaster is looming if the 2024 election hangs in the balance of what happens in a few swing states. Pro-Trump Secretaries of State and election boards may believe it is their patriotic duty to correct the supposed wrong of the 2020 election and give Trump an unearned victory. That could push the country to some destructive civil disturbance or even civil war. This would be Satan’s delight and the practical end in America’s role as the model and protector of democracy in the world.

Image: Mel Poole

Less catastrophic but also bringing great evil is the ongoing ability of modern CTs to make it difficult for societies to establish simple base lines of truth and facts. This makes the rise of authoritarian societies attractive to many, as such regimes have the power to limit incoming information and CTs, and thus limit the divisions in society (while also limiting the ability to receive a corrective truth).

For Christians, embracing CTs are sin because they make slanderous accusations of the imagined villains (Matthew 12:36). Christians who hold to CTs are also subject to various distortions and detours in their Christian walk. For one, they acquire a sense of superiority over the other folk who do not believe in their specific CTs. They view themselves as having superior wisdom and discernment (recall Bob and his CT about the 1974 fuel shortage) when in fact the opposite may be true. The believers in QAnon are a case study of this. Not only do they take part in cycle of slander, they waste a great deal of time in the pursuit of clues about who is supposedly abusing children. Besides being sinful, this is time that could be used for creative good.

Spiritual progress into Christian discipleship demands the humility to know we are all sinners and fallible in our opinions. Our political views are marred by our limitations in discerning which news stories and sources are more accurate and which are mostly false. In many mono-political churches in the United States, CTs of one sort or another are believed by practically everyone in the congregation. This makes a critical evaluation of CTs not only difficult, but even grounds for being dis-fellowshipped if not believed. These churches will typically have less empathy for Christians of opposite political leanings. This leads to less communication and cooperation in areas where the church should be united. In short, CTs function as one more tool for Satan to use in further dividing an already divided Church. All of the above are great gains for Satan, for the weakening of the American nation and the weakening of the authority and prestige of the Evangelical church.

How to personally resist CTs

If a person is confused about what to believe in the present atmosphere of information overload, specifically which stories may be true or destructive CTs, let me suggest the following:

Pray that God give you the wisdom and discernment in distinguishing between an item of information that is a false CT and one that may be true. (We have noted that a few CT, often denied by reputable sources are true). Remember that a “careless word” is a sin of slander and displeasing to the Lord, even if many of your friends believe and spread it.

Understand that history does not go our way. The 20^th Century was the American century. The 21^st Century may not be an American Century unless there is transformative revival.

All persons, including Christians, are more susceptible to CTs as they give themselves the license of “hate thinking and talking” of their adversaries. As Christians we should recognize that hatred towards others is a sin, which includes thinking hateful thoughts against our political enemies (Matt 5:43). Thoughts such as “I hate Nancy Pelosi and everything she does.” This hate thought can be substituted with, “I believe Pelosi is seriously wrong in her politics and they are harmful for our Country.”  You can then pray for her, as in “Lord, guide her out of error into truth.” That would be a great prayer for any politician and in line with what Paul advocated (1 Tim 2:1-3).

One needs to come to an understanding that opposition is not hypocritical and evil but works out of differing assumptions. For instance, I have heard some Christians say things like, “Pelosi is an absolute hypocrite. All she wants is absolute power.”  Well, let’s leave the character judgement of hypocrite up to God. But Pelosi is acting and politicking on assumptions that are common and perfectly reasonable to Democrats but alien to Republicans, as in, believing government can solve most problems. That may be true, or false and destructive, but believing that is not hypocritical.

Vigorously abstain from sourcing radio, TV programs, and web sites that have been proven to spread CTs – as for instance the programs of Alexa Jones. Don’t look at them even for fun.

Cultivate an attitude of humility towards knowing the truth or asserting as true things that are not clearly true. Here Paul is a great example. He was arguably the person in the New Testament who received the most direct revelation from the ascended Jesus. Based on those revelations he wrote authoritatively, as in his letter to the Romans. But when an item of controversy was encountered that was not covered by Scripture or Jesus’ revelation to him, he expressed his opinion in tentative way, allowing the reader to understand that this was not firm revelation. An example is found in Paul’s response to some questions that arose in the Corinthian Church about marriage and problems of separation from a non-believing spouse. Paul is careful to state that what he says is not based on Jesus’ revelation but has a certain amount of wisdom, and the reader can exercise certain options (1 Corinthians 7:8-39).

Practice the words of humility when a news item or story is new and not fully vetted. Using such words as “perhaps, maybe” or the phrase “I will wait for more information” are great ways to sidestep a story that may be a slanderous CT. Of course, certain professions and lines of work demand decisions and actions well before the full facts are known, as in a policeman acting on a tip that may or not be true. For most of us, items of the political or culture wars should be areas where we use the language of humility to express our views.

Be aware that the phrase “everybody knows” most often refers to opinions held by one’s own group. For instance, in Woke circles “everybody knows” Trump is a fascist. In Conservative circles “everybody knows” Pelosi is a socialist, etc. A reminder, in the Middle Ages, “everybody knew” that the Jews poisoned the wells and produced the Black Death.

If you hear a story about your political enemies, and you would like to believe it, as in, “Pelosi is a paid Chinese agent,” because that would confirm your distrust of the Democrats, be suspicious. Express any opinion on that in the subjunctive, “Maybe the story is true, maybe not.”  That makes it easier to back off if the story is proven bogus.[14]

PR

This article has been adapted from “Conspiracy theories and the negation of history” from America in Danger. For an earlier version of this article, see “The Sinfulness and Destructiveness of Conspiracy Theories.” Used with permission.

Notes

[1] Jeffery Goldberg, “Conspiracy Theorists are Winning,” Atlantic Monthly (May 12,2929). https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/shadowland-introduction/610840/

[2] This chapter is a reworked version of an article I wrote for Pneuma Review, “The Sinfulness and Destructiveness of Conspiracy Theories,” Posted June 29, 2015. http://pneumareview.com/the-sinfulness-and-destructiveness-of-conspiracy-theories/ A useful Christian source is Rich Nathan’s article, “Why Do so many People Believe Conspiracies?” (Accessed April 20, 2023). https://www.richnathan.org/post/why-do-so-many-people-believe-conspiracies

[3] Ilya Yablukov, “Putin Used Conspiracy Theories Before, Now He Seems to Believe Them,” New York Times (April 25, 2022). https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/25/opinion/putin-russia-conspiracy-theories.html

[4] God’s judgement is a topic not often dealt with by modern theologians, but an excellent recent work on the issue is Steven J. Keillor’s God’s Judgments: Interpreting History and the Christian Faith (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2007).

[5] SCI Network. “The Truth Behind the Moon Landings,” TV program aired July 2019 which systematically demolished the pseudo-science behind the CT that American astronauts never walked on the moon. Also, the Wikipedia article, “Moon landing conspiracy theories,” gives a splendid summary of the theory and how it has been debunked by independent third parties. Verification of the moon landings include pictures from new, high-resolution telescopes which can identify the various lunar landers which are still on the moon.

[6] Jared Knott, Tiny Blunders/Big Disasters: 39 Tiny Mistakes that Changed the World (Duluth: Jefferson Central, 2020).

[7] Ross Douthat, “Jeffery Epstein and When to Take Conspiracies Seriously,” New York Times (Aug. 13, 2019). https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/13/opinion/jeffrey-epstein-suicide.html

[8] A historical note: Frederick the Great of Prussia suspected that there was a conspiracy between Austria, Russia and France to partition Prussia between them. He had no proof, so it was his CT. He preemptively attacked Austria on his suspicion, and many believed he was an aggressor. However, in the 20^th Century archival research revealed that Russia, France and Austria were indeed planning an attack. They had a conspiracy against Prussia. History if often complex.

[9] Most scholars of the history of historical writings (“historiography”) would reverse this and say that the West’s robust historical writings comes mainly from its Greco-Roman tradition with further developments especially in the early modern period. I hope to elaborate my dissident view that the Biblical influence is preeminent in a future book. For now, I would refer the reader to the classic study of historical method by the English Christian scholar: R.G. Collingwood’s The Idea of History (New York: Oxford University Press, 1956) part II. Collingwood shows that Christian historical writing introduced the concept of character development or decline, a concept not found in the classical Greco-Roman writers who believed in set character via the stars, i.e., astrology. It is also important to understand the seminal work of Mircea Eliade’s, The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History (Princeton: Princeton University, 1955) in which the Eliade points out the critically important contribution of the Jews to history, that of linear history (non-repeating). See also, Thomas Cahill: The Gifts of the Jews (New York; Nan L. Talese: 1998), and the classic work by Herbert Butterfield, The Origins of History (New York: Basic Books, 1981). For use in a Christian school or adult Sunday school I strongly recommend John Fea’s Why Study History? (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013).

[10] The scriptures of other religions often have founder’s tales, but nothing to compare to the systematic history found in books of Kings or Chronicles.

[11] A modern Pentecostal classic on this is Jon Mark Ruthven’s work, What’s Wrong With Protestant Theology (Tulsa: Word and Spirit, 2013).

[12] Incidentally, this definitively disproved the John Birch’s conspiracy theory (for more on this, see America in Danger, chapter 11) that Truman, Eisenhower and other US presidents were presiding over a conscious conspiracy to turn the world over to the Communists. Rather, they employed the policy of containment, first articulated by the diplomat George F. Kennan, which urged that the Communist nations be contained but not attacked, proved true. Kennan foresaw that Communist society would fall apart in time. However, that was not totally true. Communism’s fall was brought forward by pressure from the West, as in President Regan’s “Star Wars” anti-ballistic missile program, and spiritual forces loosed by Pope Paul II. On the latter, see George Weigel’s, The End and the Beginning: The Victory of Freedom, the Last Years, the Legacy (New York: Doubleday, 2010).

[13] Francis Fukuyama, “The End of History,” National Interest (Summer 1989).

[14] For more hints, from a secular viewpoint, on how to protect oneself from fake news and CTs see, Julie Jargson, “How to Tell Fact From Fiction, Even During War.” Wall Street Journal (Mar. 5, 2022) https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-to-spot-fake-news-even-during-a-war-11646434626

How has God worked through his people to keep and spread the true good news about Jesus Christ despite global-scale opposition?

The Gospel in Late Antiquity

The Ghost Of Alexander Severus: Third Century Religious Pluralism as a Foretaste of Postmodernity

Has Christianity ever found itself in a world full of competing religions and cultures? What can we learn from how those followers of Jesus acted in their times? Should we hope for the same kinds of outcomes?

As appearing in the Winter 2013 issue.

A Time of Weakness, A Time of Strength: AD 315-450

Constantine’s Edict of Milan brought an end to the persecution of Christians, but that did not mean the Church was granted favor throughout the Roman Empire. What are the lessons for us today?

As appearing in the Winter 2014 issue.

New Threats to the Gospel After Suppression and Expansion

Reappraising the Christian Faith During Late Antiquity: AD 175-400. Christian historian, Woodrow Walton, invites us to take another look at the early church and the struggles it faced as it emerged from the Apostolic Age and became the state religion of the crumbling Roman Empire.

As appearing in the Fall 2016 issue.

The Gospel in the Medieval Conundrum

The Medieval Church Conundrum: How the Gospel was Preserved and Spread from the Frontiers

When the Empire made the Church into one of its institutions, how could the radical good news about Jesus the Christ continue to break out and change lives?

As appearing in the Winter 2016 issue.

Spreading from the Frontiers: Another Look at the Gospel in the Medieval Church

Wars without end, daily terror, displacement of entire populations: Can the medieval Church help us understand how to respond to our troubles today? What relationship should there be between the Church and political power? What should we make of how monks lived out their understanding of the good news of Jesus on the margins of society? How can we come to grips with how crusaders often acted nothing like Christ whom they claimed to be fighting for? Christian historian Woodrow Walton shows how the Gospel spread from the frontiers in this re-appraisal of the years A.D. 400-1452.

As appearing in the Spring 2017 issue.

The Spread of the Gospel in Hindsight: The Church’s First 1452 Years

What can Christians today learn from the successes and failures of Christians in the first fifteen centuries of the breaking out of the Good News of Jesus the Christ?

As appearing in the Fall 2017 issue.

The Resurgence of the Gospel and the Flowering of the Global Christian Message

“The Medieval Prologue and the Remapping of the World”

The gospel continued to spread as the Power of the Holy Spirit changed lives and changed the course of history, no matter the opposition and oppression.

As appearing in the Summer 2018 issue.

“Recharting the Christian World Mission”

Church councils, a changing geo-political landscape, invasion and upheavals had a radical impact on how followers of Jesus participated in the Christian mission.

As appearing in the Fall 2018 issue.

“The Challenge of the Muslim Curtain”

Through upheaval and suppression, being despised by civil governments and facing outright persecution, Christians survived on the other side of the Muslim Curtain. This is part of their story.

As appearing in the Winter 2019 issue.

“The Reconversion of Europe”

How did monasteries, hospitality, and persecution lead to the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

As appearing in the Spring 2019 issue.

“Resurgence of the Gospel: Postscript and Bibliography”

Historian Woodrow Walton helps us look back over the big events and movement of history to see how God was working to make the story of Jesus known throughout the world. In this postscript to the Resurgence of the Gospel series, he ties together what the challenge of the Turkic-Moslem curtain meant and how it affected the people of Europe and the global mission of Christianity.

As appearing in the Summer 2019 issue.

This index was later included in the Fall 2022 issue.

Henan is book number five in Paul Hattaway’s series “The China Chronicles.” This series focuses on true accounts of Christianity in China; it is thus a work of history. The author points out that this book is not the same as the one he wrote in 2009 called Henan: The Galilee of China; the text of this current volume contains changes, improvements, and new material not found in the earlier book (page xvii).

In speaking of the history of Henan, Hattaway says that it extends back approximately 3,500 years (page 2). At one time Buddhism was popular (page 2). Perhaps surprisingly, during the course of its history thousands of Jews have lived in Henan (page 3), they have been in the province for 2,000 years (page 9). The population of the province is currently close to 100 million (pages vi, 7) and it has more Christians than any other province in China (page 7). This is not because the church has not suffered persecution, on the contrary, the church there has suffered much (page 7).

The author says that Christianity has been in Henan for more than 1,300 years (page 17). Though it has a large Christian population today, the gospel did not bear much fruit for most of this time, it was not until the 1970s that significant growth took place (page 17). The first to bring the Christian message to the province were Nestorians, they arrived in the AD 600s (page 18). In the late 1500s Jesuit (Catholic) missionaries arrived (page 19). Evangelical missionaries did not arrive in Henan until the late 1800s (page 23).

Henan Province, China. In 2020, total population was estimated at over 99 million people.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

As Hattaway recounts the history of Christianity in this province, the reader will encounter the names of many Christian workers, both men and women. Some of them were missionaries who came to China from other countries and some were national workers. Readers who have some knowledge of missions will recognize names like Jonathan Goforth and Marie Monson. The author gives considerable space to discussing the ministries of Jonathan and Rosalind Goforth (pages 55-70) and Marie Monsen (pages 99-116). Readers who are more familiar with the Chinese church will recognize the names of Brother Yun, Zhang Rongliang, and Peter Xu Yongze.

In addition to individuals the author gives attention to some of the house church movements. These are the churches that are not part of the government approved Three-Self Patriotic church. The networks he writes about are: The Born-Again Movement (pages 155-178), The Nanyang Church (pages 198-217), The China Gospel Fellowship (pages 218-234), and the Fangcheng Church (pages 252-278).

Henan is a very balanced book in that it includes accounts about the hardships of the church in the province and the miracles that have taken place through the ministry of the church there. The church has experienced tremendous growth. One of the factors that has contributed to this growth is the uncompromising commitment of the Chinese believers to stand for Jesus no matter what. The book contains some very notable accounts of people being raised from the dead. An eighteen-year-old girl was raised after having been dead for three days, this took place after hours of worship and prayer (pages 207-208). In another very powerful account a man was raised from the dead. A Chinese believer went to a morgue three days in a row to pray for a dead man, after the third day the man came back to life (pages 213-217). Interestingly enough, the man who prayed for the dead man did not see the miracle happen, he heard about it later (page 216).

Reviewed by John Lathrop

Read an excerpt: Marie Monsen – The Mother of the Chinese House Churches

Asia Harvest’s page about Henan: https://www.asiaharvest.org/henan-inside-chinas-revival-a-new-book-by-paul-hattaway

This excerpt from Led by the Spirit is the Preface and Introduction. Missionary-scholar Dave Johnson has brought together a chronicle of over 300 Pentecostal missionaries serving in the Philippines from 1926 through the first decade of the new Millennium.

Preface

Like many other books, this volume was written to fulfill a perceived need. While serving as country moderator in the Philippines for the Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM) from 2002 through 2003, I sometimes asked myself how my predecessors might have handled similar situations to those I was facing. Then, looking around at the churches and institutions that former missionaries had built and passed on, I found myself asking who these missionaries were. I had few answers to my questions. My wife, Debbie, and I both began to sense that God was directing us to do something about it. The book you hold in your hands is the result.

My intent here is to describe what God has done through the United States (U.S.) Assemblies of God missionaries who served or are serving in the Philippines, with the understanding that God accomplishes His purposes through flawed people. The philosophy used in writing this book is to present an accurate, comprehensive, and balanced account of the work of the Assemblies of God Missionary Fellowship in the Philippines that neither lionizes nor libels those involved in order that God is revealed as the Hero of the story.

The limitations are numerous. The personnel and policies from the AGWM home office in Springfield, Missouri, will only be included as they relate to the work in the field. The activities of the missionaries while home for itineration or other reasons are beyond the scope entirely. The relationship between the missionaries and the Philippines General Council of the Assemblies of God (PGCAG) was and remains symbiotic and, therefore, has some overlap. Since the history of the PGCAG is not the focus of this story, its history will only be recorded in places where it intersects with that of the U.S. missionaries. The rest of their story will have to be told elsewhere. Also not included here is the work done by Assemblies of God missionaries from other countries.

Additionally, a number of international ministries such as the Asia Pacific Theological Seminary (APTS) are all based in the Philippines. Since the focus of the book is limited to the Philippines, the activities that missionaries assigned to these ministries engaged in outside of the country are beyond the scope of this book. The valued work of missionary associates is not included mostly because of space limitations but also because of lack of research materials available.

J.D. King has a wide-range of roles-and experience-in the local and larger Body of Christ. He has been a key part of the well-known revival that launched from what is now known as World Revival Church. Interesting, not only has he been a part, he has remained as a lead trainer and mentor of those who have been touched by the move of God and desire to carry it to other communities—and around the world. In fact, he is now pastor of the church located in Kansas City, Missouri. He has experienced revival, been used by God as a part of a team to sustain and spread revival, and currently pastors, many years later, the church from which the revival was launched. Beyond the revival and local church experience, he has wide readership in both print media, including Charisma Media, and a large social media following due to a popular blog covering a wide range of subjects. Related to the book I am reviewing, Regeneration: A Complete History of Healing in the Christian Church, Volume 2, he has researched the subject independently for nearly two decades. His experience with revival, healing in the local church, and years of independent research provides him a very broad lenses to view and share on the ministry of healing—both today and in the larger context of Church history.

The stated purpose of the book, to present healing as a central part of Church history and Christian heritage, is a challenging one, to say the least. Has healing truly been in practice, beyond small pockets, for these thousands of years? Is it possible that healing is really part of the Gospel-and practice-of the Church instead of just being a side issue that is at best tolerated? There are many years-and “streams”-to cover—not to mention personalities to profile and highlight. This is exactly what J.D. King set out to see and to reveal. The result is this massive three volume set of books. It has received positive reviews from scholars and ministry leaders such as Dr. Randy Clark, Dr. Michael Brown, and Dr. Craig Keener.

Though I have, and had heavily “skimmed,” all three volumes, I chose to review the second volume. This volume covers the years 1947 to the present (and the various movements that came throughout those years). This covers Salvation-Healing through what has been dubbed the Third Wave. I have to admit that I, too, love healing ministry and equipping others to see healings, but there is also so much to learn by looking back and seeing the figures God used and the movements they were a part of. There is so much to be gleaned from the personalities, theologies, and experiences of these men and women. Past areas of study, for me, included salvation-healing, Word of Faith, and Third Wave, but, from my reading of this volume, I really picked out a lot of good “nuggets” about men, women and movements that I thought I knew much about already. One example is the life and ministry of John Wimber (And by extension, Bill Johnson, who was influenced by and reflects Wimber’s legacy today.). I had wondered how the author would cover so much history in three volumes, but King does a great job packing a lot of useful information into a very readable flow of words that keeps your attention. The pages have the information that make it useful (along with many, many footnotes that point to additional resources for the true researcher) for the scholar; but also a flow that makes it accessible to the hungry heart, too. The book may challenge the reader at times. I felt my “Feathers being ruffled” while reading the section on Word of Faith, but by the end of the section, I had to admit it was a fair reflection. It did not degrade the movement as many have, but it does show you the good, the bad, and the ugly. It documents the shifts within the movement itself. For me, the small section of “Missing the Spirit?” is a great commentary on the movement, but causes us to check our own hearts as well. We need the Word and the Spirit, but, most of all, we need the “prayer and fellowship with the Father.” It is clear that a man who is both an ardent researcher and pastor has composed these volumes.

On this website you will find:

• All of the new books that we have published over the last five years—all available at good prices.
• Over 200 articles on Pentecostal Theology, Missions and History, dating back to the beginning of the Asian Journal of Pentecostal Studies in 1998. All articles are downloadable and absolutely free!
• Dozens of book reviews and editorials

Please drop us a line and let us know what you think of the site. We want to hear from you!

Dave Johnson, DMiss

Press Director & Journal editor

Pastor J. D. King speaks with PneumaReview.com about the history of divine healing he has written, the three-volume Regeneration: A Complete History of Healing in the Christian Church.

PneumaReview.com: Please tell our readers why you chose the name Regeneration for your book on healing.

J. D. King: I understand that some will accept this title and others will not. Through my studies, I have found that healing is deeply rooted in the gospel. The transformative work of Jesus is not just psychological, emotional, or spiritual—it is also physical. I know that it is controversial to make this assertion, but healing is truly part and parcel of the gospel.

While Craig Keener is by no means making the same argument, his monumental work, Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, highlights the viability of healing in Christianity. Jon Mark Ruthven, in his recent work, What’s Wrong With Protestant Theology, argues that healing and the works of the Spirit are what signify the reality of the “new covenant” (Isaiah 59:19-21).  Missionary-evangelist, Randy Clark, has demonstrated healing’s significance in his vast Latin American crusades (as well as his recent interchanges with scholars at United Theological Seminary).[1]