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

Eugene Bach: I travel more than 300 days a year for ministry and see a lot of different types of Christians. I speak at big churches and small churches. I work with underground house church Christians in Iran and traditional conservative churches in Europe and as different as they are all are, there is a common thread that binds us all together – our desire to see revival.

It is a universal desire among Christians world-wide.

I have been working in China for almost 20 years and during this time I have witnessed the world’s largest revival. Being involved with grassroots missions in China has thrown me into the fires of cultural immersion and allowed me to experience this revival firsthand as it was happening.

Traveling with Chinese missionaries into many closed nations has provided me with a unique perspective of the pain that exists in nations where revival has tarried.

Six years ago, I decided to start from the beginning, trace the history of revival, identify it’s characteristics, and see what we could learn to help push forward into the nations that have not yet experienced revival.

PneumaReview.com: The word “revival” means many things to many people. How would you define it?

Eugene Bach: I want to be very careful to not create a rigid definition of revival that excludes a movement of God, so for our road trip Bible study, we start in the book of Acts chapter 1 and follow what happens in the first century church.

During our road trip Bible study, Chasing Revival, we found this definition to be more accurate than others.

We believe that revival is not necessarily spontaneous – appearing out of thin air, but is rather continuation of what Jesus promised in Acts chapter 1. The revivals happening in China today are not new, but their roots can be traced back to Acts 1 in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.

PneumaReview.com: What are some of the places you traveled to while making Chasing Revival?

Eugene Bach: We started in Jerusalem and followed the book of Acts into Judea, Samaria, Asia Minor, and to the “ends of the world.” This led us in a mainly western direction.

Charles W. Fuller, The Trouble with “Truth through Personality”: Phillip Brooks, Incarnation, and the Evangelical Boundaries of Preaching (Eugene, Ore.: Wipf & Stock, 2010), 137 pages, ISBN 9781608994038.

‘Preaching is the bringing of truth through personality,’ stated Phillips Brooks, the former rector of Trinity Church in Boston and later Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts who lived from 1835 to 1893, to the original listeners of his now famous lectures on preaching at Yale College.[1] Many preachers and homileticians have quoted his definition ever since. But what does it actually mean? Charles W. Fuller, pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky and adjunct professor of Expository Preaching at Boyce College of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, examines Brooks’ sermons, lectures, and writings in an attempt to find out exactly.

The author forthrightly states the main thesis of his book in its introduction: “This book assesses, from an evangelical perspective, Brooks’s [sic] classic definition of preaching as ‘truth through personality’ and, after pinpointing its substantial weaknesses, salvages the concept by reconstructing it with solidly evangelical doctrines (p. xviii).

Though Fuller claims to write as an evangelical, the non-Calvinistic reader soon begins to wonder with what form of evangelicalism does the author identify himself? Since he serves as an adjunct professor Boyce College of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, it seems safe to assume he alludes to those Calvinistic evangelicals who consider themselves the only true proclaimers of the pure unadulterated gospel of Jesus Christ. The Southern Baptist Seminary has become known in recent years as a bastion of high or five-point Calvinism. Since Brooks tended to lean away from high Calvinism, even to the point of questioning the teaching of what is now known as eternal security (a distinctive doctrine of the church Fuller pastors), this reviewer wonders if this is the reason Fuller accuses Brooks of unorthodoxy?

Over all, the book tends to be blatantly negative of Brooks, as the author frankly admits and laments. A major concern for Fuller is his belief that Brooks emphasized the importance of personality over truth. He alleges Brooks did so because of his less than evangelical theology, the influence of the teaching of evolution and higher criticism in his day, and his wide reading of philosophic Romantic literature. He especially takes exception to what he perceives as Brooks’ emphasis on Jesus’ example over His atonement.

Fuller contends three problems confront any academic study of Brooks: his popularity, his ambiguity, and his idealism (pp. xxi-xxii). Brooks was an immensely popular preacher in his day. By his own admission, Brooks felt he was at his best when he spoke in general rather than in specific terms.[2] And Brooks was a product of Romanticism to some extent with its emphasis on feelings over the facts of faith. But Fuller makes Brooks into more or less a liberal in his day. He does so by evaluating Brooks’ theology in four areas: biblicism, crucicentrism, conversionism, and activism (to use Fuller’s own categories). He finds Brooks deficient on every evangelical scale he proposes. He never seems to give Brooks the benefit of the doubt. He apparently finds little, if anything, to admire in the man or his ministry, although many people in Brooks’ own day felt decidedly positive toward him.

For instance, Fuller often quotes what appear to be clear affirmations of evangelical theology by Brooks only to turn right around and explain them away. This unusual methodology gives the impression Brooks could not do or say anything right in the mind of Fuller.

How do experiential truth and the bondage-breaking power of the Spirit support every believer to have a right relationship with God?

Given the fact that the Bible’s primary concern is our relationship to God, a relationship that starts with commitment or allegiance to Him, where are the contextualization studies dealing with relationship? What are the culturally appropriate varieties of commitment and relationship to God through Jesus Christ? And, since spiritual power is high on the list of concerns for both biblical peoples as well as for most of the peoples of the present world, where are the contextualization studies dealing with spiritual power? Doesn’t the Bible have a lot to say about this subject? And might there not be culturally appropriate differences in the ways God’s authority and power are to be exercised from society to society?

Charles Kraft asks: Where are treatments of the more experiential side of Christian life and practice—theology as it is lived, not just as it is thought about?

In 1991 and 1992¹ I published articles dealing with three encounters that are crucial to the experience and communication of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I labeled these encounters: Allegiance (or Commitment), Truth and Power. As I have pondered these encounters, I have come to the conclusion that these areas are even more important than I had realized.

In my articles, I pointed out that each of these encounters leads to a specific very important dimension of Christian experience: allegiance leads to relationship, truth leads to understanding and spiritual power leads to freedom. Each of these areas is a crucial dimension of the God-connected life. I now believe the areas of encounter are pointing to the three crucial dimensions of Christian experience and witness. If so, we need to theorize concerning contextualization in each of these areas, rather than simply dealing with the truth (knowledge) area.

What I Mean By Dimensions

A dimension is an aspect of Christianity that, though closely interrelated with the other dimensions, is quite distinct in its content and, therefore, needs to be defined and treated as a distinct entity. We can focus on this distinctness in several ways. One way is to look at the distinctness of the human problems in view under each category.

There are those in the evangelical community who are cult watchers. Though they know a lot about cults and biblical truth, they seem to poorly understand spiritual power. They, therefore, are very good at exposing the errors of the cults, but can do nothing with their power. In fact, some of them in their lack of understanding of power, actively condemn legitimate Christian power ministries along with the cult groups.

This article on doubt, certainty, and faith was recommended to Pneuma Review readers in the Fall 2007 issue.

Introduction

It’s hard to imagine how any Christian at any time in history could live life completely free from any doubts about the truth of the faith. Suffering, inconsistent behavior among Christians, the lure of the world, intellectual misgivings—these things and others can lead us to question whether it’s all true.

Since the days of the early church there have been objections to the gospel which have given pause to Christians. Can I really believe this? Should I believe this? Doubt is part of human experience, and Christians experience it no less than non-Christians. Doubts about our faith are more momentous than many we deal with, however, because of their implications. I have my doubts about whether my favorite football team will be in the Super Bowl, but I can still hang in there with them as a fan. The claims of Christ are much more momentous, however. Our individual destinies and more are at stake.

We find ourselves today in the West beset by two different schools of thought which can cause us to doubt. On the one hand are the modernists, heirs of the Enlightenment, who believe that reason is sufficient for true knowledge and that Christianity just doesn’t measure up to sound reason. On the other hand are postmodernists who don’t believe anyone can know what is true, and are astonished that we dare lay claim to having the truth about ultimate reality.

I’d like to look at these two mindsets to see if they have legitimate claims. The goal is to see if either should be allowed to rob us of our confidence.

Modernism and Certain Knowledge

Modernists believe that our reason is sufficient to know truth, in fact the only reliable means of attaining knowledge. Only that which can be scientifically measured and quantified and reasoned through logically can constitute true knowledge.

What does this say, however, about things that can’t be so measured, things such as beauty, morals, and matters of the spirit? Can we not have knowledge of such things? We have inherited the belief that such things are at best matters of opinion; they are subjective matters having to do only with the individual’s experiences and tastes.

This way of thinking is disastrous for religious beliefs of almost any kind. Christianity in particular makes claims that can’t be weighed or counted or measured (although there are elements which can be empirically tested): the nature of God, justification by faith, the deity of Christ, and the reality of the Holy Spirit are a few examples. Since these elements are central but don’t fit within our logical, scientific mindset, they are said to be matters of personal opinion at best, or figments of our imagination at worst.

An interview with Craig S. Keener by John P. Lathrop.

I noticed that of the eleven books that you have had published that you have written three about the Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit a subject of particular interest to you?

Craig S. Keener during an 2012 interview in Chicago.

Craig Keener: When I was a 15-year-old atheist, I argued with those who first brought me the gospel—then walked home so convicted by the Holy Spirit that I fell to my knees and surrendered to Christ. Two days later, I walked into a Pentecostal church and was so overwhelmed by God’s Spirit that when I began to pray it came out in tongues, though I’d never heard of that experience before. Two years later, at 17, I began to learn God’s voice in prayer and His deep love and yearning for us. Yes, the Holy Spirit is indeed a subject of great interest to me—and not only academically.

One of your more well-known books is the IVP Bible Background Commentary-New Testament. In this volume you give historical background information on the text of the New Testament. How crucial is historical background to understanding the Bible?

Craig Keener: The most important tool for Bible study, next to the Spirit’s guidance, is context—something we have available in the Bible itself. But after that comes background. There are some things that the biblical writers could assume that their first readers understood, which they didn’t need to explain to them. These include the Greek or Hebrew language in which they were writing; we have translations to help us with that barrier.

But what about cultural issues writers could simply assume, which are foreign to us? For example, we might be able to apply Paul’s passages on head coverings better if we recognized that those coverings were a sign of sexual modesty in his culture, and failing to wear them signified an attempt at seduction. Christians might not cover their heads in all cultures today, but we should avoid dressing or acting seductively. Sometimes missing the background can make a life-and-death difference. Nineteenth-century slaveholders abused Paul’s exhortations to slaves because they took verses out of context but also because they wrongly assumed that the kind of urban household servanthood he addressed was the same thing as the kind of systematic race slavery they advocated.

Because background is the least accessible tool for Bible study, I have focused much of my research over the years in making this available to the church. The Background Commentary, which provides background on almost every passage in the New Testament, has sold over 200,000 copies since it came out (over 30,000 of them in Korean, with other translations now becoming available).

Ajith Fernando, Sharing the Truth in Love: How to relate to people of other faiths (Grand Rapids: Discovery House Publishers, 2001), 287 pages.

Ajith Fernando lives and works in Sri Lanka as the head of Youth for Christ, an organization that will meet with the approval of just about everyone who reads this book review. We like the organization and its outreach for the Lord Jesus Christ, but where Fernando lives and works, YFC’s reception is a little different and sometimes the tension that conversion to Christ brings to a household is overwhelming and even scary.

Fernando wrote a book fifteen years ago, and this is a rewrite of much of what he then presented. He discusses the weighty topics of pluralism, fundamentalism and inclusivism—exploring how Christians should understand these terms. How can we dialogue with and persuade people of the truth of Jesus? What can you do when you are charged with arrogance and intolerance?

We learn about general and special revelation. How does the God of the Bible compare with other gods? Fernando presents a short but insightful explanation of Far Eastern faiths. I found this quite interesting since I live in a community where my WASP (white Anglo-Saxon Protestant) background is in the minority and most of my neighbors and fellow churchgoers are Asian. How does the Asian think and why?

The well-written book is comprehensive in its presentation of evangelical theology. We learn of the pitfalls that Fernando has faced, and that the Christian needs certain disciplines if she is to survive outside the Christian ghetto. These disciplines are the Scriptures, the Christian community and the Great Commission.

The Scriptures are terribly important when we interact with the heights of non-Christian reasoning. Prolonged contact with unredeemed systems of thought can cause us to drink in features that contradict God’s word. There is a great gulf between the highest human thought and God’s thoughts. Mere human thought, which has not been exposed and sanctified by divine revelation, can seem comfortable and has an inherent appeal to us. For example, the uniqueness of Christ tends to fade when we are faced with the ideas of religious pluralism—the idea that there is more than one way to God and that we are all pilgrims on their way to finding the One to whom we owe all. That sure sounds logical and so sensible and sensitive, and not agreeing is embarrassing and awkward. After all, we really are looking for light in our relationships to nature and to each other. However, the experience of the power of the Gospel takes away our shame over the scandal—the particularity of the Gospel. When we share the truth in love and in the power of the Spirit, God breaks into our lives and people are changed when they encounter Him.

In 1977, after a consideration of all New Testament literature, J. K. Moon gave this classic Pentecostal/charismatic, albeit eclectic, definition of the anointing:

The anointing is the special presence of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of God’s servant which produces an inspiring awareness of the divine presence. His entire faculties are enhanced (heightened illumination, courage, wisdom, discernment, faith, guidance, memory, vocabulary, emotions, intellect, and physical performance) beyond natural abilities. The Word of God is quickened to accomplish its regenerating, healing, edifying, and sanctifying objective. And those ministered to are invested with a God-consciousness. …¹

The Lukan and Johannine Anointings

Oil of anointing, by Stan Myers.
Used with permission

In 1981, David Bundrick specifically addressed the Johannine anointing and isolated it, rightly so, as one particular kind of anointing, i.e., distinct from the Lukan anointing. Bundrick hinted at the distinction when he wrote that, “While emphasis today is placed upon ‘the anointing of the teacher,’ this text [1 John 2:18-27] demonstrates that ‘the anointing upon the student’ is vital.”2 But neither Moon nor Bundrick clearly defined and delineated both the Lukan and the Johannine anointings.

Os Guinness, Time for Truth: Living Free in a World of Lies, Hype, and Spin (Baker Books, 2000), 125 pages, ISBN 9780801064036.

Have you ever run into someone who was so gifted you felt intimidated? Os Guinness is such a person for me. When I read something that he has authored, I am always challenged. How can one man be so well read? Where does one get the skill to say so much in so few words?

Guinness was born in China, educated in England, and now lives in Virginia. His book, even though religious in character, carries endorsements from people in the political arena.

Even without the endorsements, I knew that Time for Truth would be a good book. It made Christianity Today’s list of the best books of the year, and I have found that to be a measure that assures value. The book is short. I finished it in a little over an hour, yet it is deep and challenging.

I have thought about what Guinness wrote a number of times since. I wondered how I might help the re-establishment of truth in our land. Truth is so vital. It is necessary for freedom—in ours or any land. It should be so important to us that those who do not walk in truth should face recall and removal from the public and private sectors in all of our communities.

Guinness described today’s ethic as a “little lust, pride, sloth and gluttony—in moderation—are fun and that’s what keeps your heart beating.” Not getting caught is our national ethic. Gray has become the color of truth. We constantly define deviancy down. The only thing that matters is power. Think about these words.

Character is no longer the issue, it is how we appear that counts in today’s world. Guinness, who knew President Clinton personally, discusses him and his behavior at length. He concludes, “that the credibility of the presidency has been severely weakened. Only a solid succession of presidents with character and integrity will decisively repudiate Clinton’s dishonest style and reestablish the standards of America’s founders.” Guinness sees our American way of life as being imperiled.

Guinness reviews three phases in history: the religious phase, which reigned up to the Enlightenment; the European civilization phase, which rose to prominence with the Enlightenment and ended with World War I; and the last phase, American leadership. With the postmodern disregard for truth as foundational requirement, this leadership by America is now in jeopardy.

If you want to be challenged and impressed with well written, apt words, this book is for you. I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by H. Murray Hohns

Cover from the 2005 revised edition.

John Stott, Evangelical Truth: A Personal Plea for Unity, Integrity & Faithfulness (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 131 pages.

In this 1999 book, John Stott has summarized with excellence that which all evangelicals hold in common. He begins by defining who the evangelicals are and then applies the three R’s—revelation, redemption, and regeneration—to succinctly explain the breadth of evangelical faith.

As part of his definitions, Stott distinguishes between fundamentalism and evangelicalism. In describing the many “tribes” of evangelicalism, he unapologetically includes Pentecostals and charismatics in his list of the different, but sometimes overlapping groups. Rightfully so, for the essentials he defines as evangelical belief are certainly embraced by Pentecostal/charismatics.

Stott relates revelation to the Father, redemption to the Son, and regeneration to the Spirit, thereby bearing “witness to the supreme authority of the Word of God, the atoning efficacy of the cross of Christ and the indispensable ministries of the Holy Spirit” (p. 122).

This threefold introduction to evangelical theology could not be sufficiently summarized here, so allow me to make some brief comments. First, Stott makes a distinction between revelation and illumination that many Pentecostal/charismatics do not feel necessary (see the section entitled “personal revelation” beginning on page 43).

For anyone needing a refresher on the grace of God and reminder of what Messiah accomplished on the tree of Golgotha, Stott’s summary of the redemption story may well begin the flood. I believe that sound teaching on this subject is deeply necessary to bring balance to those who have over emphasized holiness in the life of the believer. Such over emphasis has led to good actions being equated with righteousness, thereby turning the “good news” into a man-centered endeavor. When we rightly understand what Jesus has finished, we are able to enter that rest instead of practically striving to earn it.

There are many things to be said about Stott’s presentation of the Spirit and His ministry. While he takes issue with the pneumatology of the late John Wimber, he is friendlier to general Pentecostal/charismatic pneumatology—perhaps he does not know how similar these two are. Stott does seem unaware of how classical Pentecostals and charismatics frame the doctrine of the subsequence of Spirit-baptism. Overall, he is fair and reasonable, calling for biblical balance and a reminder of the Spirit’s primary work—regeneration.

Stott closes by echoing Paul’s fivefold summons given to the church at Philippi. Stott calls for holiness of living in “evangelical integrity” (p. 113), “evangelical stability” anchored in God’s Word (p. 115), contending for “evangelical truth,” “evangelical unity,” and “evangelical endurance.”

One potential weakness I see is that Stott’s Anglicanism seems to have flavored his outlook on evangelicalism as a whole. This flavor might be quite foreign to others, such as the classical Pentecostal or Baptist. I hope that this becomes a strength by opening readers from other traditions to see things in a different perspective and expand their palette.