This is a response to Ed Stetzer's article for Christianity Today called "On Christians Spreading Corona Conspiracies: Gullibility is not a Spiritual Gift" the link to which is at the bottom of this blog
I want to start off this critique by pointing out that in Ed Stetzer's article for Christianity Today, there are a lot of claims made about Christians sharing "conspiracy theories" online regarding the recent outbreak of the coronavirus, and yet he only chooses to share one of said theories.. The theory that the virus itself was made in a Chinese lab, as well as the accompanying claims that it was deliberately spread to other nations. These claims are actually now being investigated and taken seriously by the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security. Ed conveniently leaves out the novel being pushed by supposedly "credible sources" that the outbreak was caused by Chinese citizens eating diseased bats from a wet market in the Wuhan province.. A story that is quite clearly nonsensical and laughable to intelligent minds.
His opinion piece is packed full of insults, fallacies, and manipulative rhetoric, yet glaringly lacks any sort of evidence based claims to disprove what he labels "conspiracy theories." He repeats the phrases "conspiracies," "lies" and "gullible" many times when referring to the behavior of Christians, while clearly placing his trust in "credible sources" who have a well documented history of being wrong or even outright lying to the general public.
The term "conspiracy theory" was in fact created by the CIA originally to discredit those who challenged the official narrative about the John F. Kennedy assassination, and has since been used to discredit any who dare question the stories provided to us by corporate media institutions and government agencies. You know, like how Vietnamese rebels never actually fired at US ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, how Iraqi soldiers did not remove babies from incubators in Kuwait, or how Jeffrey Epstein obviously did not commit suicide in his jail cell.. These blatant lies and deceptions pushed by "credible sources" are still believed by most because those willing to risk shining light on the truth are demonized with labels like "conspiracy theorist" and called "gullible" by people like Ed Stetzer.
I suggest you take your own advice Ed, and recognize that gullibility is not a spiritual gift.
He claims that "As followers of Jesus, we are people of the truth. Falling for and spreading conspiracy theories does not honor the Lord, but it does cause people to question our judgement." This self-described Christian is forgetting that we are called upon to not cast judgement on our neighbors repeatedly by our Lord. He is choosing to judge and belittle other Christians publicly for their actions instead of leaving that judgement and criticism to the Lord alone.
Jesus states in Matthew 7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." Paul writes in Romans 2:1 "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things." Also, it should be noted that it matters not what the humans of this world think of us or our "judgement" if we truly believe in, trust, and act righteously for God. Are you doing right by God, or are you focused on doing what is expected of you by the crowd here on earth Mr. Stetzer? For if we truly know God's logos and trust in His plan, why would people's opinions about us matter at all?
Ed claims that "..we need to speak up.. and lovingly say 'you need to go to trusted sources" and that "..there are plenty of credible news sources.." yet he fails to point the Christians he is judging here to actual scripture and the word of our God during these chaotic and confusing times. I strongly advise that Christians, and even non-believers, look towards the insights of ancient, time tested knowledge given to us by our creator when faced with earthly threats and dangerous environments. Our Lord makes it very clear to us that we should have no fear, that we should place our trust in Him, and to put on His armor when the threats of this earth do come for us.
"Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me." Psalm 23:4
"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." Psalm 56:3
"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe." Proverbs 29:25
"But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened." 1 Peter 3:14
"Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:10-12
... and I could easily keep going and going.
It seems like Ed is lacking in trust with God's plan, instead choosing to place his trust in the authority figures and the opinions of his peers here in this temporary place. That is fine, he can choose to suffer and die with his academic friends, and our Lord will grant him that wish. And may he live a thousands years.. The only problem I have is that he is mocking and condemning Christians for their trust in the Lord's plan, as well as their disbelief in earthly powers who have a recorded record of leading us down dark paths and away from the presence of God and His Kingdom. Ed is attempting to shame believers into placing their trust in man instead of trusting in God, who will make all things good in time.
In his article, Ed continues to judge Christians by stating that "you're ultimately bringing harm to yourself and your community" by questioning the narratives of our earthly institutions.. He claims that "we damage our witness and that of your church.. when you focus on unproven theories and speculation.." Ed fails to explain what harm is actually being caused by us having opinions that differ from the unspecified "trusted sources." He seems truly worried about what non-believers think of Christians, and seems to place more importance on that than actually having faith in God's plan. It seems as if he is focused primarily on the opinions of his fellow man and on being popular. He appears to be concerned about being trusted by academics and those choosing to be of this world, and not just in this world as our Lord instructs us to be.
Ed suggests that thinking for yourself and challenging the narratives given by the ruling class makes us bad Christians. He not only judges us for our lack of faith in earthly institutions, he does so in a mocking tone. He claims that even asking questions is wrong for Christians to do, writing "I still believe spreading unproven speculation is bearing false witness and I still believe we need to repent." He is choosing to be disingenuous, emotionally manipulative, and dismissive of believers who have reason to doubt the fear-mongering and anger of those in positions of power here on earth. He chooses to belittle us, call us names, insult our intelligence, and judge our opinions about the narratives being pushed on us by those with a known record of lying and those with incentive to do so now. He calls Christians "gullible," "easily fooled," "bearing false witness," "outraged" and "influenced by social media trolls and click-bait" without any real evidence or direct sources.
I merely suggest that you the reader think for yourself when faced with the opinions and narratives of man, and always trust in the word of God first and foremost. The Bible never fails, and it never will. Can the media companies or our government say the same?
I also suggest that you forgive Ed Stetzer for this shameful article, and find it in your heart to love him despite his condemnation and likely disdain for those of us who choose to challenge to narratives being pushed by our media companies and the claims being made by our governments. Ed is clearly lacking the truth and love of God, and is choosing to be one of this world and not merely in it. But there is still time for him to be saved and find the light, and I truly hope he does in time.
Ed, and those who agree with him, I think you should remember the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ;
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life." John 5:24
Here is the link to his original article for Christianity Today :
https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2020/april/christians-and-corona-conspiracies.html
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