Why pastors should monitor so-called “conspiracy theories”

I have been thinking for a long time about this topic and it deserves a much more thorough treatment, but until then, this “brief” will have to do. 

That pastors, in general, do not openly and overtly monitor (or admit they monitor) so-called conspiracy theories is, quite frankly, a failure of theological education, which today (1) assumes the best of humanity (quite contrary to human experience and equally at odds with the Augustinian / Lutheran / Reformed suspicion of human nature under the burden of original sin, total depravity, and the bondage of the will); (2) gives too little thought to theodicy and eschatology; (3) too often results in a low-grade arrogance that attempts to shun any appearance of gullibility or credulity (and in the process actually acquires the very things it tries to avoid; i.e., by shutting down analytical and critical faculties); (4) treats non-lectionary texts—such as, “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing, and “Enter through the narrow gate”, and, “Test the spirits to see whether they are of God”—as second-class revelation; (5) misunderstands humility in such a way as to always be lectured to, never reconciled, on matters of social justice, and to ever be fruitlessly bolstering one’s social credit score, proving one’s magnanimity, and conforming to worldly expectations, all of this, in the lower (sub-Christian or pre-Christian) sphere of humanitarian ethics, gussied up as “neighbor love.” This is not a cynical diagnosis. The situation is one of misplaced confidence, misplaced competence, misplaced fear. 

But with faith toward and trust in Christ alone, with fear of God alone, we are to be wary of all threats to Christ’s flock, not concerning ourselves with what other people make of us, not concerning ourselves with the appearance of gullibility. I do not say we should “subscribe to” or “espouse” all conspiracy theories, but we should monitor them until they prove either credible or not credible. Why? Because we know, though not every threat or conspiracy theory is real, there are nevertheless a great many threats, many “antichrists” that have already gone out into the world. So that we do not become the proverbial boy who cried, “Wolf!,” we need the spiritual gift of discernment to sort out truth from falsehood, but that is a gift of the Spirit that we should exercise, not something we should subcontract to so-called fact-checkers, who often prove to be fallible, biased, and even overtly false, and transparently duplicitous. No, we should be quite sure of the threat before raising the alarm, but when we have done so, having not squandered trustworthiness by issuing a series of false alarms, the alarm itself simply signals the threat is real and the potential loss very great; it does not mean that we necessarily understand the threat in every detail, only that it is a threat and that people—without fear—should shift into a state of heightened vigilance. 

But here is where the social pressure to conform must be resisted and overthrown; here is where one must abandon all concern for public perception, i.e., that one will be taken for a fool or deemed crazy or come off as rude, frightening, offputting, a “conspiracy theorist,” a “domestic terrorist,” etc. This “fear of man” is, please note, part of the “broad way that leads to destruction,” and it is paved with thoughts like:

“I am too well educated and enlighted and sophisticated to believe in such theories.”

“I am too magnanimous, charitable, non-judgmental, to think that any person could get up to the evil things these conspiracy theorists are suggesting.”

“The devil is just a premodern myth used to explain inexplicable suffering and evil things that happen in the world, but we have no need of texts that truck in such language and imagery.”

“The Bible’s apocalyptic texts are quaint, but too mysterious to understand, and they certainly do not shed any light on these conpiracy theories, neither should we ever expect that they might reveal actual events that signal the return of Jesus Christ at the end of history.”

 

Ah, but the faithful and wise (Matt 24:45) pastor will take all Christian scripture seriously and therefore have the complete foundation and reference for wise and discerning parabolic comparisons between the written revelation and worldly events; will “test everything” (1Thess 5:21) and be able to discern when the label “conspiracy theory/theorist” is simply being used—as is most often the case—to lull the drowsy back to sleep, to discredit those who are truly vigilant, and to cover up wickedness and let it resume its destructive and corrupting work. And, in fact, as one who, without embarrassment but eagerness, watches for the Lord, he rests—with vigilance, mind you—rests in the knowledge that he is no mere theorist, but a thyrorist, a doorkeeper (θυρωρὸς) in the house of the Lord (Psa 84:10), who is simply following orders (Mark 13:34) by watching for the return of his Master. 

This sister also brings the fire ...

 but this one is a steady blue flame. 

This sister brings the fire

Theologically educated and articulate, both. God bless Kristina Karamo.

Again with the Ninth Commandment

It has been a while since I posted something about the need for preachers to preach on the Ninth Commandment, and for that matter, on the lex talonis ("an eye for an eye"), a Year D text. 

The point is not to reinforce or revert to "an eye for an eye," but to show the rationale for it, namely, that it serves as a warning—ideally, one time only—against "false accusation" or "bearing false witness," or for that matter, psychologically projecting your own prejudices onto people you falsely cast as bigoted.

Here is one whopping illustration. 

 

"Blessed are the peacemakers."

 Remember that one? Time for Christians to get their peacemakers on. 

Choose your 13

"Forgiveness of sin is something different from justice. And eternal life is not the same as peace and freedom. The church requires scope to deliver her own message about forgiveness of sins and eternal life in the name of her Lord. The significance of the political order as the service of God is obscured where the State refuses the church this scope or sets limits to it. It is obscured where the State demands of the church that she subject and adapt herself to the aims of the State. It is obscured when the State furthers the false church in opposition to the true. It is obscured where the State, perhaps by making its own aims absolute, as in Germany to-day, becomes itself a church, a church which will without doubt be a false one and the most intolerant of all churches. The question then which the State cannot evade it: does it make clear or obscure the significance of the political order as service of God? Is it on the way to becoming in its sphere what Romans 13 calls God's representative and priest or is it on the way to becoming the beast rising up out of the sea of Revelation 13? It is either one or the other." 

— Karl Barth, The Knowledge of God and the Service of God According to the Teaching of the Reformation: Recalling the Scottish Confession of 1560 (The Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of Aberdeen in 1937 and 1938) (UK: Scribners, 1939) tr. Haire and Henderson, p. 226.

"Sown on Rock": Paperback edition is live

Meanwhile, since this is the Year D Project after all, I should note that this sermon which is so important for understanding the specifically homiletical turning point of the Reformation ...

(1) starts with John 16:25 — which is not in RCL, but it occurs in Year D, 3rd Sunday of Easter; and 

(2) proceeds to deal extensively with 1Corinthians 14 — also entirely untouched by the RCL, but it occurs Year D, in 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time in Year D. 

Evidently John 16:25 was in fact the lectionary text for what was called Rogation Sunday (6th Sunday of Easter) in 1522, so it has certainly been a well-used preaching text in the past.

"Sown on Rock": Oecolampadius' Sermon on the Vernacular (1522) is finally — after 500 years — in English translation

The late Phyllis Tickle famously observed that, every 500 years, the Church cleans out its attic. Well, here you go, Church: a 500-year old classic, now translated into English for the first time. 

If any one sermon is emblematic of the Reformation of preaching itself, this is it. Preached and promptly published in the spring of 1522, it made the biblical and practical case for reading and preaching in the local language. Oecolampadius, serving as chaplain for the household of Franz von Sickingen, noted how time was wasted in worship with the Latin readings, since no one understood them, and in fact they were read so poorly that those in attendance ridiculed the whole thing. But the Word of God himself wants to speak plainly his promises of eternal life and salvation to his people and, of course, to be understood, so the love of God for his people motivated Oecolampadius to read and preach in German. 

Rarely has a single sermon ever caused such a stir. To this sermon, preached three months before the publication of Zwingli's famous "Clarity and Certainty of the Word of God" (September 1522), can be traced the most important homiletical development in Reformation, a simple pastoral decision made by a chaplain and former monk who, at the time, was also reaching back 1000 (500 x 2) years or so into the church's attic and translating the sermons of the Greek fathers, especially Chrysostom, and refreshing the preaching office with the greatest examples of public proclamation in the Christian era. Sure enough, Oecolampadius' sermon itself, and the "Beautiful Letter" in which he explained his modest, common sense liturgical changes to his friend Caspar Hedio, became one of the great sermonic moments of all time.

To Hedio, Oecolampadius wrote of his service on the Ebernburg, "here I carry on sowing on rock," a clear reference to the quintessential parable of the Word, and thus to preaching itself. The parable of the sower, of course, as Jesus told it, promised no harvest from seed that falls on the path or among stones or thorns, but — another major point of emphasis in the sermon — the miracle of preaching is at work here. Yes, by a sheer miracle of God, when Jesus himself preaches with us as we preach, even a single seed, like this sermon, can strike such a strong root as to break through rock, find water, and bear a harvest to surpass all expectations. Has the last 500 years seen or heard a more seminal sermon than The Sermon on the Vernacular? 

The whole of Oecolampadius 1522 correspondence is included here, as is the balance of his letters with Hedio through 1525. Among the latter is Hedio's (1524) Foreword to his German translation of Oecolampadius' Sermons on the First Epistle of John. In the generous Supplement to this new volume the reader also finds the first English translation of Ernst Staehelin's exhaustive and groundbreaking 1916 essay on Oecolampadius' translations of the patriarchs.

 
Dedicated with thanksgiving to the Triune God for preachers of the Word everywhere.

BTW, Amazon's hardcover platform is still in Beta, so the two JO translations linked here (in hardcover with djs), plus this hardcover reprint of Sime's short double biography of Zwingli and Oecolampadius, are all available at Barnes & Noble. Paperback will go live in a day or so. Don't expect Amazon to list BN titles, though. I'm not sure "do unto others" has quite penetrated the greatest retailer on earth. For that reason, it would be most helpful if you would spread the word, link, like, share, gift, recommend, purchase, order through your local BN, ask your library to acquire it, shout it from the rooftops, all of the above, etc. Don't let Behemoths go unchallenged. But the current paragraph constitutes the major part of my very low-tech and organic marketing plan. May the Lord give the growth. Thank you and may the Lord be with you.