It will, perhaps, be less difficult to expose for Christian readers the evils of believing in conspiracy theories when one considers the conspiracy theories propagated against Jesus Christ and the Church. Arguably one of the most popular of these is "The Da Vinci Code" which was recently outlined, albeit as a fictional account, in a book (then a Ron Howard/Tom Hanks movie) by Dave Brown.
Here are some links to articles regarding "The Da Vinci Code" written from a Christian perspective. The Da Vinci Code is really no less believable than any other conspiracy theory, but logic helps us to sort out facts from mere possibilities. (Please note that I do not necessarily endorse the doctrines professed by the sites I link to. My aim is to show what any professed Christian's response to conspiracy theories should be.)
Dismantling the Da Vinci Code
Da Vinci Dissenters speaks of new Christians leaving the church because of what "The Da Vinci Code" taught them.
Why True Beliefs Make a Difference from The Truth About DaVinci . com
Christian Response to Da Vinci Code, George Barna calls movie "conspiracy fantasy".
Showing posts with label true. Show all posts
Showing posts with label true. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Does "Not False" Always Equal "True"?
Conspiracy theories thrive because of the assumption that something that is "not false" can be claimed as being "true" just by virtue of the fact that it is "not false".
Example: It is "not false" that I have more than two children. A conspiracy theorist who is interested in the subject of my personal family life might take this information and say that it is "true" that I have three children. In actuality, I have four children.
According to Webster's Unabridged dictionary, the definition of the word "logic" refers to "exact reasoning", not mere possibilities. It is precisely this definition that makes many of us skeptical of conspiracy theories. We who require "exact reasoning" will never buy into a conspiracy theory and those who will accept possibilities as fact will be the ones who eventually become obsessed with them.
Source:
logic. Dictionary.com. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/logic (accessed: June 23, 2008).
Example: It is "not false" that I have more than two children. A conspiracy theorist who is interested in the subject of my personal family life might take this information and say that it is "true" that I have three children. In actuality, I have four children.
According to Webster's Unabridged dictionary, the definition of the word "logic" refers to "exact reasoning", not mere possibilities. It is precisely this definition that makes many of us skeptical of conspiracy theories. We who require "exact reasoning" will never buy into a conspiracy theory and those who will accept possibilities as fact will be the ones who eventually become obsessed with them.
Source:
logic. Dictionary.com. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/logic (accessed: June 23, 2008).
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