QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross: Christianity and Conspiracy Theories

by Michael W. Austin (Editor), Gregory L. Bock (Editor)

“What is truth?” said jesting Pilate, and would not stay for an answer. 
—Francis Bacon 
 
Although Christians are followers of the Truth, many find themselves tempted by the alternate “truths” offered by conspiracy theories. Christianity and conspiracy theories have had a long, complicated relationship. But today conspiracy theories are bringing our already polarized society to the brink of chaos. QAnon, the Big Lie, and anti-vaccination theories thrive online, disrupting faith communities. This timely essay collection explores the allure of conspiracy theories and their consequences—and ultimately offers gospel-based paths forward. 
 
Accessible to all concerned believers,  QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross  features scholars of religion, ethics, and public life on the following
     • evaluating evidence and forming beliefs 
     • the Satanic Panic of the 1960s–1990s 
     • understanding scientific methodology 
     • conspiracy theories’ appeal to those searching for meaning 
     • the consequences of social media and echo chambers 
     • productive dialog with people who hold different opinions 
     • intellectualism in the life of faith 
     • conspiracy theories in Scripture 
     • QAnon’s religious rhetoric 
 
Complete with a guide to reasoning, which outlines both logical fallacies and intellectual virtues,  QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross  is an indispensable resource for all Christians seeking the truth. Chase Andre, Michael W. Austin, Bradley Baurain, Daniel Bennett, Gregory L. Bock, Chad Bogosian, Kevin Carnahan, Jason Cook, Scott Culpepper, Stephen Davis, Garrett J. DeWeese, Marlena Graves, Shawn Graves, David Horner, Dru Johnson, Nathan King, Rick Langer, Christian Miller, Timothy Muehlhoff, Michelle Lynn Panchuk, Susan Peppers-Bates, Steven Porter, Kaitlyn Schiess, Aaron Simmons, Domonique Turnipseed, Rachel I. Wightman, Keith Wyma, Eric Yang

Genres: Politics, Essays, Christianity

300 pages, Paperback

First published May 23, 2023

Reviews

[N.K. Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book is not what it should have been. It’s a compilation of essays, so there is a lot of redundancy and no coherent vision for the whole book. There’s one chapter (The Greatest Conspiracy Ever) which is completely out of place and pushes the author’s pet agenda rather than contributing to the QAnon and Christianity conversation.

The book is written to a very narrow subset of the Christian population, people who see their family members, friends, neighbors, and fellow Christians falling for conspiracy theories. But the advice within is generally for dealing with your crazy uncle at Thanksgiving. What is missing is advice for pastors seeing large swaths of their congregations falling for this nonsense. What is missing are essays addressed specifically to those who believe conspiracy theories.

For most of the authors in this book, I felt that there was great distance between the writers and the people who hold to conspiracy theories. Most of these authors seem to run in circles where conspiracy thinking isn’t very prevalent, but is more of an issue “out there.” For them, it’s theoretical. The very best chapters were the ones where the authors seem to be in the thick of conspiracy theory believers.

This topic is necessary. Perhaps writing a chapter for this book will encourage some of these authors to develop their own, coherent vision in a book length take on the topic of conspiracy theories and Christianity.

[Thomas Smyly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uneven handling. Only one essay author labors to specify under what conditions a conspiracy could be true. The one shining light is that several of the essays note that one should be gracious with those who subscribe to unsubstantiated conspiracies.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

All but a couple of chapters in this book are underwhelming and disappointing, yet... revealing -- and thus worthwhile. There is also an appendix summarizing several logical fallacies as well as logical virtues, which I found edifying.

I'll start this review by providing my own working definition of "conspiracy theory": an overly complicated, poorly supported, but intensely emotionally satisfying and morally provocative explanation relying on nefarious villains and hidden causes for visible events which may or may not have a more obvious, simple, neutral, factual (and thus, uninteresting) explanation.

Epiphany: Christianity is a conspiracy theory too! Therefore it is hard for Christian leaders and rationality and "just believe".

It is hard to argue for literalist, fundamentalist, evangelical flavors of Christianity, especially, while arguing against other magical thinking and conspiracy theories. "Believe in THESE demonstrable falsehoods and THESE unprovable claims and prophecies, but DON'T believe in these other ones!" is treacherous, hypocritical ground to tread verbally. It takes a lot of big words and handwaving. And it is not compelling.

People like a good story. Original Sin and Expulsion and Wandering and Baptism and Miracles and Crucification and Resurrection and Forgiveness is a great story! Especially if you feel like you have made a mess of your life and everybody hates you, because then you can start afresh and find a community who will accept and encourage you. Wonderful! Really.

But over 2000 years, it turns out that people occasionally want a better story for what is happening to them now. One that is more relevant and relatable, that explains how in today's world they too can be virtuous and heroic and successful, not ignored and humiliated and suffering. A story that lets them join together joyfully and passionately with others in social unity, partaking of a deep, secret lore and cool- looking symbols which conveniently make a mockery of elite college degrees, expert opinions, and political correctness. Best of all, a story and community that makes them feel powerful, even to the point of being able to punish and persecute others who to them personify evil in their (made-up) story.

Epiphany: QAnon shows us how Christianity's own original chaotic events and stories and divergent interpretations likely blossomed and competed with each other before eventually coalescing into the negotiated and enforced canon (the Bible's New Testament) we take for granted today.

The fact that QAnon-style beliefs so often have done real (traumatic, financial, even mortal) harm and are wrapped up in pseudo-religious trappings yet political and religious leaders appear unwilling or incapable of making a strong stand and effectively educating people against such stories and ways of thinking and behaving is shameful and dangerous. Uncivilized! Frightening.

If my main thesis is correct, then we should observe less tendency to believe QAnon theories among those who are non-religious and non-superstitious, or among those "liberal" Christians who merely believe (in other words, seek to follow) Jesus' teachings to love "God" (to be honest, an unknown entity -- but typically visualized as "Father" or "Creator") and to love one another (even the stranger and the enemy) and to love themselves. A similar claim for fundamentalists versus liberals of other faiths could also be posited.

Epiphany: Yes, it is possible to consider oneself a Christian and seek to follow Jesus while looking for historical and metaphorical meaning (not necessarily literal or inerrant truth) in the stories of the Bible.

Of course, a fundamentalist who emphasizes "just believe" will probably insist that only they, with all the required beliefs, are the "real" Christians. That may make them feel happy, or smug,, but it doesn't make them right. It may rather make them prone to believe the next conspiracy theory that Q drops on the internet or that Fox News commentators discuss (starting with "some people say...") or that shows up in the latest book or movie diet or political ad.

Nothing like a good rant for catharsis. Maybe I'm being a bit smug, myself, but this is what I think.

[Josh Olds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is it that Christians seem to be the most susceptible to conspiracy theories and wild beliefs? I mean, there is the whole thing where the central concept of our belief system is predicated on the resurrection from the dead—something that seems pretty darn conspiratorial. Remember that the official rebuttal to the resurrection was that there was a conspiracy to steal the body of Jesus. There’s also the idea of gnosis or secret knowledge that created trouble in the early church, the religious language and symbology that conspiracies often use, and a host of other things—like how QAnon adopts Christian rhetoric to further its objectives, using metaphors of "spiritual warfare" to depict its adherents as "soldiers in an ongoing war of cosmic significance" and employing Christian nationalist tropes. The list goes on.

QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross is an attempt by a range of Christian scholars to explore the intersection of Christianity and conspiracy theories, differentiate between the two, and explain the allure of QAnon to those within the Christian faith. This volume is edited by Michael Austin (a professor of philosophy at Eastern Kentucky) and Gregory Bock (assistant professor of philosophy and religion at University of Texas at Tyler). Austin and Bock have gathered over 25 professors, pastors, and public theologians to each write on some aspect of this intersections. These are all short essays, around ten pages each, making each chapter concise, succinct, and easily digestible.

Because there are so many authors, there is some amount of overlap in the content. QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross is not meant to be a comprehensive, singular observation but a series of interrelated observations. It’s asking all of the contributors the same question and seeing how their experience, expertise, and personalities flavor their answers. The result is a multi-faceted understanding of the intersection of QAnon and Christianity—from how it affects our faith, our politics, our parents, our philosophy, and more.

QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross addresses a range of topics including the evaluation of evidence and formation of beliefs, the Satanic Panic of the 1960s-1990s, understanding scientific methodology, and the appeal of conspiracy theories to those searching for meaning. It makes clear that the acceptance of conspiracy theory is not something new to this generation of Christianity but has always played a feature in religious thinking. The contributors also discuss the impact of social media and echo chambers, the role of intellectualism in faith, conspiracy theories in Scripture, and QAnon’s use of religious rhetoric.

Chase Andre’s chapter on “The Religious Rhetoric of QAnon” was particularly helpful for me as a pastor to understand how the language of conspiracy theories are purposefully built to mirror the types of rhetoric Christians have already come to accept. Although not the chapter’s purpose or explicitly stated, it made me reflect on my own use of rhetoric: Am I treated Christianity like a conspiracy theory? Garrett DeWeese’s chapter on “Can We Trust Science?”, which specifically relates to the aversion some Christians have had to the COVID-19 vaccine is also helpful. Christians have a long history of warring against science, be it heliocentrism, evolution, or climate change. Rather than give a pat answer, DeWeese briefly outlines how Christians should test science by doing scientific inquiry.

Altogether, QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross is an interesting look at the intersection of Christianity and contemporary conspiracy theories. Its multidisciplinary approach and accessible writing make it a valuable resource for those grappling with the challenges posed by these theories within faith communities. However, there are also a number of weak chapters and the book as a whole lacks cohesion or a central point. It’s probably not going to convince anyone deep into conspiracy to get out, but it will give tools to their families and friends to begin to do the work of reflecting the truth.

[Derek Kreider · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Dr. Austin graciously allowed me to purchase an advance copy for research related to my podcast season on propaganda and conspiracy.

It's really hard to rate these types of books because they aren't one coherent thought, but rather a compilation of many different voices. I gave this three stars as a whole because I thought it was worthwhile, but there was a good chunk of the book that wasn't valuable to me. Others may give it higher stars if you haven't delved into propaganda and conspiracy too much, but there were a number of articles that were too simplified for what I was looking for.

There were five chapters which stood out to me:

5 by Shawn and Marlena Graves
9 by J. Aaron Simmons and Kevin Carnahan
11. by Nathan King and Keith Wyma
12. by Dru Johnson
22. by Michelle Panchuk

Of all those, chapter eleven was the most fascinating to me. I'd say the book is worth it for those who are jumping into the topic, or perhaps for those figuring out how to work with others who are caught up in conspiracies. There is a lot which deals with community and love more than ideology - which is a good thing, just not what I was looking for. But it's worth the price even for the ten or so essays that are good, and the five that are exceptional.

[David Rawls · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find the Christian faith most beautiful. In this faith an intimate God makes himself known in creation by loving and seeking to save the whole world. It is truly a wonderful and beautiful story. Some might question with such a beautiful story why would I have an interest in reading a book about QAnon and conspiracy theories. The answer lies in the fact that we live in a world where cheap imitations and spiritual darkness seeks to distract followers of Jesus. This problem is nothing new as it has been going on for centuries. But what might be new today is the level in which we gather and decipher information in our own echo chambers. The result I believe has been catastrophic for the church. Hence the beauty of this book is that the many contributors do an amazing job to pinpoint problems and find solutions for the church moving forward. For those who love the Christian faith and are concerned that it is being hijacked by political agencies who use spiritual language for their own means and not to love neighbor and enemy then this would be a good book for you. I give it a five-star rating because it is one of the better scholarly attempts to address the perversions we see in our society today.

[Masha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Michael Austin and Gregory Bock come at this topic from a very specific angle: when people believe in things I don't, it breaks my heart that they also believe in Christ. Which seems like a sad position to base a book on. I think, if the editors were less emotional about the conspiracy theories of their fellow Protestant Christians, they could have put together a stronger book of essays. Instead, it read more like a night out among academic friends - increasingly antagonistic and repetitive as the night goes on. So many of the essayists quote the same research, in the same way, for the same reasons.

They harp on the 2020 election, the covid vaccine, and the January 6th riot - occassionally throwing in conspiracies about the moon landing or the flat earth to spice things up. With few exceptions, I felt like I was reading the same essay over and over again. Most of the essays were decently written, but unfortunately, none really gave much insight.

By the end, I had no idea why this book was written, unless the editors just wanted to put out proof that they're "not like other Christians". Disappointing.

[Glenn Harden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of 24 essays written to help Christians think about conspiracy theories and respond to their fellow Christians who have become caught up in them. As in any collection of essays, the quality is a little uneven and some content is duplicative, this book is filled with insights and encouragement for Christians as they navigate conspiracism. To take one example, I found Dr. Michelle Panchuk's reflections on the links between religious trauma (trauma incurred in a religious environment which can harm a victim's spiritual life) with conspiracy theories which grow in epistemic contexts that discredit other voices to which someone might turn to for help. Recommended for Christians struggling how to handle their family, friends, colleagues, and students who have embraced unhealthy and unchristian conspiracy theories.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about half of this one. Kind of uneven. Some of the essays were really good and some more meh. I was hoping for more analysis about why Christians are more likely to get involved in conspiracy theories like this, but there wasn't much of that. Might be helpful for a church setting where there are more people familiar with or sucked into QAnon, but more as background info. Not sure I would recommend a book study or anything on this one.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like any essay collection, the quality ranges, and there is some repetitive argumentation. However, there are some absolute stand-out chapters here that are of the highest quality. I also appreciate the general focus on philosophy and epistemology throughout.

Full video review here: https://youtu.be/5ET7AJWaZ3o

[Nancy DeValve · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an important book and subject but it was written by college professors and reads like a textbook, so it was a long, slow read. It's a compilation of essays so some chapters are more interesting than others. The chapters felt all over the place and not cohesive. Still, I got some good things out of it.

[Brett Bosley]

I DNF'ed this, but not because it's bad, I'm just not the intended readership (hence no rating). It's an interesting premise, but it's meant to be read by practicing Christians. If that's you, you might find it interesting.

[Joe Keefhaver · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed to find this book was a compilation of essays. The result is much repetition of the same points.