Every High Thing

There is a spirit at work in the world today that is in opposition to the Holy Spirit - this is not a conspiracy theory, mind you, but it is a fulfillment of the words of Paul in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2, where he writes:
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.

When you hear political leaders take ideological stands that are in opposition to Scripture, this is evidence of this "mystery," and we have to possess discernment in order to know what is working, what is being perpetrated in the name of power and control...Christ stands for freedom, our Constitution stands for freedom, but there are those who want to use the government in order to bring people under its subjection.  That is why Christians should not sit out the epic spiritual battle that is occurring today. 

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There are spiritual forces in the world today - some at work to confirm and further the work of God, others to thwart His plan. We have to be aware of supernatural elements in the world in which we live and make sure that we are grounded in God's truth. 2nd Corinthians 10 states:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ...

The continued attempt to paint evangelical Christians with a broad, negative brush has continued by a number of organizations who either don't understand Christianity or are outright hostile toward it. And, there are those in mainstream media who appear to be obsessed more by this QAnon conspiracy than those who are said to be embracing it. 

CNN.com recently ran a story about evangelical leaders who are trying to root QAnon out of their churches. Granted, believers should be devoted to not embracing worldviews that are not grounded in Scripture. The story centered on an American Enterprise Institute survey that attempted to examine the influence of this Q conspiracy theory on the events of January 6, in which a relatively small number of people out of the thousands there, including evangelicals, actually went inside the Capitol building and threatened lawmakers.

The centerpiece of the survey is a statement that encapsulates the beliefs of the Q conspiracy; respondents were asked to respond to this: "Donald Trump has been secretly fighting a group of child sex traffickers led by prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites." Only 1 out of 10 white evangelicals said that believed that statement was "Completely Accurate." 17% of that group said it was "Mostly Accurate."  While that is certainly a concern, one has to wonder how many churches have Q devotees lurking inside of them. 

But there is more. In its summary, it included this sweeping paragraph:

What’s more, white evangelical Protestants who report being members of a local church are generally more likely to believe in conspiracies than those who do not. For instance, 62 percent of white evangelical Protestants who belong to a particular church believe a group of unelected government officials had been conspiring against Trump, a view shared by less than half (43 percent) of those not formally connected to a church. There is an important exception: White evangelical Protestants who belong to a church are roughly as likely to believe the QAnon conspiracy is mostly or completely accurate as are those who are not members (27 percent vs. 25 percent, respectively).

The first part of the paragraph is consistent with Trump support that has been demonstrated by evangelicals in the past. And, admittedly, with Trump out of formal office, I think you could find areas of concern with the direction of our government and even wonder the extent to which unelected officials are pushing an agenda that is contradictory to the Christian principles upon which this nation was founded.

And, that's where the CNN article drifts deeper into the false labeling of Christians who love their country as being "Christian nationalists."  The story even interviews a granddaughter of Billy Graham, Jerushah Duford; she is quoted as saying, referring to her grandfather: "I think he would've spoken out against it. He was very true to God's word," adding, "It was just Gospel and scripture. And you can't do that and believe in QAnon."  I agree with that - the Bible speaks of casting down every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God - that is QAnon, critical race theory, the gay agenda, and secular humanism - all of which have roots in our churches, because churches are made up of people, people who, if not grounded in Scripture, can be led astray.  But, CNN takes it a step further:

QAnon ties back to the movement, known as Christian Nationalism, that seeks to declare America a Christian nation and privilege Christianity within it, according to Duford.

Duford, along with more than 200 other prominent evangelicals signed a letter denouncing Christian Nationalism and the role it played in the attack on the capitol.

"The term Christian nationalism, in and of itself, is ironic because there's nothing Christian about nationalism," Duford told CNN Business. "I hope that it will be looked at like an extreme portion of our faith. Not our faith as a whole."

I went to the website, I looked at the names - I'm not sure that you could find very many "prominent" evangelicals there.  I did see some people whom you could consider to be of the more "progressive" wing of Christianity, including one person, a musician, who recently declared himself to be an "exvangelical."

But there are those who want to try to stain the name of Christ by tying Christianity into the abhorrent, lawless events in the Capitol on January 6.  There were Christians and Christian banners on the outside, but out of the large crowd, I don't think you should draw the conclusion that there were very many, if any, Bible-believing Christians on the inside. 

Regardless of what theories about the world you may believe, our starting point should be a Christian worldview perspective.  There may be elements about which you have drawn conclusions that Scripture doesn't speak to - that's where we should be careful to be reasonable, to seek out good sources, and to stay grounded in reality.  

And, there may be things you believe, especially about the last days, that others may dispute. A non-believer may find much of what you believe as conspiratorial.  Actually, the whole idea of a man dying on a cross and raising from the dead might be a foreign concept to someone who does not know Christ. But that's the foundational truth of Christianity, and it's real not only because the Bible gives an account, and that's enough, but scholars by and large believe the fact of a resurrection, and we can testify to the power of the resurrection in our lives.  We also know that He is coming for His Church, and that events unfolding on the earth today are right in line with the proclamation of God's Word.  That is why we should study prophecy, so that we can know and understand what is transpiring and be able to identify forces at play that are consistent with the establishment of a global, one-world government, headed by the anti-Christ, whose work is in the world today.  Conspiracy?  Yes, in the eyes of some.  But reality according to God's Word.