In this article we note how certain social pressure is observed nowadays, which is manifested through the media, with the possible goal of discrediting in advance – and in a generic way, all kinds of information related to conspiracies regardless of their plausibility. Do conspiracies exist or are they just another modern invention?
Not believing in the existence of conspiracies is somewhat difficult, since as we will see, not only the Gospels describe clearly the conspiracy carried out to kill Jesus Christ, but the entire Bible also contains an enormous number of other cases of conspiracies and collusions.
Before we start, let’s review some meanings of the terms commonly used:
The Oxford Dictionary defines the term Conspire thus:
- Make secret plans jointly to commit an unlawful or harmful act.
The term Collusion is defined this way:
- Secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy in order to deceive others.
And Plot:
- A plan made in secret by a group of people to do something illegal or harmful.
The term Conspiracy comes from the Latin conspiratio, conspirationis.
It refers to a union (con-) of people who aspire to something, are eager for something or yearn for it (spirare) and therefore plan an action against the established to achieve it.
Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. (Mt. 10:16)
It is certainly true and unquestioned that conspiracies and plots exist, especially in the realm of power and politics, with lots of famous cases in human history. In addition to the notorious examples, each adult will undoubtedly have been – if not a victim, a witness to some minor conspiracy, such as in labor relations, in matters related to money, in relation to some woman disputed by more than one, and a long list of possibilities.
So why is it that there is currently a certain level of hysteria and many people feel a certain social pressure, sometimes even from their own family ties, to abandon any belief (even if it is plausible) that may be related to conspiracy acts? Is this a natural process or is it something that is being artificially installed for a specific purpose?
It seems that there is a particular interest in that the peoples do not get informed about alleged conspiracies, but rather that they behave as deluded people who believe everything that is said to them through the “traditional” mass media, these being controlled by the concentrated economic power with the ability to filter (block) information that may not be convenient for the groups of power to reach the masses.
We have recently been witnesses from one day to the next of the emergence of the phenomenon called ‘fake news‘ (note how the expression clearly opposes to the ‘Good News’ of Jesus Christ), suddenly this phrase began to spread through all the media and false news were spread on a wide variety of topics. Although falsehood in the informations is not something new, it was new the way in which they began to spread them, practically as an instrument of an alternative form of war, not against the sovereignty of the countries but against the truth itself.
It is as if an order had been given and ad-hoc work teams were immediately designated to spend their time inventing and disseminating false news. And what happened next? Coincidentally, after a few months we began to see the appearance of sites and companies that verify data (fact-checkers)
It is as if an order had been given and ad-hoc work teams were immediately designated to spend their time inventing and disseminating false news. And what happened next? Coincidentally, after a few months we began to see the appearance of sites and companies that verify data (fact-checkers), which tell us what is true or proven and what is false or has not been proven, pretending to replace the personal discernment of each human being and constituting a serious precedent that could open the doors later to the prohibition of the dissemination of news that are officially considered false, even if they were actually true.
Unfortunately this is also happening in the religious sphere, and some Christian spirituality sites already began to create content for the sole purpose of denying false religious news. Curiously, these sites have articles refuting the prophet Luz de María, whose messages so clearly anticipated the coming of the pandemic and warns us about the proximity of the massive implantation of the microchip in the human body, the mark of the beast. We can only imagine the number of people who will be victims of these conspiracies because those who should have informed, being their duty and vocation, did not do so because they had other interests at stake.
With certain similarity and in a contemporary way, we also see the emergence of false conspiracies, such as the one that postulates that the Earth is flat, possibly driven to produce the same effect as with fake news, to generate confusion, misinform, lead towards “fact checking sites” who want to declare what is true and what isn’t and at the same time using them to ridicule those who postulate that the truth is another or try to discredit what is officially declared as true through the traditional media, while real and serious conspiracies are happening without the people being properly informed about them.
But let’s remember for a moment the conspiracy through which Jesus was put to death. Interestingly, the argument used then was to prioritize the common good over the life of “a man”
And it happens that those most awake to reality may experience frustration and fear of being ridiculed when talking about these types of issues before audiences that do not want to take a moment to examine their plausibility. But let’s remember for a moment the conspiracy through which Jesus was put to death. Interestingly, the argument used then was to prioritize the common good over the life of “a man”:
So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” So from that day on they planned to kill him. (Jn. 11:47-50.53)
And other verses of the Gospel related to the plot to kill Jesus:
When Jesus finished all these words, he said to his disciples, “You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. But they said, “Not during the festival, that there may not be a riot among the people.” (Mt. 26:1-5)
The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death. (Mk. 3:6)
But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against him to put him to death. (Mt. 12:14)
And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were afraid of the people. (Lk. 22:2)
We could say that those who did not believe in the conspiracy that took place to kill Jesus, did not recognize him as the Messiah and Christ either. Hence the question of truth is extremely important for the human being, who must diligently seek it and once found defend and announce it, regardless of whether it involves talking about conspiracies or not. This is something that Christians who allude to “conspiracy theories that must be rejected in a well-formed Christian conscience” should meditate on. Ultimately those who will make a fool of themselves will be those who, with the intention of saving the body, their reputation and keeping human respects, have denied the truth.
But in the Holy Scriptures there are many more references to conspiracies. In the New Testament we also found these examples:
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone acknowledged him as the Messiah, he would be expelled from the synagogue. (Jn. 9:22)
When the disturbance was over, Paul had the disciples summoned and, after encouraging them, he bade them farewell and set out on his journey to Macedonia. As he traveled throughout those regions, he provided many words of encouragement for them. Then he arrived in Greece, where he stayed for three months. But when a plot was made against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return by way of Macedonia. (Acts 20:1-3)
When day came, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who formed this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves by a solemn oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. You, together with the Sanhedrin, must now make an official request to the commander to have him bring him down to you, as though you meant to investigate his case more thoroughly. We on our part are prepared to kill him before he arrives.” The son of Paul’s sister, however, heard about the ambush; so he went and entered the compound and reported it to Paul. (Acts 23:12-16)
In a non-exhaustive search, comes to light also the large number of cases of conspiracies and collusions to kill or harm someone that can be read about in the Old Testament, that we list below as an example:
- Gen. 37:18
- 1 Sm. 22:7-13
- 1 Kgs. 16:16-20
- 2 Kgs. 12:20-21
- 2 Kgs. 14:19
- 2 Kgs. 15:15
- 2 Kgs. 15:25
- 2 Kgs. 15:30
- 2 Kgs. 17:4
- 2 Kgs. 21:23-24
- 2 Chr. 24:21,25
- 2 Chr. 25:27
- 2 Chr. 33:24-25
- Est. 6:2
- Est. 16:3
- Est. 16:23
- Job 16:10
- Pss. 2:2
- Pss. 31:5-6;14
- Pss. 56:7
- Pss. 71:10
- Pss. 83:4-6
- Pss. 119:23
- 1 Mac. 9:61
- 2 Mac. 3:38
- Jer. 18:18-19
Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord; the Lord will be their trust. (Jer. 17,5.7)
In the end, who will be the deluded, those who believe that conspiracies do not exist, or those who want to inform themselves and be cautious knowing that they exist and that some of them can change their personal fate and that of entire humanity?
