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Author Topic: Q Anon  (Read 6353 times)

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patrick jane

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Re: Q Anon
« Reply #26 on: August 27, 2020, 09:09:53 pm »

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/august-web-only/qanon-is-wolf-in-wolfs-clothing.html








QAnon Is a Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing










There's nothing sheepish about this insidious internet demon.


He doesn’t know much about the QAnon conspiracy theory, President Trump told a reporter this month. But “I understand they like me very much, which I appreciate,” he added. “I have heard that it is gaining in popularity, and from what I hear, these are people … that love our country.”

The reporter asked a follow-up: “At the crux of this theory is this belief that you are secretly saving the world from this cult of **** and cannibals. Does that sound like … ” She trailed off, apparently at a loss as to where to go from there. “Like something you are behind?”

“Well, I haven’t heard that,” Trump answered, “but is that supposed to be a bad thing?”

This isn’t the first time Trump has interacted with QAnon. He has shared posts from QAnon Twitter accounts, and he greeted the primary victory of a pro-QAnon House candidate with enthusiasm. However, this explicit endorsement of the theory’s believers, if not quite the theory itself, is new territory for Trump. It will bring QAnon further into the political mainstream and make this cultic movement a greater threat to the American church.

If you’re among the majority of Americans unfamiliar with QAnon, a pause for definition may be in order. QAnon is a conspiracy theory that claims that a secret cabal in government, the media, and other influential institutions is engaged in child sex trafficking, cannibalism of a sort, and the usual conspiracist bugbear of world domination and human sacrifice. One sub-theory in the movement alleges that there’s footage of Hillary Clinton and her aide “ripping off a child’s face and wearing it as a mask before drinking the child’s blood in a Satanic ritual sacrifice.”

The QAnon movement began when an anonymous poster called Q took to the 4chan online forum—ironically, better known for its implication in child pornography and other foul dregs of the Internet—to predict Clinton would be arrested and massive riots would break out nationwide on October 30, 2017.

That day came and went, and nothing Q forecast came to pass. But here’s the genius of QAnon: For those already convinced, it’s unfalsifiable. According to Travis View, who researches conspiracy theories, “Q will say something very vague, like, ‘Watch the water,’ [and] because water covers most of the planet … there’s going to be a news event eventually that involves Trump and water. And so the QAnon community will look at that and will say, ‘Look, Trump drank a glass of water on camera. Q said, “Watch the water.” That means that Q predicted that event’—which, of course, is nonsense.”

When Q prophecies (or “drops,” as they’re called) don’t pan out, as with the initial Clinton arrest story, adherents simply conclude the cabal interfered.

The cabal is QAnon’s version of the Fall—its explanation for what’s wrong with our world. Q is the movement’s John the Baptist. Drops are its Scripture. And Trump is its messiah, ostensibly working at great personal cost to defeat the cabal and usher in a new age of American greatness.

That religious language isn’t only metaphorical. Among QAnon’s most troubling aspects are its use of the language and style of evangelical Christianity, its misuse of the Bible to disguise its deception, and its increasing function as a syncretic cult of semi-Christian heresy.

A pro-Q politician in Oregon described her involvement by sharing that some “people think that I follow Q like I follow Jesus,” a blasphemous characterization she left unchallenged. That’s unsurprising, for QAnon fashions itself as a “Christian” movement. Q drops often quote Scripture—as even the devil does (see Matt. 4:10)—a tactic that adherents have said helped convince them the theory was worth their time.

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Re: Q Anon
« Reply #27 on: August 29, 2020, 10:54:44 am »
I've never really believed too much of what this Q says.

guest8

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Re: Q Anon
« Reply #28 on: August 29, 2020, 11:24:53 am »
q

Think it will all go away after the election.

Blade

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Re: Q Anon
« Reply #29 on: September 06, 2020, 03:57:09 am »

https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2020/september/qanon-conspiracies-disciple.html










QAnon, Conspiracies, and Discipling the Way Out






















Reflections on my recent article for USAToday


Few articles I’ve written have provoked the response as touching conspiracy theories in 2020. It is an odd mixture of those consumed by fury or derision at my apparent blindness and those derisive of my supposed attempt to generate clickbait.

This is part of the problem I tried to address in my latest article at USAToday on the growing influence of the conspiracy theory known as QAnon in evangelical churches.

In the article, I concluded that “we need pastors, leaders, and everyday Christians to address this conspiracy, and others like it, before others are fooled.” With this in mind, I wanted to address some pushback and offer some steps leaders can take.

The Problem of the Media


By far the most common criticism I get whenever I write about conspiracy theories is that Christians should be suspicious of mainstream media. Many have argued that they are often biased against Christians and conservatives, at times presenting distorted reporting.

I think this is fair criticism—to a point.

As I’ve argued many times, the state of reporting on religion—and particularly reporting on evangelicalism—is poor. Major outlets get obvious facts wrong that betray not only ignorance but laziness in not checking.

I also explained to Terry Mattingly that poor treatment from the mainstream media is, at least in part, to blame for why Christians don’t trust them—they have reasons not to.

It’s not hard to ask a pastor or seminary professor for help, but this is sometimes deemed not important. In the history of journalism, I’d wager that few terms have been as wrongly used as Calvinism. Yet the lesson is never learned.

More distressingly, some outlets seemingly take joy in magnifying outlier behavior as examples of evangelicals while ignoring the majority. This was evident in March, when despite the tens of thousands of churches that led the way on closing fast and focusing on serving their communities, media outlets focused on the few cases of attention seeking pastors. Or, more recently, with the misleading (and since changed) New York Times headline about churches being a major source of outbreaks.

In talking with other church leaders, it is beyond frustrating to serve faithfully only to see the loudest fringe voices receive the spotlight, or to see your community misrepresented. This wears on Christians and cultivates distrust of the media. After all, if they’re getting us wrong, what else are they misrepresenting?

Over time, this has eroded trust and obscured the work of quality religion journalists at just the time we need them most.

Going Too Far
Despite these failings, Christians go too far when they dismiss all mainstream journalism.

This is why in USAToday, I was critical of the 46% of self-identified evangelicals and 52% of evangelicals by belief who "strongly believe the mainstream media produces fake news." While it can be tempting for evangelicals to use bias to dismiss criticism, “the fact that news agencies have biases is not synonymous with producing fake news.”

This mistake has only served to isolate us from criticism, whereby we invalidate any news article we find unfavorable.

In reality, there are good journalists in the mainstream media, particularly religion journalists, who strive to understand and report on evangelicalism in all fairness. I might not always agree with them, but I respect their integrity and desire to report honestly.

Instead, our goal should be a maturity to engage reporting with a critical eye rather than to shout bias upon seeing a logo.

We need to develop a track record of accepting hard truths that are well supported rather than if they support our political or cultural narrative. Most importantly, we need to resist our temptations to echo chambers—a temptation that is common to many other subcultures across the globe.

Stepping into our Technology Discipleship Gap

I voiced my frustration in Christians in the Age of Outrage that for how important online technology is to our world, pastors rarely engaged the topic. As a result, our dependence on technology far outpaces its prominence in our discipleship practices. Conspiracy theories like QAnon gaining traction in our churches is merely one more rotten fruit of thisgap in our discipleship.

In my USAToday piece, I attempted to step into this gap by challenging Christians to “address the QAnon’ers in our midst.” Many dismissed the problem as fearmongering while others believed I’d slandered QAnon.

But most Christians are looking for help and frustrated at the silence from their leaders. They’ve struggled with family members, friends, and even church staff or volunteers promoting conspiracies. Unsure how to respond, often it goes unchallenged and relationships slowly dissolve.

Pastors and church leaders need to see this as the discipleship failure it is. Our silence, casual dismissal, or even tacit approval of destructive online behavior is corrosive to the spiritual health of our churches.

So as pastors look to engage, let me offer three initial steps we can take to address the technology habits and relationships of our people.

1) Challenge the church to make Christ Lord of their social media.

Undoubtedly many in your congregation, organization, and family believe this is already true for them. In fact, they have proof!

Their social media profile says Christian and is accompanied by a bible verse. But in reality, the ways we describe ourselves on social media often say far less about our identity than the ways we interact and the people, ideas, and causes we choose to amplify.

Social media profiles can be misleading and even destructive if the heart behind them is not submitted to Christ.

2) Encourage the church to ask God for wisdom.

Never in my lifetime has the need for wisdom been as pressing as it is today. The confusion of the pandemic, the caustic spirit of our politics, and the unresolved pain of our racial history are only a few of the pressing demands we face.

With so much confusion, church leaders need to ask our people where they are looking for answers. I believe that any explanation for rise of conspiracy theories and politicization in the church should begin with these responses. When faced with uncertainty, many Christians have developed concerning habits of turning to cable news or even social media platforms like Facebook or Reddit when trying to make sense of the world.

Into these temptations, Pastors need remind us of the words of James: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

While truth is we all lack wisdom, the question remains: where are we turning? If you want to address the conspiracy theories in your church, recognize how their posts reflect a struggle for where to find wisdom and a corresponding set of habits that need to be rooted out.

3) Caution the church to hit pause.

One important lesson I’ve learned in watching Christians on social media is how the platform causes us to diminish the importance of being “quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (1:19).

It is stunning how Christians can just dismiss this warning from James as insignificant.

Encountering something they find offensive or wrong, many Christians are quick to jump into the fray. In reality, the majority of these instantaneous criticisms are a fraction as clever as we believe and exponentially more cruel, ignorant, and/or prideful. This is why James cautions us to be slow and to listen. A day, a week, a month; the length matters less than genuinely reflecting on why and how you are engaging.

It’s a good lesson to never send an angry email. Save it in your drafts and pray on it for at least 24 hours. My inbox is still filled with dozens of saved emails I wrote in anger but decided not to send.

In some cases, God resolved the situation. In others, He gave me peace despite a lack of resolution. In every instance, I realized that the email would only satisfy my rage.

Pastors should encourage a similar practice. When tempted to engage online in anger, hit pause. This is entirely inconsistent with the spirit of social media but entirely aligned with the Spirit of God.

In all three of these steps, the central need of the church is for its leaders for wisdom on how to live in our digital world. These are the pressing questions of our time and if the pulpit is silent they will go elsewhere.

The challenge for pastors is when will we begin to speak up.








Ed Stetzer is executive director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, serves as a dean at Wheaton College, and publishes church leadership resources through Mission Group. The Exchange Team contributed to this article.

Andrew MacDonald is associate director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Institute. He’s written here on conspiracy theories.

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Re: Q Anon
« Reply #30 on: September 27, 2020, 07:47:14 pm »

https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2020/september/qanon-conspiracies-disciple.html










QAnon, Conspiracies, and Discipling the Way Out






















Reflections on my recent article for USAToday


Few articles I’ve written have provoked the response as touching conspiracy theories in 2020. It is an odd mixture of those consumed by fury or derision at my apparent blindness and those derisive of my supposed attempt to generate clickbait.

This is part of the problem I tried to address in my latest article at USAToday on the growing influence of the conspiracy theory known as QAnon in evangelical churches.

In the article, I concluded that “we need pastors, leaders, and everyday Christians to address this conspiracy, and others like it, before others are fooled.” With this in mind, I wanted to address some pushback and offer some steps leaders can take.

The Problem of the Media


By far the most common criticism I get whenever I write about conspiracy theories is that Christians should be suspicious of mainstream media. Many have argued that they are often biased against Christians and conservatives, at times presenting distorted reporting.

I think this is fair criticism—to a point.

As I’ve argued many times, the state of reporting on religion—and particularly reporting on evangelicalism—is poor. Major outlets get obvious facts wrong that betray not only ignorance but laziness in not checking.

I also explained to Terry Mattingly that poor treatment from the mainstream media is, at least in part, to blame for why Christians don’t trust them—they have reasons not to.

It’s not hard to ask a pastor or seminary professor for help, but this is sometimes deemed not important. In the history of journalism, I’d wager that few terms have been as wrongly used as Calvinism. Yet the lesson is never learned.

More distressingly, some outlets seemingly take joy in magnifying outlier behavior as examples of evangelicals while ignoring the majority. This was evident in March, when despite the tens of thousands of churches that led the way on closing fast and focusing on serving their communities, media outlets focused on the few cases of attention seeking pastors. Or, more recently, with the misleading (and since changed) New York Times headline about churches being a major source of outbreaks.

In talking with other church leaders, it is beyond frustrating to serve faithfully only to see the loudest fringe voices receive the spotlight, or to see your community misrepresented. This wears on Christians and cultivates distrust of the media. After all, if they’re getting us wrong, what else are they misrepresenting?

Over time, this has eroded trust and obscured the work of quality religion journalists at just the time we need them most.

Going Too Far
Despite these failings, Christians go too far when they dismiss all mainstream journalism.

This is why in USAToday, I was critical of the 46% of self-identified evangelicals and 52% of evangelicals by belief who "strongly believe the mainstream media produces fake news." While it can be tempting for evangelicals to use bias to dismiss criticism, “the fact that news agencies have biases is not synonymous with producing fake news.”

This mistake has only served to isolate us from criticism, whereby we invalidate any news article we find unfavorable.

In reality, there are good journalists in the mainstream media, particularly religion journalists, who strive to understand and report on evangelicalism in all fairness. I might not always agree with them, but I respect their integrity and desire to report honestly.

Instead, our goal should be a maturity to engage reporting with a critical eye rather than to shout bias upon seeing a logo.

We need to develop a track record of accepting hard truths that are well supported rather than if they support our political or cultural narrative. Most importantly, we need to resist our temptations to echo chambers—a temptation that is common to many other subcultures across the globe.

Stepping into our Technology Discipleship Gap

I voiced my frustration in Christians in the Age of Outrage that for how important online technology is to our world, pastors rarely engaged the topic. As a result, our dependence on technology far outpaces its prominence in our discipleship practices. Conspiracy theories like QAnon gaining traction in our churches is merely one more rotten fruit of thisgap in our discipleship.

In my USAToday piece, I attempted to step into this gap by challenging Christians to “address the QAnon’ers in our midst.” Many dismissed the problem as fearmongering while others believed I’d slandered QAnon.

But most Christians are looking for help and frustrated at the silence from their leaders. They’ve struggled with family members, friends, and even church staff or volunteers promoting conspiracies. Unsure how to respond, often it goes unchallenged and relationships slowly dissolve.

Pastors and church leaders need to see this as the discipleship failure it is. Our silence, casual dismissal, or even tacit approval of destructive online behavior is corrosive to the spiritual health of our churches.

So as pastors look to engage, let me offer three initial steps we can take to address the technology habits and relationships of our people.

1) Challenge the church to make Christ Lord of their social media.

Undoubtedly many in your congregation, organization, and family believe this is already true for them. In fact, they have proof!

Their social media profile says Christian and is accompanied by a bible verse. But in reality, the ways we describe ourselves on social media often say far less about our identity than the ways we interact and the people, ideas, and causes we choose to amplify.

Social media profiles can be misleading and even destructive if the heart behind them is not submitted to Christ.

2) Encourage the church to ask God for wisdom.

Never in my lifetime has the need for wisdom been as pressing as it is today. The confusion of the pandemic, the caustic spirit of our politics, and the unresolved pain of our racial history are only a few of the pressing demands we face.

With so much confusion, church leaders need to ask our people where they are looking for answers. I believe that any explanation for rise of conspiracy theories and politicization in the church should begin with these responses. When faced with uncertainty, many Christians have developed concerning habits of turning to cable news or even social media platforms like Facebook or Reddit when trying to make sense of the world.

Into these temptations, Pastors need remind us of the words of James: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

While truth is we all lack wisdom, the question remains: where are we turning? If you want to address the conspiracy theories in your church, recognize how their posts reflect a struggle for where to find wisdom and a corresponding set of habits that need to be rooted out.

3) Caution the church to hit pause.

One important lesson I’ve learned in watching Christians on social media is how the platform causes us to diminish the importance of being “quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger” (1:19).

It is stunning how Christians can just dismiss this warning from James as insignificant.

Encountering something they find offensive or wrong, many Christians are quick to jump into the fray. In reality, the majority of these instantaneous criticisms are a fraction as clever as we believe and exponentially more cruel, ignorant, and/or prideful. This is why James cautions us to be slow and to listen. A day, a week, a month; the length matters less than genuinely reflecting on why and how you are engaging.

It’s a good lesson to never send an angry email. Save it in your drafts and pray on it for at least 24 hours. My inbox is still filled with dozens of saved emails I wrote in anger but decided not to send.

In some cases, God resolved the situation. In others, He gave me peace despite a lack of resolution. In every instance, I realized that the email would only satisfy my rage.

Pastors should encourage a similar practice. When tempted to engage online in anger, hit pause. This is entirely inconsistent with the spirit of social media but entirely aligned with the Spirit of God.

In all three of these steps, the central need of the church is for its leaders for wisdom on how to live in our digital world. These are the pressing questions of our time and if the pulpit is silent they will go elsewhere.

The challenge for pastors is when will we begin to speak up.








Ed Stetzer is executive director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, serves as a dean at Wheaton College, and publishes church leadership resources through Mission Group. The Exchange Team contributed to this article.

Andrew MacDonald is associate director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Institute. He’s written here on conspiracy theories.

;D

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Re: Q Anon
« Reply #31 on: October 03, 2020, 10:31:23 am »
 8)

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Re: Q Anon
« Reply #35 on: December 04, 2020, 01:37:51 pm »

patrick jane

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Re: Q Anon
« Reply #37 on: February 13, 2021, 08:52:40 am »

https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/february/white-evangelicals-qanon-election-conspiracy-trump-aei.html







QAnon Conspiracies Sway Faith Groups, Including 1 in 4 White Evangelicals




Survey examines belief in election fraud, the Deep State, and other theories on American politics.


A new survey reports more than a quarter of white evangelical Protestants believe a QAnon conspiracy theory that purports former President Donald Trump is secretly battling a cabal of **** Democrats, and roughly half express support for the debunked claim that antifa was responsible for the recent insurrection at the US Capitol.

Experts say the data point to a widening ideological divide not only between white evangelicals and other religious groups in the country, but also between white evangelical Republicans and other members of their own party.

The survey, which was conducted in late January by the conservative American Enterprise Institute, reported 29 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of white evangelicals—the most of any religious group—believe the widely debunked QAnon conspiracy theory is completely or mostly accurate.

QAnon has infiltrated other faiths as well, with 15 percent of white mainline Protestants, 18 percent of white Catholics, 12 percent of non-Christians, 11 percent of Hispanic Catholics and 7 percent of black Protestants saying they believe it.

In addition, large subsets of each group—ranging from 37 percent of non-Christians to 50 percent of Hispanic Catholics—said they “weren’t sure” whether the theory was true.



According to Daniel Cox, director of AEI’s Survey Center on American Life, the report suggests conspiracy theories enjoy a surprising amount of support in general, but white evangelicals appear to be particularly primed to embrace them.

“There’s this really dramatic fissure,” he said.

There was also significant support among white evangelicals for the claim that members of antifa, or anti-fascist activists, were “mostly responsible” for the attack on the US Capitol—a discredited claim repeated by former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Franklin Graham. FBI officials have said there is “no indication” antifa played a role in the insurrection.

Even so, the story has had staying power in the minds of many Americans, including 49 percent of white evangelical Protestants who said the antifa claim was completely or mostly true. So did 36 percent of white Catholics, 35 percent of Hispanic Catholics, 33 percent of white mainline Protestants, 25 percent of Black Protestants and 19 percent of non-Christians.

Among the religiously unaffiliated, 22 percent also expressed belief in the theory.

Asked to explain why white evangelicals appear disproportionately likely to embrace conspiracy theories, Cox noted that, as a group, they do not fit a stereotype of conspiracy theorists as people disconnected from social interaction. Instead, most retain strong connections to various social groups.

But white evangelicals stand out in a different way: The vast majority say some or a lot of their family members (81%) or friends (82%) voted for Trump in the 2020 election—more than any other religious group.

“People who do strongly believe in these things are not more disconnected—they are more politically segregated,” Cox said.

The resulting social echo chamber, he argued, allows conspiracy theories to spread unchecked.

“That kind of environment is really important when it comes to embracing this kind of thinking,” he said. “You’re seeing people embrace this sort of conspiratorial thinking, and everyone in their social circle is like, ‘Yeah, that sounds right to me,’ versus someone saying, ‘You know, we should look at this credulously.’”

White evangelicals express robust support for other conspiracy theories as well. Close to two-thirds (62%) believe there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election—despite numerous experts and courts at all levels refuting such claims—and roughly the same percentage (63%) believe President Joe Biden’s victory was “not legitimate.”

A majority (55%) also said they believed it was mostly or completely accurate to say “a group of unelected government officials in Washington, D.C., referred to as the ‘Deep State’ (has) been working to undermine the Trump administration.”

Cox said forthcoming data will highlight the ideological distinctiveness of white evangelicals even among people who identify as Republicans or who lean toward the party, signaling an “increasingly important divide in the GOP among people who identify as evangelical Christian and those who do not.”

“If you’re a Republican but identify as an evangelical Christian, you’re far more likely to believe in voter fraud in 2020 election,” he said. “You’re far more likely to believe that Biden’s win was not legitimate. You’re more likely to believe in the QAnon conspiracy. You’re more likely to believe in the ‘Deep State.’”

White evangelicals also stood apart from other religious groups when asked about the potential for violent action: 41 percent completely or somewhat agreed with the statement “if elected leaders will not protect America, the people must do it themselves even if it requires taking violent actions.”

 

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