When Conspiracy Theories Get Dangerous

[Michie]

Conspiracy theories may have been around since humans began telling stories but today, the volume and spread of such theories is amplified by technology including social media and artificial intelligence. The dangers of conspiracy theories may also be spreading as large segments of populations embrace ideas and stories that have no basis in fact and in the worst cases, can lead some people to consider violence against phantom enemies.

Last week, The Cipher Brief brought together CIA veterans and a journalist who has studied the impact of conspiracy theories for a wide-ranging conversation about the phenomenon, its history, and the risks it may pose to the nation.

All three agreed that as colorful as these theories can be, they can constitute a notable national security threat. “There’s a huge narrative in the country that there’s a deep state and there are people who truly believe it and are actually sometimes willing to commit violence because they believe it so strongly – when it was never true,” said John Sipher, a three-decade veteran of the CIA.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “conspiracy theory” as “a belief that some secret but influential organization is responsible for an event or phenomenon.” That, as our special panel suggested, only begins to tell the story.

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THE CONTEXT


Continued below.

When Conspiracy Theories Get Dangerous

CIA veterans explain the dangers that loom when conspiracy theories pose real risks to national security exclusively in The Cipher Brief

www.thecipherbrief.com

 

[The Liturgist]

Conspiracy theories may have been around since humans began telling stories but today, the volume and spread of such theories is amplified by technology including social media and artificial intelligence. The dangers of conspiracy theories may also be spreading as large segments of populations embrace ideas and stories that have no basis in fact and in the worst cases, can lead some people to consider violence against phantom enemies.

Last week, The Cipher Brief brought together CIA veterans and a journalist who has studied the impact of conspiracy theories for a wide-ranging conversation about the phenomenon, its history, and the risks it may pose to the nation.

All three agreed that as colorful as these theories can be, they can constitute a notable national security threat. “There’s a huge narrative in the country that there’s a deep state and there are people who truly believe it and are actually sometimes willing to commit violence because they believe it so strongly – when it was never true,” said John Sipher, a three-decade veteran of the CIA.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “conspiracy theory” as “a belief that some secret but influential organization is responsible for an event or phenomenon.” That, as our special panel suggested, only begins to tell the story.

---

THE CONTEXT


Continued below.

When Conspiracy Theories Get Dangerous

CIA veterans explain the dangers that loom when conspiracy theories pose real risks to national security exclusively in The Cipher Brief

www.thecipherbrief.com

I think the Sovereign Citizen and Moorish National conspiracy theories are pretty dangerous.

 

[Michie]

I think the Sovereign Citizen and Moorish National conspiracy theories are pretty dangerous.

Absolutely. Let’s face it, all conspiracy theories are dangerous on many levels. I’ve seen it firsthand. What a fantastic ploy of the devil. Concentrating on these ridiculous scenarios takes away from what could be such a much more trustworthy witness as Christians. So much time wasted on what the father of all lies propagates.

 

[boughtwithaprice]

Absolutely. Let’s face it, all conspiracy theories are dangerous on many levels. I’ve seen it firsthand. What a fantastic ploy of the devil. Concentrating on these ridiculous scenarios takes away from what could be such a much more trustworthy witness as Christians. So much time wasted on what the father of all lies propagates.

At the same time, we must understand that we are in a battle. We are called Church Militant.
There is a conspiracy against our souls by Satan and all his minions of hell.

In the movie Nefarious, the demon says the enemy (God) created you in His image, we try to recreate you in ours. The Creator creates, we destroy. We hurt him by destroying that which He loves, which is you.

There is a battle of the mind and conspiracy theories are only dangerous if you are not aligning your will with God. If you are with God, then you know that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.

Satan’s greatest deception is convincing people that he does not exist and people that believe he is real are crazy. Why are conspiracy theories so prevalent and appealing to some? Because there is a conspiracy!!! Satan just distracts you to believe in the wrong one in order to discredit conspiracy theories. He puts forth complete falsehoods as mainstream thought.
He takes uncertainty and lets us believe it is unchanging dogma.

The two most common are evolution and the age of the universe. The age of the universe and distance of stars is based on our calculations of the speed of light, yet the speed of light cannot be directly observed. We only time reflections and believe that the speed of light is the same in both directions, but some physicists admit that it might not be so. If our calculations of the speed of light are wrong, then our calculations of the size and age of the universe are also wrong.
The Big Bang was made up in the 1920s by Hubble and is falling out of favor by mainstream scientists, yet held as dogma by theistic evolutionists. The Bible says the Earth was made first, then the Sun Moon and stars. What is the evidence?
Do we even look for evidence or just dismiss Genesis as crackpot myths that has no place in the modern world? Very few admit the weakness of the current ideas in science.

Take Galileo. My third grade daughter brought home her assignment, and it said Galileo proved that the Earth goes around the Sun. That is not true, but it is taught as dogma. When you look at Galileo’s data, he observed that moons go around Jupiter and Venus goes around the Sun
The orbit of the earth is inferred. The movement and orbit of Earth cannot be directly observed, yet we don’t question mainstream science. The calculated orbit of the Earth is not even round, but an elipse. The irregular shape would lead it instability and decay over billions of years, yet these questions are not asked or objections Pooh Poohed as crack pot. Little children are just told by teacher repeat after me, Galileo proved that the Earth goes around the Sun. That is not education, that is indoctrination, which would be irrelevant, yet it is used in an effort to disprove God and discredit His Church

Thankfully there are secular scientists that are beginning to see the inadequacies of modern ideas to explain all the observable data. They recognize an intelligence in the Universe. An intelligence not explained by natural laws.
It’s funny that the secular scientists are the one’s that see the weakness of modern scientific arguments, yet those that would call themselves Christian argue for the absurd thoughts of evolution and a dry dead universe that Earth only recently popped out of

Just because you can discredit some conspiracy theories does not mean that there is not a conspiracy. Conspiracy theories exist because we have abandoned science in favor of religion, not the other way around. True science takes data and makes a hypothesis, then looks for any data to discredit or falsify the hypothesis. Modern religion posing as science does the opposite. It makes a claim or proposition and looks for evidence to support it and discredits evidence against it. That is not science, that is narrative.
Why teach children that which is not true about Galileo? Why not tell them what he really observed instead of what we want him to have proved ? Academic laziness or a conspiracy to indoctrinate the minds of children? Who would have ever thought that we would abandon basic biology in the 21st century in favor of absurd gender theory.

Yes there are dangerous conspiracy theories. Global warming is the worst, as the fear of it will give governments the power to limit food and heat which will result in large numbers of people dying so that we can theoretically save the Earth that is not in danger. That is a dangerous theory

 

[The Liturgist]

In the movie Nefarious,

Not exactly a great source of theological wisdom, movies.

The Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other doctrinal documents specific to your denomination are far more reliable in almost any case I can think of.

 

[Palmfever]

As a rule Michie I'm dismissive with conspiracy nuts. I've heard some tall tales. To believe that there are those with an agenda is not a theory in my estimation however. It may get murky when people begin to surmise details or specific events. The methods necessitated in the information gathering world of spyware and inserting or toppling governments by supporting insurgents leaves me with no faith in the CIA as far as speaking truth. No I didn't watch the video. Interestingly Rahab was commended for her part in spying for the Jewish nation. I doubt very much that God is behind all the lies and deception in todays world of espionage or politics for that matter.
I'm not being argumentative, just found no compelling reason to subject myself to the verbiage of a professional liar.

 

[mourningdove~]

At the same time, we must understand that we are in a battle. We are called Church Militant.
There is a conspiracy against our souls by Satan and all his minions of hell.

There is a battle of the mind and conspiracy theories are only dangerous if you are not aligning your will with God. If you are with God, then you know that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.

Satan’s greatest deception is convincing people that he does not exist and people that believe he is real are crazy. Why are conspiracy theories so prevalent and appealing to some? Because there is a conspiracy!!! Satan just distracts you to believe in the wrong one in order to discredit conspiracy theories. He puts forth complete falsehoods as mainstream thought.
He takes uncertainty and lets us believe it is unchanging dogma.

Just because you can discredit some conspiracy theories does not mean that there is not a conspiracy.

Yes there are dangerous conspiracy theories. Global warming is the worst, as the fear of it will give governments the power to limit food and heat which will result in large numbers of people dying so that we can theoretically save the Earth that is not in danger. That is a dangerous theory

.... yes, a very dangerous one.

 

[boughtwithaprice]

Not exactly a great source of theological wisdom, movies.

The Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other doctrinal documents specific to your denomination are far more reliable in almost any case I can think of.

Movies are an illustration. Nefarious was reviewed by exorcists and found to be a reasonable portrayal of what a demon would say and has said

There are comical movies such as the original exorcist from 1973 and The Popes exorcist of recent memory. They were over dramatized and sensationalized for dramatic effect.
Nefarious as a movie was well done. The concepts presented are not less true because they appear on film rather than a book

Another good representation of actual exorcisms is Malachi Martin’s book Hostage to the Devil. Very well presented

 

[FireDragon76]

True words.

The most dangerous conspiracies were/are arguably the early modern witch hunts (even King James I wrought a tome justifying the belief in this superstition), and the belief in the blood libel against the Jews.

 

[imsaneru]

During the pandemic the Gov & MSM working in tandem put forth the most vile and evil lie not seen since the Dark ages or Middle ages.
They managed to concoct a conspiracy against one group of people , the unvaccinated.

They said this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated and put forth rules to limit their freedoms and movements.
It came very close to people wanting to chase down the unvaccinated with pitch forks and burn them at the stake , and all to save society from the dreaded evil selfish disease ridden unvaccinated people.

Yep conspiracies can indeed be very dangerous , don't go getting caught up in this stuff.