Alastair's Adversaria

Besides highlighting the word “Zion” or “Sion,” the two conspiracy theories [that of the ‘The Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ and that of The Da Vinci Code] share an understanding of how to deal with ideas you disagree with. Rather than taking traditional Christian beliefs at face value and arguing against them (as I do in my current book, by the way), Brown portrays the religion itself as resting upon a conscious deception. That excuses him from having to make arguments at all.

Anti-Semites do the same thing. Rather than coming out honestly against Darwinism or Marxism or modernity in general, they concoct a story about Judaism as a lie and a conspiracy. “Protocols” remains a global phenomenon of staggering popularity, especially in the Arab world.

I emphasize that Brown never intended to foment bigotry. Yet to the cause of conspiracy theorizing, he has done a wonderful favor, training his readers in the habits of paranoia and gullibility. For people committed to finding the truth through investigation and argumentation, that’s depressing.

As for Jews, we haven’t fared well when the culture we live in turns to entertaining fantasies and delusions at the expense of an unfashionable religion. The success of Brown’s book, now transformed into a movie blockbuster, is bad news indeed.

So argues David Klinghoffer.

After reading this article it occurred to me that modern conspiracy theories are simply the contemporary form of the scapegoat myths that Girard writes of. As I didn’t have the time to argue the case in full, I thought that I would Google and find someone else who makes my case for me. The popular thirst for Michael Moores and Dan Browns is a disturbing sign of the times. Such men are feeding a very dangerous appetite. This aspect of The Da Vinci Code concerns me far more than its direct attack upon the faith. Even if we answer all of the claims of the books of Dan Brown and others, their readers are increasingly likely to take refuge in some more elaborate conspiracy theory than to answer to the call of the truth.

I feel compelled to add that many Christians are gifted conspiracy theorists. Creationist claims of a scientific conspiracy, claims of the vast political conspiracies of liberalism, claims of theological conspiracies in our denominations: these are all popular within Christian circles. They are all means by which public debate retreats into the darkness. As those who are called to come into the light, we should know an awful lot better.

I apologize for this post’s title. I just discovered that Slash (of G’n’R fame) was raised in Stoke-on-Trent. More than a little surprising. On balance I would rather be associated with Slash than with Stoke’s other famous rock star son — Robbie Williams.

Having read most of a pre-publication version of this book (thanks to Dennis for first telling me about this), I can highly recommend it. It is bound to provoke the reader to deeper reflection. There are points of startling and refreshing insight. Even where I found myself disagreeing with Knight, I often left with a deeper understanding of the subjects that he was treating. Knight opens his book with the following words:—

This is a book of Christian theology. Theology is what the church does when it checks that it is fully expressing and passing on the word it receives from God. This book relates our understanding of time and history to Christian theology, to conform our understanding of ourselves to the theological truth that God is changing us. “Sanctification” is the term the Christian tradition uses for the process of our transformation. In this book I connect the concept of paideia, our formation, with the doctrine of sanctification. It is a very old theme in Christian theology, associated with Irenaeus, that God always intended come to humankind and stay with them, and that in the course of this coming humankind would grow up—a process delayed, but not halted, by sin and rebellion. This book discusses the ways in which Christian doctrine and biblical studies tackle this issue of the education or formation of humanity, and in particular the role of the people of Israel in this process. It explores the relationship of sacrifice, along with other models of the work of Christ, to sanctification, and it reexamines the connections between Israel, Jesus Christ, time, history, and Scripture, by closely linking them to the Christian doctrine of God.

Any of us who have thought a lot about the maturation of humanity as a governing theme in our understanding of God’s work in history will find much to engage with in this book.

If you want a better sense of Knight’s book, I strongly recommend that you read the lengthy engagement with the book on Solly Gratia.