The Danger of Conspiracy Theories
Alastair in the UK has written an insightful post asserting that the most dangerous thing about phenomena such as The Da Vinci Code may not be their twisting of the facts.
Rather, he argues, they display a disturbing trend in our culture to popularize and cling to conspiracty theories. This observation clicked with me personally as I’ve been, in turn, surprised, dismayed, and then discouraged by the rush to assumption by many that the Presbyterians & Presbyterians Together document was generated by a conspiratorial group with nefarious motives.
At the end of his piece, Alastair points out that we Christians are just as prone (perhaps even more prone?) to want to run to conspiracy theories as anyone in the world.
Meanwhile, back in the “just the facts, ma’am,” department, a reminder of some resources dedicated to engaging the factual issues surrounding The Da Vinci Code phenomenon:
Westminster’s own Da Vinci Code site
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May 21st, 2006 at 12:05 am
Is it possible that the lack of transparency on the part of the promulgators of PPT contribute to the suspicion? Might it have helped the weaker brothers if they had listed the organizers? Isn’t it a little naive in this post-everything world to ask us all to regard PPT as if it dropped out of the sky?
PPT is evidently a political document intended to shape the discussion about the Federal Vision and other controversial issues. It isn’t a doctrinal work. It’s an attempt to leverage not only discussion but ecclesiastical action.
In this context, a little more openess might have helped the discussion. As it is, PPT appears to be just another hand grenade on the field of battle, albeit covered in velvet.
Scott Clark
May 21st, 2006 at 1:38 am
Yes, but I hear that if you do discover one of the authors of P&PT, they can be killed with a stake through the heart. Anyone seen Buffy?
May 22nd, 2006 at 9:46 pm
an excellent article sent to me by Dog Green which show a completely different take on the daVinci Code conspiracy stories:
entitled
Why Jews Should Worry About ‘The Da Vinci Code’
by David Klinghoffer
http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=5016