Trustful Waiting and Enemy Loving Responses to Uncertainty and Vulnerability: Christian Psychology Soul Care in an Age of Conspiracy Rumors

[Michie]

In this article, we approach conspiracy rumor hubbub from a Christian psychological perspective. We argue that the anxious and angry participation in conspiracy theory discourse—even were such theories to be proven true—constitute two “off-the-mark” responses (namely, fearful-anxious and defensive- hateful rumor) to uncertainty and vulnerability, and that these responses flow from a distorted existential understanding of God as bad (i.e., untrustworthy, tyrannical, distant, condemning). Conversely, we also explore two “on-the-mark” responses (namely, trustful waiting and enemy loving) to uncertainty and vulnerability that flow from a biblical existential understanding of God as good (i.e., trustworthy, loving, near, generous).

Approaching Conspiracy Rumors through Christian Psychology Lenses


Continued below.

Trustful Waiting and Enemy Loving Responses to Uncertainty and Vulnerability: Christian Psychology Soul Care in an Age of Conspiracy Rumors - Christian Scholar’s Review

We illuminate conspiracy rumormongering by viewing it through the lens of Christian psychology. We propose that at the core of the anxiety and anger characteristic of much conspiracist discourse is...

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