We live in an age where information is instantly accessible with the tap of a screen. We often think that such access makes us wiser and well-informed. The reality is quite the opposite. When knowledge is not worked for, when we do not have to do the laborious effort to sift through good and bad research material, we tend to assume that whatever confirms our biases is genuine knowledge. We trust those persons who put out content that confirms our current state of belief, and distrust or despise those who bring competing information. In the end, we are less knowledgeable, less wise, and far too sure of ourselves.

All this works together to create the perfect storm in which conspiracy theories and cult-like thinking thrive. And those who hold the keys to the “secret knowledge” of “what is really happening out there” draw large numbers of followers to themselves. Enter conservative political influencer Candace Owens, who made a name for herself by being a black woman speaking out about leftist ideologies. Once a prominent voice at the Daily Wire, she was terminated when her obsession with antisemitic ideology put her publicly at odds with Ben Shapiro. Since then, Owens has been quite vocal in her anti-Jewish rantings and her sowing of conspiratorial controversies. One would think that such unhinged behavior would drive off her listener base, but she continues to maintain a sizable listening audience.

Most recently, Owens’ obsessions have centered on TPUSA and its CEO, Erika Kirk. Following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Owens has adamantly rejected the account that Tyler Robinson was the sole assassin. She has repeatedly claimed that she has evidence that numerous other people were involved, from random people in the crowd, to the nation of Israel, to members of TPUSA, and now, most significantly, Erika Kirk herself. While Owens has repeatedly promised evidence of these accusations, she has provided scant evidence of them. Her claims have centered on things such as out-of-context text messages, alleged dreams in which Charlie Kirk has spoken to her, Instagram comments, and mysterious informants whom she has never revealed. And now she promises an investigative series into Erika Kirk herself which implies that she is responsible for her husband’s death.

 

While Owens’ allegations of conspiracy have produced no substantive verification to date, there is a sizable number of people in the online world who have hung on her every word. This raises the question: if Owens has produced no actual evidence to support her claims, how is it that so many people seem to believe her stories? On a practical level, it goes back to where this article begins, the proliferation of “information” online makes us dumber, not smarter. Those who are looking for biased content to confirm their own ideas can find no end of material to support their views. Persons like Owens only have to make their content available and they will inevitably draw a crowd. Add to this a culture that embraced emotional outrage as a virtue in the wake of Critical Race Theory, Transgenderism, and COVID, and you have an audience ready to accept that anything labeled as “conspiracy theory” must actually be the truth.

However, there is an additional component that is too often overlooked, and that is the spiritual state of the majority of the world. Scripture teaches us that man is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1–3). This means that, not only is man predisposed to seek out sin, but his mind and heart are darkened to the truth. While this applies predominantly to spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14), one cannot ignore that a heart and mind enslaved to sin will readily reject clear truths presented to it when those truths conflict with the sinful desires of the heart. Paul presents this truth to Timothy when he writes,

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim. 4:3–4)

The same sinful heart that will reject spiritual truths and seek out false religious teachers to tickle its own ears is just as likely to seek out other lies in the world on which to satiate its sinful proclivities.

It must also be understood that politics, conspiracy theories, and their associated ideological influencers operate with an almost religious fervor. Those who peddle in knowing the “real truth” assure their audiences that only by listening to the influencers will they be saved from the “lies” of the world. They set themselves up as political “saviors” who deliver the people to the promised land of truth. And, just like those who flock to hear the heretics of false religions like the word-faith movement, there is no end to those who listen to, and vociferously defend, the likes of Owens, Tucker Carlson, or even Nick Fuentes. These are darkened hearts with deluded minds who refuse to do even the slightest work of questioning the narratives being fed to them because it feeds the sinful hearts.

Christians need to be aware of how the current culture of conspiracy theories is transforming the landscape. Sinful hearts have been given free rein to reject anything and everything in the wake of a cultural upheaval. Government, media, scholars, and more revealed how wickedly they will operate to forward their own agenda. And while wisdom dictates that every person should be more discerning about “approved narratives,” this does not mean we get to check our brains at the door and mindlessly accept whatever counter-narratives are offered. God gave us our minds to be used critically. We are called to study his word and discern the truth in spiritual matters, and that should likewise be applied to all earthly matters as well. Too many professing Christians, in the name of opposing all leftist ideologies, are being swept up in the insanity that influencers like Owens proffer.

Just as the study of God’s word brings a renewing of our minds that frees us from the sway of the world (see Rom. 12:2), Christians must do the diligent work of seeking out the truth critically in the sociopolitical realm. If Christians are called to “test the spirits” to determine if self-proclaimed prophets are from God (1 John 4:1), we do not get to turn off that discernment just because a podcaster is speaking politically instead of religiously. God calls us to be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves” in a world filled with charlatans and false teachers (Matt. 10:16). We are not to be unaware of the lies they proclaim and must stand ready to refute them with the truth. And we must likewise seek to warn the undiscerning against the wolves who seek to devour them.

Candace Owens is a wolf. She, like so many others, peddles in lies and half-truths, weaponizing suspicion and fear. She appeals to the emotionally charged crowd who lift up anger as a supreme virtue, while having no real knowledge about what they should be angry over. Christians should recognize her as the vile and wicked person she is, call out to other Christians who may be led away from the truth, and warn the foolish and undiscerning. There is a time and place for questions, suspicion, and investigation. But those must be applied with discernment and wisdom, letting truth inform one’s emotions, not emotion determining truth. Mark and avoid fear-mongers like Owens, and pray for those caught up in her web of lies.