The new mystery religion of conspiracy theory and how it isolates us.
It's not a question of whether the conspiracy theory is right or wrong. It's whether it actually matters to know it.
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas is a a must-see.
Visitors are self-guided through the museum in a way that brings them through the assassination of JFK starting with broad time before the event, winnowing down to counting off the seconds. They learn about the political culture of the time and place, then begin zooming in on the day, the hour, the minute…until the moment of JFK’s assassination. After that, the museum devotes itself to the aftermath.
Visitors can see the actual window in the book depository, with big X’s on the street below where the bullets struck. Through visual, audio, and physical artifacts, the museum does an excellent job reconstructing that moment in history.
Just before the self-guided tour ends, near the exit, is the display discussing the various theories surrounding the assassination. Guess which area of the museum is the most crowded?
We love secrets. Anything is fair game for having a secret.
The secret to saving the country and our body, and making both exist forever, is eschewing the government and Big Food Farma Pharma. The secret to the correct Christian life is a particular theology which is outlined in a book or conference ticket that’s for sale. The gist behind all secrets is that I’m lacking something—a vitamin, health regimen, beauty product, subscription, holiness, knowledge—but the good news is that the answer to the secret is for sale. Click here. Subscribe. Follow.
There are so many secrets. How is it that everyone seems to know more than me?
We buy things that we’re told are the secret others are missing out on, and we chase after knowing secrets. We can form an identity with others who are in on the secret, smirking knowingly at those who haven’t bought in. We’ll more readily believe just about anything if we think it’s a secret.
This is the mystery religion.
There are lots of reasons for isolation in today’s culture. Video games and the internet are commonly listed as culprits. But I want to suggest something different because of what happened on Sunday afternoon, September 11, 2022.
I stopped listening to a pastor for good that day, and the question I have for you today, in a roundabout way, is: are we not just as easily controlled by our distrust as we are by our trust?
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