{"id":14361,"date":"2020-09-18T13:38:26","date_gmt":"2020-09-18T17:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=14361"},"modified":"2020-09-18T13:38:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T17:38:26","slug":"some-evangelicals-taking-on-qanon-reject-troubling-online-conspiracy-theories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2020\/09\/some-evangelicals-taking-on-qanon-reject-troubling-online-conspiracy-theories","title":{"rendered":"Some Evangelicals Taking on QAnon, Reject Troubling Online Conspiracy Theories"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Gage Skidmore\/WikiCommons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While some bizarre QAnon conspiracy theories have gained traction in certain conservative groups, several Evangelical Christian leaders are taking on and denouncing the popular movement.<\/p>\n

Seth Brown, an evangelical pastor and executive editor of the Biblical Recorder, a Southern Baptist newspaper in Cary, N.C. delivered a stark warning to Christians about the viral conspiracy theory group, the New York Times<\/em> reports.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you start clicking through, it doesn\u2019t take long to find out some of this is coming from accounts that are QAnon,\u201d Brown shared with Sarah Posner in an interview. Brown cautioned readers that they must \u201creject the movement\u2019s fanatical and dangerous messages as Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also addressed how easy it is for people to fall into an online labyrinth of convoluted QAnon theories. There are also many false claims the movement pushes, including that the COVID-19 pandemic is overstated. Some push that the virus doesn\u2019t exist, which has been embraced by many of the president\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n

The movement, made up of internet conspiracy theories, alleges that the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles plotting against Trump while operating a global child sex-trafficking ring.<\/p>\n

Some of these beliefs circulate in white evangelical circles, but many who share this content have not heard of QAnon.<\/p>\n

Another denouncer is Warren Throckmorton, an evangelical and psychology professor at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. In his interview with Posner, he said the Q-adjacent claims that he has seen on social media relate primarily to the idea that the president \u201cis being unfairly maligned.\u201d<\/p>\n

These thoughts bolster the idea that Trump is under attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a way of trying to justify their support for the president,\u201d Throckmorton said. \u201cAnything that makes Donald Trump look honest or compassionate or good, they\u2019ll spread, without checking out where it comes from, who posted it, who the source is.\u201d<\/p>\n

QAnon was once a fringe phenomenon but became mainstream this past year. The movement gained national attention when Marjorie Taylor Greene, an admitted QAnon supporter from Georgia, won a Republican primary in a heavily conservative district, setting her up for a near-certain election to Congress in November, the New York Times<\/em> reports. Following Greene\u2019s win, President Trump called her a \u201cfuture Republican star.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the fringe group has gained the support of a Georgia congressional candidate and some evangelicals, it has also garnered criticism from many Christian leaders.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While some bizarre QAnon conspiracy theories have gained traction in certain conservative groups, several Evangelical Christian leaders are taking on and denouncing the popular movement. Seth Brown, an evangelical pastor and executive editor of the Biblical Recorder, a Southern Baptist newspaper in Cary, N.C. delivered a stark warning to Christians about the viral conspiracy theory…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3095,2701,3135,2361,3089],"class_list":["post-14361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-conspiracy-theories","tag-election-2020","tag-evangelical-christians","tag-president-trump","tag-qanon"],"yoast_head":"\nSome Evangelicals Taking on QAnon, Reject Troubling Online Conspiracy Theories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2020\/09\/some-evangelicals-taking-on-qanon-reject-troubling-online-conspiracy-theories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Some Evangelicals Taking on QAnon, Reject Troubling Online Conspiracy Theories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While some bizarre QAnon conspiracy theories have gained traction in certain conservative groups, several Evangelical Christian leaders are taking on and denouncing the popular movement. Seth Brown, an evangelical pastor and executive editor of the Biblical Recorder, a Southern Baptist newspaper in Cary, N.C. delivered a stark warning to Christians about the viral conspiracy theory…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2020\/09\/some-evangelicals-taking-on-qanon-reject-troubling-online-conspiracy-theories\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Beliefnet News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-09-18T17:38:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2020\/09\/Donald_Trump_29273256122-e1600271170538.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"466\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lesli White\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Some Evangelicals Taking on QAnon, Reject Troubling Online Conspiracy Theories","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2020\/09\/some-evangelicals-taking-on-qanon-reject-troubling-online-conspiracy-theories","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Some Evangelicals Taking on QAnon, Reject Troubling Online Conspiracy Theories","og_description":"While some bizarre QAnon conspiracy theories have gained traction in certain conservative groups, several Evangelical Christian leaders are taking on and denouncing the popular movement. 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