Conspiracy Theories, Religion, and Nonduality
The political climate in America is getting crazy. It has been crazy for a while. A survey released this week by LifeWay Research reported that half of all pastors report having heard people in their congregations repeat conspiracy theories. I recently read an article in which a woman said that she believes that Trump won the 2020 election with the same certainty that she believes in God. I am sure she is said that to bolster the credibility of her conspiracy theory. But when people hear that, all it does is put faith in God on the same level as a conspiracy theory. No wonder so many people are skeptical of organized religion!
Conspiracy theories have been around for quite a while, but they seem to have gotten worse in the last few years. It is only in the last few years that I have started hearing phrases like fake news and alternative facts. What the heck is an alternative fact? Some of these theories are downright nuts. Have you ever read what QAnon really believes? A recent article in Christianity Today says that evangelicals disproportionately believe in conspiracy theories, especially QAnon. What does that say about evangelical Christianity?
One thing these last few years has taught me is how easily people are fooled … including us. Our brains are not a reliable as we think they are. How easy it is for the human mind to believe almost anything. I guest this has always been the case, from Flat-earthers to UFO abductions to those who say the Apollo moon landing and the Holocaust are hoaxes. But nowadays people take every event reported in the news and twist it so that it fits their political view. They turn things into the exact opposite of what really happened without even noticing what they are doing. It just shows the power of confirmation bias.
When we enter into the world of religion and spirituality, there are no holds barred in this self-deception. People can hold any beliefs they fancy, no matter how bizarre. All religions sound really weird if you look at them objectively. My Christian religion sounds weird. Christians believe things like the dead coming back to life, virgin births, people walking on water, not to mention talking snakes and magical trees. Other religions are just as weird. Christianity does not have a monopoly on crazy. They all sound like conspiracy theories.
What is a conspiracy theory anyway? Merriam Webster defines it as “a theory that explains an event or set of circumstances as the result of a secret plot by usually powerful conspirators; also a theory asserting that a secret of great importance is being kept from the public.” It sounds like religion to me. All religions claim to have unique knowledge not available to outsiders that explains the true workings of the universe. Christianity says that everything that happens is actually orchestrated behind the scenes by an invisible all-powerful deity. Christians claim to have evidence of this in a divine book which was revealed to ancient people thousands of years ago.
But we Christians think, “No, no, no. Our religion is not a conspiracy theory. It is true!” But isn’t that exactly that other religions think about theirs? Isn’t that what Muslims think and Scientologists think and Mormons think and Jehovah’s Witnesses think? And the suicide cults of Heaven’s Gate and the People’s Temple of Jonestown?
To us other religions sound like cults and conspiracy theories. To others our religion sounds like a cult or conspiracy theory. And we think, “How can they believe something like that?” When we are immersed in and believe a conspiracy theory we don’t see it as a conspiracy theory. We think it is the truth. If we are honest with ourselves then we have to admit that we might be deceived about the things we believe are most true. In my experience the more certain and adamant a person is that they are right, the more likely it is that they are wrong.
We cannot be sure our minds are correctly sorting out what is real and what is not, what is true and what is false. We are all vulnerable to deception. That does not means we retreat into despair, relativism and solipsism. It does mean that we maintain a healthy skepticism when it comes to our beliefs, including our religious beliefs. It means we examine and deconstruct our beliefs thoroughly and are willing to doubt everything and test everything against standards of common sense and reason. It should also encourage us to practice humility when it comes to others beliefs. Others’ beliefs may be no crazier than ours.
This epidemic of self-deceptions, conspiracy theories, hoaxes and lies is evidence to me that our perception of the world is most likely illusory. The Hindus call it maya. Maya, as I understand it, does not mean that there is no truth or objective reality. It means that we cannot know it. The universe is not what we think it is. It is like a mirage or an optical illusion. Something is there, but it is not what we think it is.
It makes me think of the story in the Bible about the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings where the eyes of the servant of Elisha were opened to the spiritual reality around them. Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes.” This theme is repeated throughout the Scriptures. Whether it be Balaam’s eyes opened to an Angel of the Lord in the road or the disciples’ ears and then eyes opened to Christ on the Emmaus Road. Whether it be Adam and Eve’s eyes in the Garden of Eden or the Apostle Thomas’ eyes open in the Upper Room.
It is likely the story of the two disciples walking with the risen Christ on Emmaus Road is designed as a reversal of the story of Adam and Eve eating of the Tree of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden. They both say, “And their eyes were opened, and they knew.” One is about opening to duality and one is awakening to nonduality. Both are true. One awakes from preconscious unity to conscious duality. Then one awakes from dualistic consciousness to nondual awareness.
This is why nondual awareness is often referred to as awakening. It is having one’s eyes opened to see the whole, whereas before one could only see the parts. One sees the forest for the trees. The parts are still there, but they are viewed as a whole. The ego and mind are still there, and still just as deceptive as always, just like the serpent of Eden luring humans with duality. Duality is true, but it is only half true. As they say, a half truth is a whole lie.
The dualistic world is true. But it is only half true, and therefore a whole lie. The mind spins conspiracy theories like a spider spinning a web, and we get ourselves caught in our own webs. We believe the fanciful tales our ego tells us. Those tales take the form of political conspiracy theories, or religious conspiracy theories, complete with good guys and bad guys, gods and devils, spiritual heroes and villains, reward and punishment, heaven and hell.
It is all illusion. At their worst religions serve as conspiracy theories that distract one from the bigger truth. Reality is one – nondual. It includes good and evil. It is all and transcends it all. Couldn’t what I am saying be one of these spiritual conspiracy theories? My answer to that is yes. When nonduality is turned into a worldview it is false. When it is turned into a philosophy or a religion or a guru personality cult, then it is just another trap for the ego to get caught in.
Nonduality must not be believed as an alternative explanation of the universe. It is not a competing interpretation of the world. Unitive awareness is simply what is, without labels attached to it. You cannot attach spiritual labels to nondual awareness any more than you can attach Post-it notes to water. It does not accept labels. Ultimate Reality is simply what is. It is directly seen and known to be.
Should you believe my words? No! If you believe what I say, then my words become just another conspiracy theory. A nondual spiritual conspiracy theory. Do not believe anything I say or anyone says, especially those who claim spiritual or religious authority. They are the real con men and women. Look and see for yourself. That is the only way. That is why this is called the pathless path. There is no path because there is nowhere to go. This is it here now. Look for yourself. I invite you to open your eyes and see.