In films such as “Conspiracy Theory” (1997), “Enemy of the State” (1998) and a number of others, leading actors like Mel Gibson and Will Smith have portrayed individuals struggling to survive despite governmental or corporate conspiracies that threaten to destroy them.   

Movies of this type have produced wryly humorous  lines such as  “It's not paranoia If they really are out to get you,” but many people view the threat of conspiracies aimed at the control of society as not at all humorous and all too real.

For some, conspiracy lurks behind every movement of the stock market, every government announcement, every corporate merger. The threat of conspiracy affects not only how they see the world, but also how they live in it.  In some cases, fear of conspiracy leads to everything from not using credit cards to not drinking tap water.  

Even some Christians fall prey to worry over conspiracies based on things people think they see going on in the world, but ironically the apostle Paul indicated quite clearly that there really is a conspiracy against humans that cannot be seen and which is far greater than the real or imagined conspiracies of governments and mega-corporations:  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).

But whether we think of physical or spiritual conspiracies, the Bible makes it clear that these are not things we should fear.  The prophet Isaiah stated this emphatically: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,  he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread” (Isaiah  8:12-13).

Isaiah’s words are interesting on two levels. He certainly does not deny the existence of conspiracies, but he clearly suggests that people see more conspiracies than actually exist.  More importantly, Isaiah stresses that it is not some shadowy “they” we should fear, but the One who is far greater than any human power.  The prophet’s words were reinforced by Jesus himself in saying: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

So the Bible does not deny the existence of conspiracies in the world in which we live, and certainly not within the world we do not see, but it categorically directs us not to waste our lives in fear of such things.  This is not to say that we should ignore evidence of conspiracy and corruption, or that we should not fulfill our social duty of fighting it where it may be fought, but Christianity does preclude apprehension that affects our lives or fear that begins to form our behavior.

For the believer, even the worst of hidden conspiracies need not be feared because every power, seen or unseen,  is ultimately subject to the One who guides history and who promises his servants protection according to his will.  Living by that understanding is an important part of how we see God – that he is the only “unseen power” that matters.  To freely paraphrase Isaiah, it is more important to maintain a truly reverent respect for God than to worry about the tap water.

Scripture in Focus: John 2:3-4 

In the story of the wedding at Cana when Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine, readers sometimes think that he addressed his mother somewhat harshly or even disrespectfully.  Look at the exchange:

“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’  ‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come’” (John 2:3-4).  Jesus’ words sound perhaps even harsher in the KJV:  “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?” But there is no harshness or disrespect here at all.  Actually, “woman” was a standard form of address in the ancient world –  just as Jesus often addresses males as “Man” (Luke 5:20, etc.) – and the expression carries no lack of respect any more than saying “lady” or “ma’am” would for us today.

Remember that we don’t know the actual words Jesus used in this circumstance.  He probably spoke to His mother in Aramaic which was the commonly used language in Palestine at that time, but in the Greek in which the  New Testament was written, the word “woman” guné  (from which we get our word "gynecologist") is in the ‘vocative’ case which was reserved for addressing others, even in the most formal speech.  Jesus used the same form of address when speaking to other women (Matt. 15:28, etc.).  At his crucifixion,  when he lovingly delivered his mother into the care of his disciple John as his last act of kindness before his death,  this was the form of the word he used in saying to her “Woman, behold your son!” (John 19:26).

Another detail of the wedding story which might sound harsh to our ears is the fact that Jesus said: “…why do you involve me?” (John 2:4), or as the KJV has it:  “…what have I to do with thee?”  But in the original Greek, the expression  is literally “What [is that] to me and to you?” – in other words he includes his mother with himself in saying, in effect, “Is this our responsibility?” or perhaps even “Does this situation need to involve us?”

But the story itself shows us that there was no tension between Jesus and his mother. Immediately after he answered her, note that “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you,’” showing that she had not been rebuffed and that Jesus was about to help as she had requested –  as, of course, he did.

Although the turning of water into wine is usually said to be Jesus’ first miracle, we do not know that to be the case. The New Testament does not say it was his first, it is just his first recorded miraculous deed.  The fact that Mary turned to Jesus and asked him to help in the situation suggests that he may have already quietly done deeds of healing and help before this point. In saying his time was not yet come (John 2:3-4), Jesus may have meant not the performance of good deeds, but that the time for public display of such deeds – as in a wedding before many guests – was not necessarily yet.

Excerpted from "A Prayer to Avoid" by Richard Woike.




"O thou pleasant, comfortable, kindly, good-natured God: How glad I am that I can look forward, with a reasonable degree of certainty, to another ordinary day. Keep me today from anything that taxes my faith, from discomfort, from unnecessary strain, from unusual problems ...

Dear Lord, grant that nothing may occur which will disturb my satisfaction with the way I am, and the things I say, and the thoughts I think, the acts I do, or the many deeds I leave undone. Give me this day, in addition to my daily bread, the butter, meats, and sweetmeats that are my necessary diet, and let me not be troubled by qualms of conscience concerning the amount of time and money I spend on food and clothing, pastimes, good and bad, and those pursuits which, while not of spiritual value, are the accepted hallmark of the normal citizen in this enlightened age … "

The principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” is one of the most well-known laws in the Bible, but do we really understand it as we should?  

Known legally as the lex talionis or the “law of retaliation,”  and discussed by Jesus himself in his teaching, most people see the law of "an eye for an eye" as an ultimately fair but cruel principle of revenge and restitution.  But is that really what this law is all about? 

You can find the surprising answer to this question, and what Christ meant in his comment on the law, in our article uploaded today: “ 'An Eye For An Eye': A Law of Revenge or Restraint?”  Don't miss it – it might just change your understanding of  something you always took for granted!

“….if you can gain your freedom, do so” (1 Corinthians 7:21).

Freedom is always a good idea.   You don’t have to persuade Americans of that, especially around the fourth of July each year, and most every other place in this world either celebrates freedom or mourns its absence at any given time.  

But freedom comes with a price, of course.  It is always bought with a struggle, and in this country we can look back on the War of Independence and the abolition of slavery as only two examples of the value of freedom and the struggles necessary to obtain it. 


The apostle Paul recognized the same truth applies in a spiritual sense. Writing to the Corinthians, he said “….if you can gain your freedom, do so,” and the context is interesting.  Notice the whole sentence from which this quote is taken: “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so” (1 Corinthians 7:21).

Paul tells us several things here.  First, we must remember that slavery in the biblical world was not the evil of the racial slavery conducted at various times in history.  It was more like indentured service from which people could often work their way to independence, and it was certainly nothing like the totally demeaning and dehumanizing types of slavery with which the world is sadly more familiar.   So Paul tells his readers,      “don’t worry about it if you were called without freedom.”  Under the circumstances of his time, although it was not the best situation, slavery in that culture did not restrict many aspects of personal freedom and usually didn’t interfere with a person’s choice of religion or other things we would regard as essential rights.

Nevertheless, Paul still wrote to people in that situation: “… if you can gain your freedom, do so,” and the words are not given as advice to be considered, but a principle to be followed.  It’s easy to read over them today as being antiquated and not applying to us in our modern age, but they do. 

Many biblical verses show that when we are called we are all actually spiritually enslaved – enslaved to sin and our own human nature  (John 8:34, etc.).   But many other verses show that through the struggle fought on our behalf by the Son of God, we are given freedom from these things (2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:1, etc.). 

Yet, just like physical freedom, spiritual freedom has to be recognized, appreciated, guarded and preserved.  As Paul wrote in his letter to the Galatians: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).  How can we lose our spiritual freedom?  The New Testament shows that we can sink back into slavery through accepting false beliefs (Galatians 2:4), by not controlling our physical natures (Galatians 5:13), or through anything that takes control of our lives (2 Peter 2:19).

But it needn’t be that way.   Just as celebrations of freedom, such as the Fourth of July, each time we observe them remind us of the need to protect our physical freedoms, every time we study the word of God it should be a reminder that we need to preserve our spiritual freedom, too.  Look how the apostle James – the brother of Jesus – reminds us of this truth:  “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:25).   A little later in his letter, James also tells us: “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom” (James 2:12), and it’s really the same principle.  

Freedom is always a good idea, but whether it’s this Fourth of July or the next time we open our Bibles, it’s something we must remember: freedom must be chosen, and choosing freedom is always the right idea.