What Are the QAnon Prophecies, and Why Should Christian Leaders Care?

1. QAnon is a movement of people who have come to believe a series of conspiracy theories (called Q drops or Q prophecies). The folks who believe these tend to be sincere, smart people who feel there is something massively wrong with the world. These Q prophecies help them make sense of the world and why "things have changed for the worse."

2. The QAnon movement is widely condemned by leading members of both political parties (except President Trump).

3. These conspiracy theories come from an anonymous source (or sources) who claims to have Q level clearance in the federal government.

> They are posted on dark web sites like the now defunct 4chan which are famous (notorious) for allowing users to share graphically incendiary, misogynistic and hate-filled posts. As one example, the New Zealand mosque mass shooter posted his manifesto on 4chan.

> These posts (or Q drops) claim to have special knowledge about either a deep-state conspiracy or about earth-shaking events the source says will soon happen.

> None of the predicted events have actually come to pass, and the conspiracy claims have never been proven outside the world of QAnon true believers.

4. The first Q prophecy appeared on October 28, 2017. This predicted that Hillary Clinton would be arrested on October 30 along with an entire cadre of her “conspirators.” The prediction claimed that Marines would execute the arrest and that National Guard troops would be deployed to quell what would be massive protests. None of this occurred. But this hasn’t stopped Q from periodically making similar “prophecies,” nor has it stopped the growing list of followers from discussing, interpreting, and believing these predictions.

5. What is at the center of these theories?

a. The followers of QAnon believe that all if not most establishment politicians and liberal elites are in on a conspiracy to traffic children and women for the sake of sexual slavery, Satanic blood sacrifice and even cannibalism. Their list of targets is headed by the Clintons but also includes the Obamas, Jeffrey Epstein, George Soros, Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, BLM, Freemasons, Anthony Fauci, the Illuminati, etc. 

b. Only Donald Trump can save the world from this travesty.

6. Does this have real-life consequences?

a. Case in point #1: Edgar Welch, a devout Christian father of two from North Carolina, stormed a DC pizza restaurant, Comet Ping Pong, in December 2016. He arrived with his AK-47 because of Pizzagate, a bizarre conspiracy theory and precursor to the QAnon movement. The Pizzagate conspiracy theory held that Hillary Clinton was running a child prostitution ring out of the Comet Ping Pong restaurant. Welch had read all about this in online discussion groups. He had come to believe that real people needed help and that someone needed to do something. Once at the restaurant in a quiet DC neighborhood, he quickly discovered there was no child trafficking operation at Comet Ping Pong, and thankfully no one was injured. Now in prison, Welch admits that “the intel was bad” but still clings to the theory behind it.

b. Case in point #2: Wayfair Furniture recently took a huge PR hit because of another baseless conspiracy theory spread by QAnon Reddit boards and discussion groups. The theory was children were being trafficked inside “insanely overpriced” items of furniture sold on Wayfair’s website. The main spreaders of this conspiracy were Christians deeply concerned about the problems of human trafficking who believe that a giant cabal of liberal activists are trafficking humans for prostitution and slavery.

7. Most people will not openly admit they are following QAnon, but their language can reveal these leanings. Here are things you might hear someone say who is going deeper and deeper into QAnon:

a. I don’t watch any of the mainstream news media including Fox News.

b. I’ve done all my own research into this.

c. I have special sources of information about this.

d. Quit talking about slavery in the 1800s when there are real slaves today!

e. The Covid vaccine is just part of their plot to control us.

f. There will soon be civil war in this country.

g. If God doesn’t want me to believe this, then I believe he will make that clear.

h. God absolutely led me in this direction.

i. I feel that this is true. Can you prove to me that it’s not?

8. Q supporters often tend to believe cryptic dreams that portend massive unrest following this year's election. These “dreams” come from real pastors (e.g., Dana Coverstone, Jonathan Cahn, Troy Black) who have coincidentally found great acclaim by sharing their visions that dovetail with the QAnon prophecies and beliefs.

9. While there are several worrying extremist groups in American society today (Bugaloos, Antifa, etc.), why should we be particularly concerned about QAnon?

a. At its heart, it purports to represent the Christian faith.

b. Some brilliant yet deeply misguided people are spending a huge amount of time accumulating and sharing information about this. The supply of material is endless.

c. Many of our friends, neighbors and family members are slowly being drawn into these very toxic, divisive and anti-biblical beliefs

10. Christian writer Joe Forrest summarizes three excellent points as to why so many of our Christian brothers and sisters might fall for (or have already fallen for) such crazy theories.

          Reason #1, Conspiracy theories make us feel special.

          Reason #2, Conspiracy theories help us make sense of a chaotic & complicated world.

          Reason #3, Conspiracy theories make our reality seem more exciting.

 11. How to shepherd someone away from the QAnon conspiracy theory:

a. Remember Occam’s Razor, “The simplest solution is often the right one.” Sadly however, many people are choosing to believe that there is a conspiracy behind everything.

b. Read boring news instead of watching fancy, edited YouTube videos. The actual news and the journey to uncover it are rarely very exciting.

            c. Thoroughly research a video or post before sharing it.

d. Ask if this train of thought helps alleviate real-world suffering in your community. So many people are using all their energy and time fighting problems they can’t possibly fix even if those problems are real. Instead, they could use their volunteerism and support to focus on relevant, local issues. Their efforts would impact their neighborhoods and cities for the better.