Conspiracy theories

Several persons of my acquaintance are believers in conspiracy theories. I do consider one of these people a good and close friend, and as for the remainders, one I classify as "somewhat more than an acquaintance" and the other is classified as "not an enemy"). There are a couple of web articles I try to get all three of them to read, but with no success. You, my Reading Public, may be interested in these articles. So, for your reading pleasure, follow the links below:

Tinfoil Nation: Why 9/11 Conspiracy Theories Linger.

Christians and Conspiracy Theories: A Call to Repentance.

Very Thoughtful Question and Response

Jimmy Akin is a Catholic apologist, and one of his readers, a truth-seeker, sent him a message on faith and reason to which he gives a great response.

Ruth A. Tucker, a Christian from the Reformed-Calvinist tradition wrote a book a few years ago called Walking Away from Faith: Unraveling the Mystery of Belief and Unbelief. It was one of the first books I read that "allowed" me as a Christian to acknowledge that I sometimes have difficulty believing the Christian message or the fact that God exists at all. These doubts are probably common to all of us, but we rarely seem to acknowledge them. I always come back to my faith in God, but I do experience intense episodes of doubt and skepticism. I wonder about what faith actually is, ontologically speaking, and if I have it or at least enough of it. I worry sometimes when I read the stories of people who are former believers or life-long atheists or agnostics who can give logical reasons for their rejection of Christianity or theism. Sometimes my doubts are due to my lack of understanding epistemology and sometimes they're due to the fact that, while I do believe deep down inside, I can't articulate my faith in way that intelligently counters the beliefs of the doubters. I'm learning to live with the tension between doubt and belief, however, and this tension does cause me to continue to learn more about reason, belief, and knowing. Also, it actually helps me become more sure in my faith. I appreciate Jimmy Akin's discussion of the various ways we believe. This brief summary is the best explanation I have read about the issue. And now, to quote Forrest Gump: "That's all I have to say about that..." for now, anyway.