Conspiracy Theorist’s Amorphous Religious Rhetoric Is Designed To Create Anger

Alex Jones. The infamous conspiracy theorist has been throwing out the dangers of the “New World Order” for decades. Like an insane Santa Claus, he has a list of everyone who is naughty or nice. Except he is sharing the list every day of the year and nearly everyone is naughty. His targets have included parents of dead children, presidents, and pizza joints. For someone who rarely talks about his faith, he does use a plethora of apocalyptic rhetoric that quotes the Old Testament. This is part of a concerted strategy designed to bias the public towards his ideas and align himself with organizations he fundamentally does not believe in.

Unlike most of his personal beliefs, Jones dances around his faith. He sometimes makes references to himself as a Christian, but on rare occasions. The radio host uses generic language that has elements of Christianity in it: “I feel the spirit of the Creator, and it embraces me with chills.”

This does not mean he does not incorporate persuasive tactics from Christianity into his programming. A born and bred Texan, his speeches seem less like political ultra-conservatives like Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck and more of an evangelical tent preacher. His hot-tempered, caustic style matches with his hyperbolic language to create a connection to the fire and brimstone speeches of the Second Great Awakening.

Jones adopts the language of Christianity to bolster his positions. Satan is everywhere and the ally of his enemies. Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl Half Time Show? Jones claims it was designed to enact a Satanic ritual. Atheists are another favorite target. Mirroring the comparisons put forth by deeply conservative Christian denominations, Jones paints all Atheists as occultists who are secret demon worshippers. And Jones is not using demons as a metaphor for evil. The media personality has declared demons exist amongst us and have been manipulating leaders for decades. Although he has never explained why he alone can recognize the work of demons.

While a significant percentage of conservative Christians listen to and support Alex Jones, the feeling is not mutual. Jones has attacked all organized religions, including every major Christian denomination. Like most of his conspiracy claims, religious organizations are just a tool of social engineering by governments and corporations to make people buy more McDonalds or be herded into the robot camps for genocide. In fact, when hocking his line of essential oils or “Patriot Blend” coffee, he sounds more like Deepak Chopra than Billy Graham.

This is the balancing act that Jones uses to sucker his audiences. Talking about faith and tricking people into action based on language that apes their Christian doctrine, while at the same time remaining separate from any sizeable organized group that is part of his daily conspiracy theories.

This is not a brilliant scheme, but rather a perverted way to enrich himself. When battling for custody of his children, his lawyer presented the argument that Alex Jones on-air actions were the work of a fictional character of parody designed to reveal the ridiculousness of political debate. That is the equivalent of a member of ISIS claiming that their actions were intended to expose the stupidity of religious extremism. To understand Alex Jones’s religion, you need to understand the primary motivator for the man is to empower and enrich himself. Any tool that will give him more power he will use. Religion is just another tactic.

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