Your Brain on Conspiracy Theories w/ Pastor Chad Vegas

What does the Bible say about conspiracy theories? In this episode, Rev. Chris Gordon is joined by Pastor Chad Vegas of Sovereign Grace Church in Bakersfield to take up a question that is increasingly pressing for Christians today. Beginning with the Ninth Commandment—"You shall not bear false witness"—they argue that trafficking in unsubstantiated accusations against others is not just unwise, it is sinful.

Chapters:
1:02 - Episode Topic: The 9th Commandment & Conspiracies
2:29 - Satan: The First Conspiracy Theorist
4:03 - Biblical Examples of False Accusation
5:46 - Conspiracy Theories vs. Real Conspiracies
7:03 - Spreading Unsubstantiated Accusations
7:33 - Ham's Sin: Exposing vs. Covering
9:19 - Chemtrails and the Escalation Pattern
11:00 - Social Media Cynicism and the News Cycle
12:14 - Trial by Twitter and Church Accountability
14:28 - Christians in Politics and the 9th Commandment
18:41 - AIPAC Example: Jumping to Conclusions
21:01 - Conspiracy Thinking Erodes Social Trust
22:08 - 1 Corinthians 13: Love Believes the Best
24:35 - Reading the Heidelberg Catechism on the 9th Commandment
26:49 - The Positive Duty: Defend Your Neighbor's Reputation
28:00 - The Tongue as Fire: James 3
30:00 - Judgment Day and the Covering of Sin
31:48 - When to Expose Sin Properly (Matthew 18)
32:07 - Ham, Shem, and Japheth: Covering vs. Exposing
32:56 - David, Nathan, and Psalm 51
33:35 - The Power of the Tongue: A Neglected Sin
34:48 - Closing: The Christian's Positive Message

Guest Information:

Pastor Chad Vegas is the founding pastor of Sovereign Grace Church in Bakersfield, California. After completing his M.A. in Theology at Talbot School of Theology and serving as high school pastor at RiverLakes Community Church, Chad was called to plant a church in Bakersfield. He is also the founding board chairman of Radius International, an organization that trains people to plant churches among unreached language groups. Chad previously served 12 years in elected public office in Bakersfield. His passion is to know Christ and to make him known. He has been married to Teresa since 1994, and they have two children and one grandson.

🔗 Chad's Church: https://bakersfieldchurch.org

Mentions:

- The Ninth Commandment ("You shall not bear false witness") — Exodus 20:16
- The Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 112 (on the Ninth Commandment)
- Genesis 3 — Satan's lie to Eve in the Garden
- Genesis 9 — Ham exposing Noah's shame; Shem and Japheth covering it
- Doeg the Edomite — false accusation against David (1 Samuel 22)
- The trial of Jesus — false conspiracy accusation before Pilate
- Stephen — falsely accused of conspiring against the law of Moses (Acts 6–7)
- 1 Corinthians 13 — love bears all things, believes all things
- James 3 — the tongue as a fire set on fire by hell
- Proverbs — warnings against talebearers and gossip
- Psalm 51 and Psalm 32 — David's prayers of repentance
- 2 Samuel 12 — Nathan's parable and David's confession
- Matthew 18 — the proper process for church discipline
- 1 Timothy 5 — not receiving a charge against an elder except by two or three witnesses
- Talbot School of Theology (Biola University)
- Radius International — church planting among unreached peoples
- R. Scott Clark — referenced humorously in connection with grammar corrections
- Candace Owens — cited as an example of extreme conspiracy claims
- AIPAC — used as an illustration of conspiratorial reasoning about political donors
- Gavin Newsom — cited as an example of documented public hypocrisy vs. unfounded conspiracy
- Christian nationalism — noted as a movement influenced by conspiracy thinking
- Sovereign Grace Church, Bakersfield — Chad Vegas's church

Abounding Grace Radio:
❤️ DONATE: https://agradio.org/donate
🔗 Website: https://agradio.org
📩 Newsletter: https://agradio.org/newsletter
👤 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aboundingraceradioministry
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aboundinggraceradio
✖️ X: https://x.com/agradio1

Chad Vegas is the founding pastor of Sovereign Grace Church. After completing his M.A. in Theology at Talbot, and being the high school pastor at RiverLakes Community Church, Chad was called to plant a church in Bakersfield. He is also the founding board chairman of Radius International, an organization that trains people to plant churches among unreached language groups. His passion is to know Christ and to make him known. He has been married to Teresa since 1994, and they have two children and one grandson.

Church: bakersfieldchurch.org