Conspiring against conspiracy: Continuing fight against human trafficking
By Reagan Keith
Special opinion to The Alabama Baptist
Efforts to combat human trafficking have recently experienced a new hurdle from a group seemingly on the same side.
The conspiracy theory group known as QAnon, which gained popularity during the 2020 presidential election, claims there is a secret satanic group of pedophiles among Democratic elites who are stealing children for cult purposes.
With this accusation, QAnon has tied one of its main conspiracies to the reality of child trafficking.
For years the organization Save the Children used a Twitter hashtag (created to reflect their name — #savethechildren) to fight for the dignity and rights of children. Their hashtag has been taken over by those spreading the QAnon conspiracy theories.
Sowing confusion
So now there is confusion about the original source of the hashtag and the latest conspiracy theories, and longtime efforts to fight human trafficking are collateral damage.
Organizations that exist to work to end human trafficking are expressing concern about the claims of QAnon.
To understand what is actually happening, consider two aspects.
First, child trafficking does happen in the U.S. The demographic most targeted is not in the suburbs, but in the overlooked of society, particularly those in the welfare system.
Second, the U.S. is not the only perpetrator nor the largest in the crime of child trafficking. In other parts of the world, both young and old are trafficked — and in a variety of ways.
Forced labor and forced marriage enslaved some 40 million people in 2016, according to the International Labor Organization. Out of this number, which has likely increased, 1 in 4 victims are children.
Widespread evil
Child trafficking is an evil that is widespread around the globe and has been for many years.
We must not disregard the suffering taking place globally. In the rankings of places where human trafficking is the worst, the U.S. does not break the top 10.
How can we come together to combat evil and fight this injustice against human dignity?
The phrase “Do your own research” pops up again and again when looking at interviews with QAnon followers.
The caveat added is that the research needs to be “the right research” and not “untrustworthy sources” of information, like the mainstream news or even those organizations who are deeply committed to fighting child trafficking.
The conspiracy built upon Save the Children preys upon the good emotions of Christian men and women and perverts them to depend on emotions rather than facts as the ultimate source of authority over what one should do.
We in the church are not immune to conspiracy, but we fight conspiracy with more than feelings for just causes. We fight it with our rootedness in the faith that Jesus’ kingdom has been inaugurated and continues to break through day by day.
When we confess the authority of God’s word over our lives, we confess that the story of Scripture is marked first by the fallenness of God’s creation. After the fall, the dignity intrinsic to being God’s image bearers is subject to abuse.
Some of those created in His image ironically (and tragically) no longer see creation as a means to glorify God but instead an opportunity to take others created in His image to be used for sex and labor.
The fallenness of the world, not a proposed secret satanic group of pedophiles, is sufficient to explain this horrible global practice.
Describing the problem in a way that is biblical and accurate helps us to be a part of the solution instead of being a hindrance to those involved in the excruciating everyday work of fighting this modern-day slavery.
I pray new awareness of an old evil will lead our churches to faithful action not reflective of the culture but of the gospel.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Reagan Keith is a student at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama.
Where to go for help
Churches have a real opportunity to partner with local and state officials in tackling the evil of child trafficking.
There are groups working and willing to help (see page 1 and page 7 for more information).
A starting point is the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which provides a national list of resources already fighting human trafficking.
The Polaris Project, which runs the national hotline said it and other organizations are dedicated to “the very real, very important work of helping families to protect children and working to change the conditions in which trafficking thrives — poverty, abuse, addiction, hopelessness, discrimination, to name but a few.”
Hotline access
The National Human Trafficking Hotline (U.S.) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in the following ways:
___
“God does not comfort us to make us comfortable but to make us comforters.”
J.H. Jowett
British Protestant preacher (1864–1923)
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.
President Abraham Lincoln
Second inaugural address
March 4, 1865
People have agendas and biases, but the Lord is always just and perfect in every way and detail He chooses.
James Hammack
theropetab.com
My prayer is that all of my friends and all of us who make up this nation will be good neighbors, responsible citizens, and do our own part to make this a better country and a better world. I continue to pray for our leaders, and as always, I give thanks to God that He is sovereign over all, that He directs the hearts of rulers and gives light and life to us.
Clay Owens via Facebook
Discipline may be difficult, but the order it provides to life is something all desire.
Will Kynes
Jan. 24 Bible Studies for Life commentary, TAB
Regardless of who the president or vice president, the speaker of the house or majority leader of the Senate may be, we need to pray for our nation’s leaders. Regardless of the political party in power, they are subject to God’s power and we need to pray for them.
Ronnie Floyd
President and CEO, SBC Executive Committee
I am quite convinced of this, that God knows better what is best for me and for the world than I can possibly know.
Dwight L. Moody
American evangelist (1837–1899)
Showing compassion to those who are suffering and avoiding the temptation to judge others … not only serves the other person better, but it also keeps our hearts focused in the right direction.
Jennifer Davis Rash
TAB Editor-in-Chief
___
From the Twitterverse
@brocraigc
“Why is real Christian love so scarce? It is because its cultivation requires nothing less than the reversal of every instinct in our fallen nature.” — Maurice Roberts
@JackieHillPerry
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations — these are mortal … But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit — immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. —C.S. Lewis
@ChrisCrain4
When I get up in the mornings, I’ve learned to leave my phone on the nightstand and go to the kitchen with my Bible, pen, & a copy of “The Valley of Vision” — & spend time w/ God. When morning time is gone — it’s gone!
@ronniefloyd
There is nothing in this world more valuable than a human life. This means that regardless of race, gender, place of birth or socioeconomic status, every human life has intrinsic, unalienable value. From the womb all the way to the tomb, life is precious.
@Pastor_Cory
“Lay all your loads and your weights by faith upon Christ. Ease yourself, and let Him bear all. He can, He does, He will bear you.”
—Samuel Rutherford
@ErikReed
The local church is the hope of the world. There’s nothing like her when she’s healthy and strong.
@JohnPiper
“You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head.” Psalm 3:3 Lifted from shame. Shielded from destruction. Satisfied with glory.
@sPeytonHill
“Christ was never more lovely to his church than when he was most deformed for his church.”
—Richard Sibbes
@Rgallaty
Instead of asking people if they are saved (everyone in the South would say yes) ask: “Is Christ living in you?” “How do you know?”
@revandyfrazier
In tough times, we think we have to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful or a powerful God who is not totally good. No matter what our emotions or circumstances tempt us to believe, Scripture teaches that God is in control, and He is good.
Your Voice
Your Voice
Conspiring against conspiracy: Continuing fight against human trafficking
By Reagan Keith
Special opinion to The Alabama Baptist
Efforts to combat human trafficking have recently experienced a new hurdle from a group seemingly on the same side.
The conspiracy theory group known as QAnon, which gained popularity during the 2020 presidential election, claims there is a secret satanic group of pedophiles among Democratic elites who are stealing children for cult purposes.
With this accusation, QAnon has tied one of its main conspiracies to the reality of child trafficking.
For years the organization Save the Children used a Twitter hashtag (created to reflect their name — #savethechildren) to fight for the dignity and rights of children. Their hashtag has been taken over by those spreading the QAnon conspiracy theories.
Sowing confusion
So now there is confusion about the original source of the hashtag and the latest conspiracy theories, and longtime efforts to fight human trafficking are collateral damage.
Organizations that exist to work to end human trafficking are expressing concern about the claims of QAnon.
To understand what is actually happening, consider two aspects.
First, child trafficking does happen in the U.S. The demographic most targeted is not in the suburbs, but in the overlooked of society, particularly those in the welfare system.
Second, the U.S. is not the only perpetrator nor the largest in the crime of child trafficking. In other parts of the world, both young and old are trafficked — and in a variety of ways.
Forced labor and forced marriage enslaved some 40 million people in 2016, according to the International Labor Organization. Out of this number, which has likely increased, 1 in 4 victims are children.
Widespread evil
Child trafficking is an evil that is widespread around the globe and has been for many years.
We must not disregard the suffering taking place globally. In the rankings of places where human trafficking is the worst, the U.S. does not break the top 10.
How can we come together to combat evil and fight this injustice against human dignity?
The phrase “Do your own research” pops up again and again when looking at interviews with QAnon followers.
The caveat added is that the research needs to be “the right research” and not “untrustworthy sources” of information, like the mainstream news or even those organizations who are deeply committed to fighting child trafficking.
The conspiracy built upon Save the Children preys upon the good emotions of Christian men and women and perverts them to depend on emotions rather than facts as the ultimate source of authority over what one should do.
We in the church are not immune to conspiracy, but we fight conspiracy with more than feelings for just causes. We fight it with our rootedness in the faith that Jesus’ kingdom has been inaugurated and continues to break through day by day.
When we confess the authority of God’s word over our lives, we confess that the story of Scripture is marked first by the fallenness of God’s creation. After the fall, the dignity intrinsic to being God’s image bearers is subject to abuse.
Some of those created in His image ironically (and tragically) no longer see creation as a means to glorify God but instead an opportunity to take others created in His image to be used for sex and labor.
The fallenness of the world, not a proposed secret satanic group of pedophiles, is sufficient to explain this horrible global practice.
Describing the problem in a way that is biblical and accurate helps us to be a part of the solution instead of being a hindrance to those involved in the excruciating everyday work of fighting this modern-day slavery.
I pray new awareness of an old evil will lead our churches to faithful action not reflective of the culture but of the gospel.
EDITOR’S NOTE — Reagan Keith is a student at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama.
Where to go for help
Churches have a real opportunity to partner with local and state officials in tackling the evil of child trafficking.
There are groups working and willing to help (see page 1 and page 7 for more information).
A starting point is the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which provides a national list of resources already fighting human trafficking.
The Polaris Project, which runs the national hotline said it and other organizations are dedicated to “the very real, very important work of helping families to protect children and working to change the conditions in which trafficking thrives — poverty, abuse, addiction, hopelessness, discrimination, to name but a few.”
Hotline access
The National Human Trafficking Hotline (U.S.) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in the following ways:
___
“God does not comfort us to make us comfortable but to make us comforters.”
J.H. Jowett
British Protestant preacher (1864–1923)
With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.
President Abraham Lincoln
Second inaugural address
March 4, 1865
People have agendas and biases, but the Lord is always just and perfect in every way and detail He chooses.
James Hammack
theropetab.com
My prayer is that all of my friends and all of us who make up this nation will be good neighbors, responsible citizens, and do our own part to make this a better country and a better world. I continue to pray for our leaders, and as always, I give thanks to God that He is sovereign over all, that He directs the hearts of rulers and gives light and life to us.
Clay Owens via Facebook
Discipline may be difficult, but the order it provides to life is something all desire.
Will Kynes
Jan. 24 Bible Studies for Life commentary, TAB
Regardless of who the president or vice president, the speaker of the house or majority leader of the Senate may be, we need to pray for our nation’s leaders. Regardless of the political party in power, they are subject to God’s power and we need to pray for them.
Ronnie Floyd
President and CEO, SBC Executive Committee
I am quite convinced of this, that God knows better what is best for me and for the world than I can possibly know.
Dwight L. Moody
American evangelist (1837–1899)
Showing compassion to those who are suffering and avoiding the temptation to judge others … not only serves the other person better, but it also keeps our hearts focused in the right direction.
Jennifer Davis Rash
TAB Editor-in-Chief
___
From the Twitterverse
@brocraigc
“Why is real Christian love so scarce? It is because its cultivation requires nothing less than the reversal of every instinct in our fallen nature.” — Maurice Roberts
@JackieHillPerry
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations — these are mortal … But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit — immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. —C.S. Lewis
@ChrisCrain4
When I get up in the mornings, I’ve learned to leave my phone on the nightstand and go to the kitchen with my Bible, pen, & a copy of “The Valley of Vision” — & spend time w/ God. When morning time is gone — it’s gone!
@ronniefloyd
There is nothing in this world more valuable than a human life. This means that regardless of race, gender, place of birth or socioeconomic status, every human life has intrinsic, unalienable value. From the womb all the way to the tomb, life is precious.
@Pastor_Cory
“Lay all your loads and your weights by faith upon Christ. Ease yourself, and let Him bear all. He can, He does, He will bear you.”
—Samuel Rutherford
@ErikReed
The local church is the hope of the world. There’s nothing like her when she’s healthy and strong.
@JohnPiper
“You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head.” Psalm 3:3 Lifted from shame. Shielded from destruction. Satisfied with glory.
@sPeytonHill
“Christ was never more lovely to his church than when he was most deformed for his church.”
—Richard Sibbes
@Rgallaty
Instead of asking people if they are saved (everyone in the South would say yes) ask: “Is Christ living in you?” “How do you know?”
@revandyfrazier
In tough times, we think we have to choose between a good God who is not totally powerful or a powerful God who is not totally good. No matter what our emotions or circumstances tempt us to believe, Scripture teaches that God is in control, and He is good.
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