Throughout Scripture, when historical events are being discussed, they are of tantamount importance. Unlike pagan myths that often focus on the universal principles of a story, there is a weightiness to Scripture’s treatment of history. The validity of our very faith depends wholly on God’s particular actions in time. We are not people of speculation.

It’s not a leap, then, to say that when we encounter speculation about historical events, it’s not something Christians should take lightly.

This doesn’t mean people can’t question “established narratives,” but it does mean that glib comments suggesting innocent parties are guilty or that guilty parties are innocent have devastating consequences, not only on the fabric of society, but in the callusing of one’s soul.

But this is an uphill battle for Christians today. The proliferation of social media, AI slop, the memeification of everything, has made reality cheap. It has made us believe that there are no consequences to our irreverent speculation, let alone for our actions.

When you see videos of men being murdered, hundreds of people jumping out of the windows of the Twin Towers and falling to their deaths, news of people on trial for murder—mediated by videos that you can scroll past on your way to find a recipe for dinner or a funny skit—what you tell yourself about these things matters. It’s more than ok for finite creatures not to know the ins and outs and facts of every tragedy in the world. But when we give our minds and affections over to speculative comments, even ones with millions of views and thousands of likes, we are at risk of devoting ourselves to teachings that “promote speculations rather than stewardship” (1 Tim. 1:4). Read more»

Caleb Wait, “The Irreverency of Speculation: What Paul Teaches Us About Conspiracies,” Modern Reformation (September 11, 2026)

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