Chapter 8: Resist Conspiracy Theories: Discover Why Lies Are Hard to Keep!
The final day of the academy has arrived. Jason spent the entire week thinking about what Jeffries said.
“I still have my doubts about the case for Jesus,” he tells the cadets before Jeffries enters the briefing room. “What if the disciples who wrote about Jesus were all just lying? Even if the Gospels were written early and haven’t changed over time, and even if we can sort out any little additions or changes that might have been made, I still wonder if the whole thing isn’t just a big lie.”
Conspiracy
There’s a difference between a conspiracy and a successful conspiracy. If you think you know about a successful conspiracy, it wasn’t successful! If it had been, you wouldn’t know about it!
You think of something important and say, “But remember what Jeffries said about the fact that the disciples didn’t have a good reason to lie? Why would they all choose to suffer like they did if they were only lying?”
Jeffries enters the room before Jason can answer. He’s holding a stack of graduation certificates. “Well, it’s almost time to graduate from the academy, but I want to cover one more important issue with you.” He points to the skateboard. “How can we be sure that there really is a mystery to solve here?”
Daniel is surprised by Jeffries’s question. “What do you mean? We still don’t know who owned the skateboard, right?”
Jeffries raises a finger. “But what if the entire story about the skateboard is a lie? What if all the information you got from Mr. Warren, Mr. Martin, and Lacey is untrue?”
“You mean like a conspiracy?” asks Hannah.
“That’s right,” continues Jeffries. “What if they made it all up and they simply put that skateboard in the shed to create a story?”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” says Jason. “That would mean all of them were lying. That seems crazy.”
“I think you’re right about that,” says Jeffries as he returns to the whiteboard.
“Conspiracies occur when groups of people commit a crime, or tell a lie, and then try to keep the secret forever. I’ve investigated many conspiracy cases, so I know you need five things to pull one off successfully:”
1. A small number of conspirators. It’s a lot easier for two people to tell the same lie and keep a secret than it is for twenty people to do the same. The more people who are involved, the more likely someone will make a mistake.
2. Great communication. It’s harder than it sounds for conspirators to keep their stories straight. If they are questioned separately, they need to be able to find out what the other conspirators said.
3. A short time span. It’s harder to tell a lie for a year than it is to tell it for a day.
4. Close friendships. The closer the relationship between conspirators, the better. People don’t usually “tell on” their best friends.
5. Low pressure. If no one puts any pressure on the people telling the lie, they might get away with it. The less pressure, the easier it is to keep a secret.
“Now let’s apply these five concepts to the case for Jesus,” declares Jeffries.
You are glad Jeffries is talking about this: “Jason was just wondering if the disciples all lied about Jesus,” you say.
Jeffries nods. “Well, let’s look at that. How large was the group of conspirators?”
“Just twelve,” says Jason.
How many people would have been involved in a conspiracy to lie about the resurrection?
“You didn’t think three people could pull off the conspiracy about the skateboard, but you think twelve could pull off a conspiracy about Jesus? Were the twelve disciples the only ones who saw Jesus resurrected? Remember what Hannah said a few weeks ago? There were five hundred people who said they saw Jesus all at one time.”
“That’s right,” says Hannah. “That does seem like way too many.”
“And how could all these people stay in touch with each other to get their stories lined up, especially since they were scattered all over the Roman Empire?”
“I guess they couldn’t text or call each other on the phone,” says Daniel. Everyone laughs.
“And they held their story together for over fifty years!” says Jeffries as he continues down the whiteboard list. “Worse yet, they suffered like we described a few weeks ago. They were under incredible pressure to change their story, but they never did. Are you all starting to see the problems with this ‘conspiracy theory’?”
“Yes, but they were good friends, right?” asks Jason. “Maybe that helped them stick to their lie.”
“Well, that doesn’t explain Matthew, does it?” replies Jeffries. “He wasn’t raised around the other disciples and wasn’t their friend when he met Jesus. Instead, he was a tax collector named Levi, disliked by the others. Why would he lie to protect them when times got tough?”
“Hmm,” says Jason.
Jeffries walks toward the briefing room door and says, “Think about that for a minute while we wrap up the mystery of the skateboard.” He opens the door, and in walks Lacey! “As it turns out, Lacey is the key to solving our mystery.”
Suddenly it dawns on you. Daniel’s last name is Bolan. That means Lacey’s last name is also Bolan. The letters under the sticker on the board were LB.
“You owned the skateboard!” you yell out.
“Good work,” says Lacey.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Daniel asks.
“Because Detective Jeffries told me not to,” she explains. “Once he solved it, he asked me to play along and let you guys try to figure it out on your own. I kept the board in the shed since I couldn’t bring it home, and carved my initials so it wouldn’t be stolen. Then I put that sticker over the initials because I was graduating and didn’t want our parents to somehow see the board with my initials on it.”
“I wondered how you knew so much about skateboards,” Daniel says.
“Lincoln was older than me,” Lacey admits, “and I always wanted his skateboard, so I asked Mr. Warren if I could have it. I loved riding it because it was fast and smooth. I knew Mom wouldn’t approve, and that made me feel guilty. I ended up telling our parents later on.”
Movies and books that describe incredible conspiracies are popular, but now you know why they are unreasonable. Don’t get caught up in crazy theories, especially when people claim the disciples lied about Jesus.
Jeffries is delighted that the cadets finally see how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. “Just like there was enough evidence in this mystery to figure out who owned the skateboard, there’s also enough evidence to figure out the truth about Jesus.”
Jeffries starts one last list on the whiteboard. “The Gospels passed the test for reliable eyewitnesses”:
Jeffries continues, “We also have good reason to believe the Bible is telling us the truth about the resurrection”:
“Wow, I guess we really did learn a lot about evidence!” exclaims Hannah.
“Yes. In fact, I think you’ve all learned enough to graduate from the Student Cadet Academy!” announces Jeffries. Then he calls each cadet to the front of the room to receive their certificates.