On Loving the QAnon Crowd // A Foreword for ‘Deconstructing The Gospel of Q’ (Anon) (by Scott Masters)

Last updated on: June 12, 2022 at 12:42 pm by Jeff Hood

On Loving the QAnon Crowd // A Foreword for ‘Deconstructing The Gospel of Q’ (Anon) (by Scott Masters) 2022-06-12T12:42:26-06:00 Jeff Hood

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

https://www.amazon.com/Deconstructing-Gospel-Community-Reconnection-Shadow/dp/B0B36YKX5L/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1655058234&sr=1-1

*As Dean of The New Theology School, I’m so proud of my student Dr. Scott Masters’ (The New Theology School ‘s new Professor of Practical Wesleyan Studies) book, Deconstructing the Gospel of Q (Anon).

June 9, 2020

To the faithful.

“If you were an adherent, no one would be able to tell. You would look like any other American. You could be a mother, picking leftovers off your toddler’s plate. You could be the young man in headphones across the street. You could be a bookkeeper, a dentist, a grandmother icing cupcakes in her kitchen. You may well have an affiliation with an evangelical church. But you are hard to identify just from the way you look—which is good, because someday soon dark forces may try to track you down. You understand this sounds crazy, but you don’t care. You know that a small group of manipulators, operating in the shadows, pull the planet’s strings. You know that they are powerful enough to abuse children without fear of retribution. You know that the mainstream media are their handmaidens, in partnership with Hillary Clinton and the secretive denizens of the deep state. You know that only Donald Trump stands between you and a damned and ravaged world. You see plague and pestilence sweeping the planet, and understand that they are part of the plan. You know that a clash between good and evil cannot be avoided, and you yearn for the Great Awakening that is coming. And so you must be on guard at all times. You must shield your ears from the scorn of the ignorant. You must find those who are like you. And you must be prepared to fight.

You know all this because you believe in Q.”

“This eloquently worded bullshit is fuckin’ crazy.” That was my exact thought when I read the above quote in The Atlantic in June of 2020…but that wasn’t the first time I’d had such a response to this type of speak…well written/spoken…but unbelievably dangerous. In fact, the quote took me all the way back to an earlier time…a time when I sat in church service after church service eloquently being told that we must be politically active in certain ways or we would face eternal damnation. Repeatedly, I remember hearing smooth words from the pulpit, “Evil is coming for us. Our very souls demand resistance. If you have any love for Jesus or America, you will…” By that point, most people were so drawn in to what the preacher was saying…they would do whatever came next. After thinking about it for a minute, I realized that this bullshit church-speak was the actual forerunner of QAnon and utilized the same strategy…speak eloquently…create fear…and manipulate people to do whatever you want them to do. In fact, it seemed that QAnon was birthed in the manipulations of the church…and therefore…as QAnon became more and more violent…I realized that the church had a particular responsibility to stop it. But who would go for us? Fast forward two years later…

“I want to write something on QAnon…you know to help people who have been sucked into all of that foolishness.” I about fell out of my chair. As the Dean of The New Theology School, I was interviewing Dr. Scott Masters for admittance to our program. When he said those words, I knew that I’d finally found someone who could push back in a loving way. Over the many months that Dr. Masters has worked to finish his doctoral project, I have been so impressed with his ability to offer a stern…yet deeply compassionate rebuke…of the heresy of QAnon. This text is the culmination of countless hours…not just of writing…but also of prayer. Dr. Masters is first and foremost a pastor. He wrote this text because he cares about those who have been sucked into all of this QAnon bullshit. If you care about those who have been lost to such heresy, I encourage you to share this text. The world…the church…will be better for it.

The Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood

Dean, The New Theology School

united methodist church

Previous Post

June 12, 2022

A Confrontation w/ a White Priest // BLACKOLOGY (w/ Yoel Omowale): The Foreword

Next Post

June 18, 2022 PETRIC J. SMITH: The Theology of a TRANS SAINT

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Danny & Jeff fresh writings latest poetics north texas fellowship of reconciliation Sermon theology from death row Thoughts Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian group is associated with the "Anabaptist" tradition?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Episcopalians Lutherans Mennonites Calvinists