The popular phrase “Birds aren’t real” was first coined in 2021 and is considered the “Gen Z conspiracy theory,” according to a New York Times article.
The idea behind “birds aren’t real” is that the United States government got rid of all the birds and replaced them with drones. “The Birds Aren’t Real movement exists to spread awareness that the U.S. Government massacred over 12 billion birds from 1959-2001, and replaced these birds with surveillance drone replicas, which still watch us every day,” according to the Birds Aren’t Real website.
You may ask: Why would the government do that? Well, the theory is the government wants to spy on Americans.
Believers of this theory have been able to answer some of the questions raised by doubters. For example, some have asked how the bird drones stay charged, or, if they are battery-powered, how do they get replaced? Well, the Birds Aren’t Real website tells us the birds are being charged when they are sitting on telephone poles outside.
The believers even have answers to what eggs are, how people still get pooped on by birds, how birds have guts when they become roadkill and so much more.
Nevertheless, the creator of this theory, Peter Mclndoe, and most people who wear the merch, know that birds are, in fact, real. The “conspiracy theory” became a movement because Mclndoe wanted to bring a fun, light attitude to misinformation being spread in the news, according to The New York Times.
“So it’s taking this concept of misinformation and almost building a little safe space to come together within it and laugh at it, rather than be scared by it,” McIndoe said during an interview with CBS News.
Although most people understand that birds are real, people love diving deep into this conspiracy theory and finding more and more reasons to spread the news.
People are so quick to jump on the trend that birds aren’t real once they are shown the “facts.” They are eager to learn because the information is being presented in such a way that makes it sound exciting and world-shaking. People want to learn about things that other people are passionate about.
If people are this eager to learn about something that seems impossible, then why aren’t people just as eager to learn about the Gospel? People are so excited to learn about things that seem impossible and mind-boggling, but many are leaving the church every day. If people want to know the answers to big questions and understand things that seem so unreal at first, like birds being extinct, then why aren’t they clinging to the Word of God?
If people are willing to learn about the idea of birds not existing and being government spies, then why aren’t they believing that God created the universe, and He is making an eternal home for us? Why aren’t they listening to us? Why do they not find Jesus as interesting and amazing as a conspiracy theory? It’s because we aren’t telling them.
The other week, I was reading some history and facts about the Birds Aren’t Real movement, simply out of curiosity, and it made me think about this analogy. This movement shows how people are ready to learn something new when it is approached in a certain way.
We, as Christians, aren’t preaching the good news the way we should or as often as we should. The Gospel and the salvation Jesus has given us should be so interesting and intriguing to us that we cannot stop talking about it.
We could be talking about and displaying Christ in a way that is exciting and gravitating for other people to witness. We need to find a way to prove that we are not all the stereotypical, discriminating Christians the media says we are.
Every Christian has their own problem and issue when it comes to spreading the Gospel; there is no way we will always get it right. However, there are a lot of us who do not share the Gospel at all.
I do not have the perfect solution or idea for portraying Christ in a way that always works. I don’t think there is just one way to witness to people; in fact, there are probably several.
All I do know is that we all need to do better, myself included. We can’t be satisfied knowing that people are not seeing Jesus for who He is.
These days it can be nerve-wracking to admit that you are a Christian in front of a crowd because of the way that Christianity is perceived in our society. However, that does not mean we can lay low. If Jesus laid low none of us would be here. He was radical, unashamed, honest, and showed grace to everyone. Those are the characteristics we need if we want to effectively share the Good News.
Romans 10:14-17 states: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’ But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
