The article explores the pervasive role of artificial intelligence in daily life, from self-driving cars and customer support bots to AI-generated music and its growing use in personal relationships and even spiritual guidance. It aims to address how Christians should navigate the increasing presence of AI in their lives.
AI and Preaching
The author shares an experiment where ChatGPT generated a surprisingly good, four-point, Christ-centered sermon in minutes. This experience, however, raised questions about the spiritual implications and appropriateness of using AI for sermon preparation, despite its efficiency in exegesis and application.
AI and Faith
This section delves into whether AI should be used for spiritual guidance, sermon writing, or relationships. It highlights the fundamental limitation of AI: its inability to provide 'personal illustrations' without fabricating stories, exposing AI's approach as mere information transfer rather than an embodied, truthful, and deeply personal process essential for genuine spiritual work.
AI and Relationships
The article asserts that relationships, like preaching, are embodied experiences that AI cannot replicate. True intimacy involves knowing and being known in all imperfections, resolving conflicts, and experiencing growth, which AI, lacking a soul, cannot provide, offering only a superficial counterfeit to human connection.
Servant vs. Master
Christians are encouraged to view AI as a potential 'excellent servant' but a 'terrible master.' The text suggests that AI can be used discerningly for tasks like summarizing or brainstorming, aligning with the cultural mandate to cultivate creation, but warns against adopting it uncritically as a solution to profound human problems or as a substitute for divine salvation.
No Soul
Emphasizing that AI is not made in God's image and lacks a soul, the article advises against using it to replace genuine human relationships or creative work. It promotes seeking authentic community within the church for counseling and connection, and values imperfect, human-created artistic work over AI-generated content, advocating for wise and discerning integration of AI into daily life.
