The Ethical Use of AI in the Church
The Bible vs. AI
While artificial intelligence is a useful ministry tool to help believers communicate the gospel, AI can also lead to misconceptions of Biblical truths. With the usage of AI, people can search specific topics from passages throughout the Bible (e.g. love, compassion, baptism), which is useful when an individual has specific questions or needs an overview of Biblical truth on a topic from the Biblical narrative. AI is not a replacement for Biblical study. The message of the Bible can be misconstrued without the context connected with specific verses and passages. AI can give cursory knowledge concerning systematic theology, but people may begin replacing the in-depth reason that only comes with the lengthy scripture study with AI research.
AI has already started to shape church life, and it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The impact of AI is immense; people will use OpenAI and ChatGPT as a commentary, atlas, and concordance. This can be a hazard to newer and well-lived believers alike because OpenAI and ChatGPT can only give so much information, will not go into detail, and will leave valuable information needed to comprehend Biblical truths. For example, AI can summarize the book of Ecclesiastes, explain what theologians like Martin Luther and John Calvin thought of the book, and guide how to respond to the text within daily life.1 Yet believers should remember that the technical realm is a tool for evangelism, so we must be creative and thoughtful in how we minister using AI and ChatGPT, as well as how we respond to those who have gotten their Biblical information from AI or ChatGPT.
ChatGPT and AI can be very helpful to new believers who want concise answers. New believers can ask ChatGPT who Jesus is, where Jesus did His ministry, the attributes of God, and even how to use different methods to study God.2 Christians can use ChatGPT and AI to be effective in evangelism efforts, especially in the modern western world. Since many Westerners understand the advancement of technology, Christians can use AI programs on their iPads, phones, VRs, or even projectors to display the Gospel message and God’s mission for the world. This is very helpful to the twenty-first-century church, but AI should not be used interchangeably with the Word of God. We can use AI and ChatGPT as tools to help us interpret scripture, but Christians must also interpret on their own. New believers must interpret with an older Christian in the faith. AI and ChatGPT are great tools, but the pages of the Word of God must come alive in front of us to experience the character and gain an understanding of God. You cannot understand God to His fullest through the digital realm. Because AI affects so many areas of life, Christians need to be prepared to maximize the benefits of such technology, take the lead on the question of machine morality, and help limit the possible dangers. Christians must remember what Lennox stated when it comes to getting our information from AI: “The machine is not intelligent; it is only doing what it’s programmed to do. The database is not intelligence; the intelligence is the intelligence of the people that designed the computer.”3
Another reason AI should be approached with caution in the church is because AI contradicts tradition. Many churches are more conventional, and using AI can compromise the values of their pastors and parishioners, as it can be considered “of the world.” For churches that are willing to use AI, it can be a tool in practical, day-to-day uses such as in activities with AI virtual reality, in which youth groups can experience a Bible story or play games to demonstrate Biblical concepts. However, AI cannot give an experience with the Holy Spirit and cannot describe the way the Holy Spirit feels. It can give suggestions on how to look for God in humanity, but it cannot help emotionally or spiritually.4
AI can dissect a biblical topic or question, but it will not dissect it enough for the use of ministry approaches, non-believers' questions, or sermons. AI cannot give you everything you need. AI can give cursory knowledge, but not in-depth reasons that come only with the lengthy study of scripture. The usefulness of using reason in theological reflection is taking care of how we think about things.5 Thus, Christians must think of ways to use AI and ChatGPT ethically. Christians should understand that they cannot escape the world of AI. We should not be afraid of technology but learn to understand the AI applications we are using. Paul is an excellent example in the New Testament. Paul used Hellenistic themes, words, and illustrations to convey the Gospel to others. Like Paul, Christians can use “new age” tools effectively in ministry. We must be careful not to allow AI to distort the meaning of God’s Word.
AI cannot help Christians to experience the Holy Spirit through spewing selective scripture verses. AI and ChatGPT cannot assist a Christian to experience all the attributes of God found in His presence, neither does ChatGPT or AI carry the presence of God because it is artificial and non-living. “We are hardwired to long for something transcendent.”6 We need interaction, we need connection, and this can only be done through reading the old pages of scripture, meditating on what we have read, and praying to God as well as allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us. “To have Christian experience is to have met and been transformed by Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit in some fundamental way.”7 ChatGPT and AI can give suggestions into how we can experience God, but they spiritually cannot assist us.8
The Bible is infallible we are not infallible,9 thus indicating that the people who have programmed AI and ChatGPT are infallible. This is alright because although we were created in the likeness of God, we chose sin in the garden (Gen. 2:7 & 3:6-7). Humanity cannot create AI robots into a new humanity because it is visible in the Bible that only humans can take part in a new humanity, the resurrection and reign of Christ.10 AI can assist in understanding scriptures by providing deeper insights, analyzing texts, and revealing connections that enhance our faith journey.11 However, AI and ChatGPT should not replace the pages of scripture, nor should it replace our imagination and how the Holy Spirit transforms us through reading scripture. Lacking in its theological imagination, AI cannot take on the task of transforming scripture to the human mind independently. ChatGPT describes scriptures as a direct line of communication from the Lord, divinely inspired by the authors of the respective books.12 It explains how the Bible consists of sixty-six books written over fifteen hundred years.13 This is true no doubt, yet the Word of God is a collection of writings that are God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16). The scriptures are how we as Christians survive in the mundane. It is the oxygen tank to a believer. No other life source whether artificial or not should replace what is embedded and weaved into the fabric of Christianity’s existence.
We must remember that a chatbot cannot explain how lived experience relates to the cross, nor how death and resurrection are at work in one's personal stories. We must remember as Christians that the scriptures are embedded within the Christian culture and the information which stems from a computer found in AI or ChatGPT cannot always assist us to our fullest in studying the Maker of the universe, the One true God. Available AI tools are remarkably effective at creating simple narratives.14 Christians can use AI tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot, or even BibleAI to be deliberative in how we contextualize the Gospel, by using a similar brief narrative to tell the story of the Bible. We can also use virtual reality to explain the Bible in evangelism efforts, but we must be careful in this because each audience is different and not as familiar with AI as many Westerners. Christians must remember that illustrating the myriad ways in which God manifests in lived experiences cannot be done primarily through AI but through the imagination and reading of scriptures. Our knowledge should come from tradition, reason, and experience, and stand firm upon scripture, and not upon the digital realm. Only then can we live a transcendent life, living in the supernatural of the One true God. Instead of being transhuman of AI, we become transhuman of the new creation and kingdom in Jesus Christ.15
1 John Anderson, “AI, Man & God | Prof. John Lennox,” YouTube, August 4, 2022,
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2 Howard W Stone and James O Duke, How to Think Theologically (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, Copyright, 2013), 53.
3 Anderson, “AI, Man & God | Prof. John Lennox”.
4 Amos Yong, Learning Theology: Tracking the Spirit of Christian Faith (Louisville: Presbyterian Publishing, 2018), 96.
5 R C Sproul, Everyone’s a Theologian: An Introduction to Systematic Theology (Orlando, Fl: Reformation Trust, a Division of Ligonier Ministries, 2019), 44.
6 Anderson, “AI, Man & God | Prof. John Lennox”.
7 ChatGPT, response to “Explain Ecclesiastes, What Theologians Believe of the Book and How I can Apply the Text Within My Life”, OpenAI, May 30, 2024.
8 ChatGPT, response to “Explain Jesus, His Ministry, the Character of God and Different Ways to Know God”. OpenAI, May 30, 2024.
9 ChatGPT, response to “Help Me Encounter the Holy Spirit”. OpenAI, June 1, 2024.
10 Text generated by ChatGPT, June 3, 2024, OpenAI,
https://chat.openai.com
11 Martin Ford, Rule of the Robots (Hachette UK, 2021), 112–117.
12 ChatGPT, response to “Explain the Biblical Scriptures”. OpenAI, June 14, 2024.
13 Ibid.
14 ChatGPT, response to “Help Me Understand Scripture”. OpenAI, June 12, 2024.
15 Anderson, “AI, Man & God | Prof. John Lennox”.