AI: Friend or Foe?

What is artificial intelligence? Should Christians fear or embrace this emerging technology?

The mere mention of artificial intelligence, or AI, conjures up images of a high-tech, dystopian time when machines mimic humanity and take over the world, but the truth is, many elements of AI have been around for a while.

“Every single person uses artificial intelligence throughout their day whether they realize it or not,” Jason Thacker, author of the books The Age of AI and Following Jesus in a Digital Age, told SAconnects.

“AI is built into so many of our modern technolo­gies, from cellphones to smart devices to email to online shopping,” Thacker said. “In many ways it makes our world very convenient and very personalized.”

Kenny Jahng, founder of AIforChurchLeaders.com and editor-in-chief of ChurchTechToday.com, told SAconnects that AI is “like a computer program that mimics human intelligence. It learns from data, makes decisions, and can perform tasks usually requiring human brainpower.”

The universal Church was initially cool but eventually warmed up to emerging technologies like the printing press, newspapers, radio, television, and even the internet and social media. In more recent years, Christian tech leaders are saying that AI is not inherently good or bad and could be a valuable ministry tool if used correctly and biblically.

Many in the Church remain wary. A 2023 survey by Barna Research found that only one in five U.S. Christians believe it is good for the Church.

Captain Scott Swires, a Salvation Army officer and former Apple employee, said Salvation Army Founder William Booth was open to new technologies and innovations, unlike other church leaders of his time, and even bought an automobile before they were mass produced in England.

“Some people have suggested The Salvation Army might have had the first movie studio,” Swires said. “Booth was very quick to get cameras and film and that’s why we have film of him. He was very quick to hop on that technology and use it. He was an early adopter. We’ve been early adopters from our founding in The Salvation Army.”

The future is here

Would Booth embrace AI if he were alive in the 21st century? To this, Swires replied, “Hard-core.” Swires, who teaches online ministry at the USA Eastern Territory’s College for Officer Training, guesses about 30% of current officers use AI.

“It’s easy to argue that AI is one of the most powerful things to have happened in the last decade technologically,” Swires said. “The idea that the Church needs to hop on this isn’t a suggestion.

“This is coming. This is happening. It’s a tool that’s going to be used, and if you don’t find some way to adapt to new things, you’re just going to be left behind. There’s lots of exciting things out there and lots of possibilities. If you’re an older officer and unfamiliar, just find a younger officer who is familiar. That’s the importance of diversity in our ministries.”

Swires, who co-pastors a church in Port Jervis, N.Y., said he uses AI mostly for creating graphics. The graphics that appear during the Sunday morning service or on social media in Port Jervis likely came from what’s known as generative AI.

Another side of AI, such as ChatGPT and its competitors like Google Gemini, can be problematic because the output is based on training data from a vast array of sources. Asking a chatbot a question about Jesus Christ, for example, might produce an answer that does not match the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible—and that has many church leaders concerned.

“When we use AI, we should make sure we’re doing so with biblical wisdom within the framework of a Christian ethic that’s rooted in this idea of loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves.”

–Jason Thacker

Google Gemini, originally known as Bard, made national headlines in March by producing historically inaccurate imagery. Courts have sanctioned attorneys for citing nonexistent cases generated by AI tools. One user asked ChatGPT whether smoking cures asthma. In response, the chatbot claimed that The Denver Post had published research showing that cigarettes could be a cure for the condition—which (a) is false and (b) the paper never reported.

“If you have an open platform like Chat­GPT, it’s very dangerous because it could give you anything, but if you have an in-house source, it’s a tremendous tool,” Swires said.

Swires foresees a day when the USA Eastern Territory’s Heritage Museum might exhibit an AI version of William Booth, but one that only reflects facts because The Salvation Army would control the results of an in-house resource.

In their roles as married Salvation Army officers, Swires and Captain Tabitha Swires recently found AI extremely helpful. They were engaging children in a scavenger hunt at their church and hid a puzzle piece in a piano bench. He asked ChatGPT to help him produce a riddle as a clue to the puzzle piece’s location, and the perfect riddle popped up in less than a second.

“Instead of me thinking about these riddles for 15 or 20 minutes and trying to come up with this perfect thing, I’m able to use AI as a creative tool,” he said.

Even more uses

Jahng said generative AI can produce not only graphic images but also fully written articles; it can compose music and even code based on the information it has been fed.

“Imagine it as a highly skilled artist who can produce an endless variety of works in any style you ask without having to know any jargon,” he said.

Phil Cooke, a writer, producer, and media consultant, has used generative AI mostly for research. He suggested it could help pastors with the first draft of a sermon or article. However, he recently asked it for criticisms of himself, and while the results were believable, he said AI “essentially made it up.” Nobody had actually made any of the comments in real life. This is called an AI hallucination.

“We just have to be careful of the results from AI because it’s programmed to give us an answer whether it’s true or not,” Cooke said. “I’ve experimented with AI a lot, and I have to run everything I do through a plagiarism checker, and it always comes up with something they’ve stolen from somebody online. We’re in the very early stages and it’s basically just stealing stuff.

“I will have AI do research for blog posts and sections of books, but then I rewrite it to put it in my voice and make it sound more like me.”

Newspapers, authors, artists, and other content creators and owners claim that their copyrighted material has been used without permission or payment to train AI systems, and they are suing the tech companies for infringement.

But Cooke agreed with other Christian tech leaders that believers shouldn’t be afraid of the burgeoning technology.

“It’s not good. It’s not bad,” Cooke said. “We just have to be careful, but I don’t think we need to fear it at all. It has the ability to be biased. It has the ability to plagiarize, and it has the ability to be incorrect.”

Jahng said the reason many Christians are wary of AI is the fear of losing human connection. Others fear it may be used unethically or conflict with moral and ethical values.

“However, it’s important to remember that AI, like any tool, reflects the intentions of those who use it,” he said. “That’s why I’ve been advocating for Christian communities, leaders, and teams to focus on discussions of responsible use guided by faith and ethical principles rather than fear.”

Jahng said AI can indeed be a force for good in furthering the Kingdom of God. He believes it can help personalize learning and spiritual growth; assist in analyzing and understanding large volumes of text, like the Bible, or sermons; and help “research, reframe, and develop new insights.” Jahng also believes pastors can use AI to manage church administrative work more efficiently (see sidebar) and even reach people in new and innovative ways. “By augmenting human abilities, AI can help spread the Word of God further and faster than ever before.”

Discernment is key

Christian tech leaders say like anything else, genera­tive AI can be used for good and bad—just like the internet itself can be an invaluable resource for research but also includes dangerous things like pornography.

“The key is to approach it with wisdom, discernment, and guidance from our faith,” Jahng said. “By doing so, we can harness AI’s potential to support ministry work, enhance community engagement, and spread the gospel.

“It’s also crucial for Christians to stay informed and engaged in conversations about the ethical use of AI, ensuring it aligns with our values and the teachings of Christ. With any innovation front, no one knows it all, especially as the technology keeps unfolding.”

Thacker, who is also an assistant professor of ethics at Boyce College in Louisville and a senior fellow at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, told SAconnects that AI offers many benefits, but “also a lot of dangers, especially from an ethical perspective.” He urges Christians “to kind of think through the ramifications of a technology like this on our lives and our society,” while avoiding the dehumanizing elements.

If Christians rely too much on artificial intelligence, Thacker believes, “we’re saying there’s nothing actually special or unique or set apart about humanity” when we’re actually created in God’s image.

“As the Scriptures tell us, we have been set apart (Deuteronomy 14) and we’re image bearers of God (James 3),” he said. “Our value and dignity as people isn’t based on what we do, but it’s actually rooted in who we are as image bearers. Especially in this age of AI and advanced machines, that truth kind of changes how we view these technologies both for good and ill in our communities. It’s changing our view of God, ourselves, and the world around us and we need to slow down to cultivate some of that wisdom and discernment.

“It’s not all good or bad, but it’s also not neutral,” Thacker added. “These technologies are not neutral because they are shaping our values as a society and our worldview—how we understand who God is and how we understand what it means to be human. We need to ask ourselves, What does it mean to be human in an age of advanced machines? How do we understand the world around us and our place in it? Christians should not be fearful of this technology, but we should seek to be wise.”

“It’s easy to argue that AI is one of the most powerful things to have happened in the last decade technologically. The idea that the Church needs to hop on this isn’t a suggestion.”

—Captain Scott Swires

Thacker, who has spoken to Salvation Army audiences, said generative AI can be used to prepare sermons and other tasks, but he issued a warning.

“When we use AI, we should make sure we’re doing so with biblical wisdom within the framework of a Christian ethic that’s rooted in this idea of loving God and loving our neighbors as ourselves,” he said. “How are we being authentic and transparent? How are we using these tools for the glory of God? I think those are some really key questions that Christians need to be asking.

“AI is fundamentally changing how we understand the world around us for good and ill,” he said. “It’s changing what we mean to be in community and with other people and to understand and empathize and speak truth and grace, as well as how we understand ourselves. We need to slow down and ask some of the hard questions. What is it? What is it doing and how do we cultivate wisdom for a digital age?”

Swires said generative AI “helps you focus your energy” in a world of limited time and resources and seemingly unlimited information in a way that could help further the Kingdom of God—and perhaps even trigger revival.

“When you can use this creative assistant in an area that’s just not your wheelhouse, that’s huge,” Swires said. “I might not be artistically inclined, but I have an idea. Now you have this ability to create.

“As a nonartist, now it’s like the whole world is open to me. ‘Oh my gosh, look at all these things I can create and use my imagination.’ Whenever you use the imagination, it’s part of the imago Dei … just being created in God’s image, and having that opportunity is huge.”