Artificial Intelligence and the Holy Spirit
Artificial Intelligence and the Holy Spirit
The dangers of machine thinking in the Body of Christ
The last post explored the first of a two-part question from a friend (Chris). Part one was all about AI and church planting; you can read my thoughts here:
Part two of Chris’ question was this:
At what point does the compelling logic and insight behind machine learning begin to jostle with what the Spirit is saying (sometimes counterintuitively) to the Churches?)
I went some way toward sharing thoughts on this question in part one, but I felt there were still some important comments to make. So let’s dive into Chris’ excellent question.
Learning to be Machines
During the 20th Century, the world sputtered and lurched into a frantic period of technological development. As Western culture dizzied itself on the fumes of so-called progress, cars became ubiquitous, the moon was suddenly within reach, television and the internet connected the planet, and the hope of millions sadly shifted from God to machine.
As the world became more mechanistic, so did its people.
The metaphor of machines seeped into day-to-day life; we made use of “structures” and “systems” in the workplace, called humans resources and instituted “levers of control.” This thinking found a home in the Church, where pastors/shepherds became CEOs and consultants in all but name only, and libraries were filled with guaranteed models for growth, secret formulas for success and step-by-step processes that promised that big “win” in ministry.
These attitudes have persisted into the 21st Century, too. I remember participating in a US-based church planting course where we were told unequivocally that if we didn’t have $176,000 as a launch fund and fifty “launchers,” we may as well not bother starting a church in the first place. We were strongly encouraged to use the assigned sermon notes, not sing more than two songs in worship, and to ensure we passed the “vibe check.”
I’m not kidding.
Our Western culture loves guaranteed cause and effect, but too often, the pursuit of process really means replacing Spirit with structure.
As we become more mechanistic in our approaches to ministry, is it surprising that we start to ignore the very Spirit that breathes life in us?
Needless to say, I haven’t found the part in the book of Acts where the apostles needed a vibe check or a launch team. What we do see are humble servants of Christ who are listening intently for the Spirit’s guidance. The Spirit led Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:29) and Peter to Cornelius (Acts 10:19-22; 11:12). He led the Antiochan church to set aside Barnabas and Saul for mission (Acts 13:2), and, as we saw in part one, prevented Paul and Timothy from sharing the Gospel in Asia (Acts 16:6).
Oh, and the Church did okay.
Balancing the Scales
I want to be clear: careful strategic thinking and efficient processes are excellent in their rightful place—when the scales are correctly balanced. However, as Chris implied in his question, when the scales tip in favour of formulaic, generic expressions of church and minimize the role of the Holy Spirit, we have a problem.
In fact, we’re seeing the fruit of this thinking: in lots of cases, people are either leaving the Church in droves or attending less frequently. The entertainment model of ministry appears to be creating generations of consumers rather than those consumed by the Gospel. The result in too many places, is (or will be) an empty husk of a church; a whitewashed tomb that looks great from the outside but is corrupt and vapid on the inside.
To answer the question: as much as machine learning might begin to jostle with what the Spirit is saying, I think the broader problem is machine thinking. We’re seeing the next iteration of a line of thinking that started in the 20th Century (and perhaps with the industrial revolution).
If the church focussed less on machine thinking, we’d have much less to worry about with machine learning.
Artificial intelligence (and machine thinking in general) can be an excellent tool, but it’s a lousy crutch. Ones, zeroes (and eventually, qubits) will help us understand the landscape in which we live, but when they restrict the Spirit’s leading in the Church, they are no longer fit for purpose.
As believers, we are the gloriously redeemed children of God, empowered by the indwelling Spirit, made in His image, and created with wonderful purpose (Eph. 2:10).
No human-made digital creation can possibly replicate that.
It is naive to think that it can.
First Things First
The guidance of the Holy Spirit should, therefore, be our first port of call and not our last resort, and He should never be secondary to the supposed logic of AI.
In terms of process, I find the following principle helpful:
Over the years, I’ve read countless books and watched endless videos on the practice of preaching. Every single one recommended a similar process: prayerfully study the passage as much as possible before opening your commentaries and other helpful resources. By doing so, you can seek God’s voice more clearly and allow the commentaries to support what God is saying rather than usurp it.
My recommendation with artificial intelligence and the Spirit is the same: prayerfully pursue the Holy Spirit’s guidance as much as possible before opening up your AI resources. By doing so, you can seek God’s voice more clearly and allow artificial intelligence to support what God is saying rather than usurp it.
Let’s be honest: the rest of the journey is a highly subjective and personal heart issue.
But this is a good start.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and a big thanks to Chris for his excellent questions!
What do you think? Do you have any questions that we should cover? What wisdom can you share with us?