κηρυσσων την βασιλειαν του θεου και διδασκων τα περι του κυριου ιησου χριστου μετα πασης παρρησιας ακωλυτως. The underlying meaning of this blog is this: the essential unity of Christians worldwide regardless of race, nationality, or religious denomination. There are real disagreements among us but there is a small remnant in every authentically Christian gathering. The Holy Spirit is leading His remnant into deeper understandings of the "meat" of the Gospel and not just the "milk."
Laughter is the best medicine is a popular saying in English. The origin of the phrase is believed
to have come from Proverbs 17:22 (NIV): "A cheerful heart is
good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." (שָׂמֵחַ sameach joyful, gleeful,
happy, merry: Strong’s 8056)
לֵב שָׂמֵחַ יֵיטִב גֵּהָה וְרוּחַ נְכֵאָה תְּיַבֶּשׁ־גָּרֶם
I have just posted an extensive update of Superheroes Have Religious Beliefs which was first posted 13 November 2009. To view the post, search for comic book religion in the search box at the top of this page.
AI (artificial intelligence) is merely a useful tool. It does not know anything in the way that we do. AI may sound like a person, but it cannot bear the image of God. It is a computer program which follows instructions which it has been taught. Properly utilized, it can find information in seconds which would take the user days or weeks to find. Where AI is weak is in areas which require opinions. The opinions AI gives may very well (I would say probably do) at least partially reflect the worldviews of its teachers. The teachers would insist that this is not so or that, if bias is present, it is unintentional.
The Bible was written many centuries before computers
existed. The first device that can be considered to be a modern computer
appeared in 1941 in Germany, unless you consider the handheld abacus, a
calculating device which appeared in Sumeria ca 2700 to 2300 BC/BCE. The abacus
could be used to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Hand held electronic
calculators first showed up in the 1980’s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/computer
The Bible makes no mention of artificial intelligence since
it was written many centuries before the idea of modern computers was even conceived. It does, however give
us principles for the use of computer technology.
The Bible warns about the danger of idolatry.
AI can become an idol when it is trusted more than God's promises. If it is used
to exploit, deceive, or defraud others it becomes evil. If the use of AI
becomes obsessive, that can distract from devotion to God.
The strongest and most appropriate use of AI is to
dramatically speed up information searches, speech or textual translation, and
mathematical calculations. These activities become almost instantaneous.
Apocrypha: Books which are considered to be useful for study but which are not considered to be part of the scriptural canon. There is significant disagreement among the various denominations as to which books are in each group.
Most of the books create a bridge across the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments. There are a few other individual books only accepted by one or two religious traditions. The books are primarily of Jewish origin but some Christian groups also accept other books of a Christian origin.
Protestants generally deny the canonicity of the books and either include them in a separate section of the Bible or omit them entirely.
On today, 18 July 2026, I have updated the About This Blog page.
AI is a computer program that looks at patterns in data. It has no emotions or personal identity, even though the most advanced programs can carry on a conversation with you and refer to themselves as I.
AI can find obscure information almost instantly, translate
between numerous languages simultaneously, whether they are spoken or written, and
can create lifelike voices and images in seconds. Many people have begun to use
it to enhance their Bible study. Tilly Norwood is a completely computer-generated
actress who is now beginning to appear in motion pictures. Yes, AI can be a
powerful tool.
We should not fear AI itself. It is not a conscious being,
but is actually just numerous extremely fast computer programs which have been
trained to mimic human behavior and speech. That is one of the concerns: it was
trained by humans. You know about humans.
Rather than fear the computer programs, we need to be
careful and wise about them. They can be used by criminals or malevolent
persons to create fake videos, spread lies, or steal data. Some evil persons
have created pornographic videos featuring the faces of innocent persons
to whom they wish to cause embarrassment and harm. Some evil persons have used
AI to mine and steal other peoples personal financial or private data. Some
actors are afraid that their images and voices may be used to produce films in
which they were not actually involved, costing them money, career choices, and personal reputation. Faked videos could conceivably be used
to implicate innocent persons in crimes.
Just pay attention. Be as wise as a serpent and as innocent
as a dove.
Christians should insist on excellence because their work is ultimately done for God and can be seen as an act of worship. An example from history of a Christian person who understood this is Brother Lawrence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brother_Lawrence
The insistence for excellence, however, has to be tempered with humility
so that it never tips over into toxic arrogant perfectionism. That becomes the
sin of elevation of the self above God.
Biblical passages which exhibit this idea include Colossians
3:23-24, Proverbs 22:29, and Philippians 4:8.
The modern trend is to let things slide, to get by on less, on giving less
effort and personal involvement to a situation, not allowing a responsibility
to interfere too much with our personal interests. This is sometimes called quiet
quitting, doing just enough to not be unpleasantly noticed. This happens
even in our churches.
The cafeteria in the hospital where I worked before my retirement started
exhibiting a symptom of the times in which we live. Suddenly one day,
everything was gone: coffee creamer, sweeteners, salt, pepper, ketchup (catsup
if you insist), mayonnaise, and mustard.
The cafeteria said that customers could still have these items
but would have to specifically ask for them. Some of the “less
sophisticated” (patronizingly read “old” or “rural”) customers seemed to be
totally bewildered by this.
The hospital cafeteria is a contract service with a commercial restaurant chain which seems to have lost sight of the traditional service provider-customer relationship. Until recently, even though the cafeteria long ago quit washing dishes and began using only plastic plates and utensils, they still seemed to realize that the strict bottom line was ranked lower than providing quality customer service. Condiments, spices, sauces, and other items were understood to be included in the price of the food items being sold.
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