I was impressed with Pastor Timothy Pang’s comment about my blog post, Which is Best? Using Commentaries, GoogleAI, or ChatGPT? His comment has breadth and depth. I felt it deserved to be posted again with his permission. The use of AI is becoming pervasive in society and the church. We need to be wise in its use. Here is his comment:

I read your post a while back, but took some time to reply as I have been working on a reboot/relaunch of my own blogging endeavours. It is in line with what you have raised, all the more with a growing need to have a developing theology of technology, with that, deep and biblical theological reflection on the implications and applications of technology in church and missions.

With this particular scenario you mentioned, I would first ask myself, for what purpose am I considering consulting Google or ChatGPT? In terms of studying God’s Word, the Bible, is it for personal devotion/quiet time, or preparation for bible study, or preparing to preach a sermon, or even part of my academic research in the context of theological education? The purpose would have different bearings on whether and how I use the tools available. A big part of the question has to do with how the art of finding Bible answers helps in my learning, acquiring and applying of knowledge.

So much convenience and advancement of technology has led to quick-fix solutions, bypassing the process of learning and sourcing for information. I still memorize important phone numbers of family and friends, which we now forego not even in the age of speed-dialing, but endless, cloud-based contact lists across platforms and apps. GPS (global positioning systems) devices make reading maps, navigation and topography less necessary. Google and other search engines make going to a library to find information in encyclopaedias, reference books and commentaries passe. The list goes on.

Nevertheless, on the flipside, we cannot avoid the use of AI even in bible colleges, institutes of higher learning, the workplace, and even in the pulpit. Seminary professors not only have to evaluate submitted student papers through anti-AI plagiarism tools, but are having to advise and teach students the ethical and responsible use of AI in assignments. A Christian digital-focused organisation I know is moving towards a “flourishing AI initiative”.

For me, whichever purpose or no matter how deep a study of the biblical text is required, I would start with prayer, the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and reading God’s word directly as a start. Then move to commentaries, one-volume or more focused ones, especially those with emphasis on original languages. Then academic writings – books, journals/articles, research papers. Then Google scholar, which tends to be a little more dependable and filters out less reliable sources. To be honest, I have yet to rely/depend on ChatGPT at all, save test trying how it responds to prompts, to give as illustrations in tech-related talks, training sessions. Although I am sure this will change in the near future.

But I am astounded, intrigued, and amazed, not just on scholarly, textual engagement, but on generative AI – audio, video, images, avatars, that’s where the tech is evolving so fast and realistically (check out AI-generated Christian artist Solomon Ray topping iTunes and Billboard charts recently).

I hope to critically engage and reflect more on technology, as part of my hopefully finishing research, but as a growing interest and passion, particularly in reaching out and discipling next generations. Look forward to further interactions with you on and related topics.

Pastor Timothy blogs at missiotheo.tech. I am glad he has a passion to see the church equipped to use new technology wisely. It is currently the subject of his research. I would be interested in his thesis. In the meantime, we can examine some of the matters he raised in his comment and offer our preliminary opinions about the use of AI in the areas he highlighted: personal devotions and quiet time (this blog post will look at this); preparation for Bible Study; sermon preparation (we already discussed this); and theological education research. We need to ask: Should AI be used in these areas? If not, why not? If yes, why and how should it be used? Does using AI impact our understanding, acquisition, and application of knowledge of God’s word?

Personal devotions and quiet time

Let me begin with the area of personal devotions. My home church has an initiative to inspire the whole church to read through the Bible in five years. A year has passed, and members have been guided to read selected books from the Old and New Testaments, using a guidebook with reflective questions. It is read in conjunction with the cell groups’ discussion and matching sermons from the pulpit.

I have been listening to Micah chapter six in all the translations available in audio. I began with more difficult translations, the King James Version, and moved to modern translations that were more literal, for example, the New American Standard Bible and English Standard Version. Finally, I continued with listening to the more readable translations, for example, the New International Version, New Living Translation and the Message.

With each hearing of the audio text, my understanding grew, but I still could not decipher the meaning of some texts. I looked up my ESV Reformation Study Bible, and that helped a little. I asked ChatGPT, and it answered me with more details and clarity. This helped me grasp how this text has been fulfilled in Christ, and meditate on who God is and what he has already accomplished in Christ.

AI has already been used in personal devotional materials. Algorithms are used to create customised reading plans and answers to questions that are geared towards an individual’s background and interests. AI is used to answer questions about historical and cultural context and explains and summarises theological jargon and doctrines. I agree to all this. They function like research assistants.

I only fear that too much of this throws us off course and interrupts the slow meditative process of lectio divina. This can be prevented if we use AI to understand the context before beginning lectio divina.

I am not sure if AI is being used to generate content in devotional materials. I am certain AI is capable of doing this, but has any organisation used this capability for content creation? I do not know.

I have reservations with this. Truth is best conveyed through personality. Truth studied and applied in a person’s life and transmitted through that person’s lens, personality and convictions is what the Spirit of God would be pleased to use. AI bypasses this laborious and slow process of how truth is transmitted from humans made in God’s image to other humans.

Paul the apostle used an interesting phrase, “according to my gospel” (Rom 2:16 and 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8), to show that his message was a revelation that included salvation for the Gentiles. It emphasised his calling and role as one called to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. It is also a gospel that had been filtered through Paul’s personality, worldview and convictions. Not that he originated the content, but that it was received and entrusted to him and passed through his unique personality and life experience. AI can never say, “according to my gospel.” It is this slow work of God through a godly person that is missing in AI-created content. Call it soul. Call Imago Dei. Call it personality. It is missing in AI.

I have rambled too much. Time to stop. Let others have their say in the comment box.