Men and Machines, God and Gadgets

The Christian needs to think clearly about these matters:

It is with fear and trepidation that I write this piece. The backlash could be intense – the resistance could be full bore. This could be the end of CultureWatch. So what is my topic? A hot-potato issue like abortion or transgendersim, or simply religion and politics that gets so many folks so fully worked up?

No, something that might well cause more angst, heat and fury! I want to discuss things like AI and ChatGPT and so on, especially in terms of believers using such devices for the work of the Christian ministry. And my cards must be laid on the table at the outset: I am old, and I am old school!

So before you are ready to deliver me to the firing squad, hear me out. I will make my case, while fully admitting I have not used any of these devices for my own ministry – that of writing, or preparing talks, and so on. Some of you might quickly respond, ‘Try it, you’ll like it.’ Perhaps I will. But let me explain my concerns, starting with a brief biblical discussion.

I was just reading in the book of Ezra again today. The captives were released to go back to Israel to rebuild the temple. We read about the various ‘experts’ who pitched in, such as the “masons and the carpenters” (Ezra 3:7). Of course we read about similar things when the first temple was built.

Indeed, the construction of the tabernacle before that can also be mentioned. In all of them, those especially skilled in the work were made use of – not just any old average Joe. Consider Exodus 35 and the tabernacle for example. Yes, ordinary folks could freely contribute financially to the work.

But as we read in verse 10, the ones actually working on the project were not ordinary folks: “Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the Lord has commanded.” Women with skill were also used: “And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair” (vv. 25-26).

And consider what we read in verses 30-35:

Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan. He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.

Ministry and machines today

My point of saying all this should be clear: for the Lord’s work on these important projects, God made use of those with talents, abilities and skills. They were gifted for the work, and of course it was God who had gifted them. ‘But what does all that have to do with me and my ministry today?’ some might ask.

Well, whether we are preparing a sermon or a worship song, or writing an article or a book – all for the glory of God, presumably a major prerequisite – in addition to having some skills in these areas, we need to have the Holy Spirit helping us every step of the way.

It seems to me that there is a temptation to more and more rely on things like AI and other new devices to craft great sermons or write great books. This might become a replacement not just for God-given gifts to his people, but reliance on the Holy Spirit.

As one case in point, I recently had a great and godly woman call me, and we spoke about these very issues. She said she felt God wants her to write a book, but she is not a writer, does not like writing, and finds writing to be a very laborious and long drawn-out affair. She said she would rely quite a bit on some of these new programs.

Now because I know she is so close to the Lord, I could have said no more. But I did nonetheless raise some general concerns. I admitted that I know very little about these things, and have never used something like ChatGPT or other programs meant to help you write better or whatever. But I did have in mind the sorts of passages I just shared above.

I said the reason I write so many articles and books is because I am more or less good at it, that God had given me this gifting long ago – even when I was a pagan – and that I was using those talents that he gave me for the Kingdom. But I said other things I have zippo ability in, be it fixing your car or tending your garden.

It would be folly to ask me to do any of that for you. Sure, as I mentioned to her, it IS possible that God could supernaturally zap me with a special ability to discern where the driveshaft is, what is wrong with it, how to remove it, fix it, and put it back in place (if that is even a thing!).

Yes, all things are possible. But I would tend to think that if you want your car fixed, you should NOT bring it to me but take it to someone who actually knows all about cars and how to fix them! God has given his people differing gifts, talents and abilities. We normally should go to those who have the abilities and talents that are needed for the job.

For example, I would be useless at leading your worship service (I cannot even sing for starters), so it is quite unlikely that God would ask me to do this. And yes, sometimes a real gift that God has given to someone he may ask to have it laid aside. Think of The Chariots of Fire film and story. Eric Liddell was gifted to run, and he won races, but God asked him to lay it down and go serve as a missionary in China.

But let me get back to my friend and her book idea, and my own writing ministry. I said at best I would pray for her in this endeavour. I said I was still a bit sus on relying on a machine (and yes I know, simply using that term might upset some of you!). And even in terms of who gets the credit, there are questions arising.

If a person is NOT a good writer, but pens a book anyway, heavily relying on these AI thingees, does she put her name on the front cover as the author, or does she give her name and admit to all the help and assistance she got from some technology? Just askin’ here.

Often if a person has a lot of help in writing a book, the front cover will list the author in larger font, but then, in a smaller font, say something like this: ‘with Joe Schmo’. So the assistant gets proper credit at least. And then there are such things as ghost writers and the like who are paid a fee for their services but get no credit for it.

Speaking of taking credit for something, when I used to lecture in Bible colleges, marking papers could often be the least enjoyable part of the job! There were some great papers, but some pretty bad ones as well. Worse yet is when you clearly found a student lifting whole slabs of material from someone else.

For example, I would read a paper that was poorly thought out, poorly written, full of mistakes, and then all of a sudden the next page or two were in perfect English, masterful prose, and loaded with outstanding thoughts! Um, that is called plagiarism.

The question might arise here: if we rely so much on these programs and AI things, will we not also be guilty of plagiarism and the like? If someone depends on some program to turn a D- essay or book into an A+ masterpiece, does the writer deserve credit here? Does he at least need to fess up as to how he produced such great, well-written material?

But folks might object to what I am saying in at least two more ways: First, they might rightly ask if I ever get any help in writing. Fair question, and in some obvious ways I do. For example, we all know that things like spellcheckers and grammar checkers exist on programs like Word.

So yes, I use those, and am thankful for them, if they pick up a typo of mine, etc. But asking a program to transform your jumbled and not so great prose into a work of art that might win you a Pulitzer Prize or a Nobel Prize in Literature seems to be another thing! Where do we draw the line?

And yes, I have had a few folks who have voluntarily let me know if they spot some typo in my articles. I often acknowledge such folks (thanks again Annette and others!). But at the end of the day, what is found in my articles is overwhelmingly me – and not some machine (there I go again, using that word that might trigger some folks – perhaps rightly!)

Also, Word now has a new feature called “Copilot”. It is another writing aid I take it. But no, I have not touched it, and at this point I have no desire to. But some of you more techie guys might convince me to give it a shot one day. Maybe I will. But as I say, I am old, and I am old school!

Secondly, critics might say that something as important as constructing the tabernacle or temple DID require highly skilled and gifted artisans, craftsmen and musicians, and so on, but writing a lousy book or article may not be such a big deal, and anyone can try to do it if they want to. Yes, that could well be the case.

But I think everything that the believer does is important, and it should be done for the glory of God. So having some gifting or talent in an area seems to be a bare minimum quite often. As I say, if someone wants me to play the church organ in a service, it will be a disaster, since I have no such ability!

Related to all this, let me come back to the issue of sermons. Up until just recently, two major qualifications were needed for the pastor or preacher as he prepared a sermon for Sunday morning. One, he did a whole lot of work: poring over the text, studying heaps, comparing Scripture with Scripture, seeing what others have said about the passage, going back to the original languages, doing careful exegesis and hermeneutical work, and so on.

Obviously, the other key necessity was to pray like mad and rely on the Holy Spirit to guide him as he prepared the sermon and sought for it to have a real impact on his congregation. Both were needed. But I simply ask how much some Christian leaders today might be relying, perhaps too much, on these various new technologies. Again, I am just asking questions here.

Hopefully NO true pastor or preacher just tells these programs to cough up a sermon for them and then they run with it. If so, I do not think I would want to attend such a church and listen to such a ‘sermon’. So once more, I am not attacking anyone, but mostly thinking out loud here.

AI and the like is advancing by leaps and bounds. It can be used for great good, but it also can be used for great evil. Simply look at the numerous articles I have in my transhumanism section, warning about some of these very real dangers and evils: https://billmuehlenberg.com/category/transhumanism/

No, relying on these new technologies to write a better book is certainly not necessarily evil. But is it a good thing? Again, don’t shoot me for simply raising some questions here. I am still thinking about these matters myself. Who knows, I might make some changes in the days ahead. Or I might stay as I am – presumably a grumpy old man and part-time Luddite!

But I look forward to your thoughts on these issues.

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