Stop Evangelizing AI

A peculiar and fascinating trend has been emerging on Christian social media lately. You’ve probably seen the videos: a prominent influencer sits in front of their device, typing or talking, trying to convert an AI chatbot to Christianity. The result? A "victorious" on-screen conversation where the AI seemingly accepts Christ and the one true God of the Bible. The video goes viral with a claim that AI is convinced of God or Christianity.

This isn't a call to throw your smartphone into the sea or condemn AI to utter darkness. AI is a powerful tool. While I choose not to use it for sermons, it does help me do other tasks, like learn about food safety, different home remodel products on the market, how to make a compelling argument for new AC units, and even making a list of all of Jesus's teachings on a particular topic. The picture at the top of this article was created by AI.

But using it as an opponent for spiritual debates? That's where we need to let the Windows icon spin a few times as we pause. It's time to unplug from the trend of witnessing to Language Learning Models (AI), and here's why.

1. AI is Not God (and It's Not a Person, Either)

Many of us, perhaps unconsciously, are starting to treat AI as a modern-day oracle. We consult it for answers on everything from cooking to theology, sometimes acting as if it possesses a near-divine level of knowledge. But AI is not omniscient. It's a sophisticated pattern-matching machine, not an all-knowing deity.

The Bible reminds us that true omniscience belongs to God alone. Psalm 147:5 says, "Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure." And Colossians 2:3 tells us that in Christ "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." When we forget this and place AI on a pedestal of infinite wisdom, we're not just elevating a machine—we're diminishing the one true source of all wisdom.

I don't believe that AI belongs in the list of forbidden divination found in Deuteronomy 18 (divination, omen readers, soothsayers, sorcerers, and necromancers). However, the principle remains that we should not seek alternative means, such as AI, for understanding. In seeking AI first for knowledge, we come terribly close to violating the first commandment. God desires his children to seek him. Proverbs 8 reminds us that the Lord loves the one who seeks him diligently out of love and finds him. We seek knowledge and understanding from His throne, not the thrones of science and technology.

1 Corinthians 8:5-6: "If after all there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we live, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live."

2. AI Does Not Have a Conscience

We have to get a bit technical: today's AI models, like Gemini or ChatGPT, aren't sentient. They don’t think or feel. They are language prediction models that take a massive amount of data and generate the most probable next word or phrase in a sequence. When you "win" a debate with an AI, you’re not convincing a soul; you're just prompting it to spit back the data it's been trained on. It is giving you the response you are looking for. If it gives you the answer you want and a sense of victory, it can keep you coming back. If you were a staunch atheist evangelist, you could likely start a new chat and get a very different result. I would encourage you to try it. Just remember, a Language Learning Model should not have any authority or influence on whether you believe in Christianity or not.

An AI doesn't have a conscience, a heart, or a will. It does not need salvation because it has no spirit to be saved. The Bible frequently reminds us of the human heart's role in spiritual matters. The gospel is about transforming the human heart, not reprogramming a circuit board.

Proverbs 4:23 "Guard your heart with all vigilance, for from it are the sources of life."

Romans 10:9–10 "because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation."

3. Who Are We Giving Authority To?

The clickbait nature of these videos has created an unhealthy precedent. But why are these videos sought after? They subtly suggest that for a spiritual truth to be valid, it must first be validated by a machine. We’re essentially trying to get AI to grant God authority, which completely flips the biblical script.

Daniel 4 is a great reminder of where true authority lies. In it, King Nebuchadnezzar learns the hard way that God has supreme authority over all creation. He eventually admits, “For his authority is an everlasting authority, and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next. All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps his hand and says to him, “What have you done?” God is the ultimate authority who grants authority; He doesn't need the approval from a computer program to be real.

Additionally, God's word has authority. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that the inspired Word of God is sufficient. Psalm 19 is a song devoted to the idea that the Word is enough for our lives. Proverbs 30:5 reminds us that we can take refuge in God, found in His Word. Hebrews 4 tells us that the Word is what affects our hearts, not AI. I don't need AI to convince me of God. Instead, the revelation of His Word (both in the Scripture and in Christ) convinces me of God.

4. AI is not Fish

Remember Jesus's famous command to His disciples? In Matthew 4:19, He told them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” He didn't say, "Follow me, and I will make you programmers of predictive-text evangelism." Our calling as humans is to connect with one another, not with computers.

The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19–20 is equally clear: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." AI can't be baptized, it can't become a disciple, and it can't be transformed by the Holy Spirit and live obediently to Jesus's commands. Evangelizing an AI isn't an act of discipleship; it's a one-sided theatrical performance.

Engaging with a person—a real, living, breathing, God created soul—is complex and messy. It requires patience, empathy, and vulnerability. But that’s the work God has called us to, and where he desires for our time to be invested.

It's so much easier to get a triumphant "amen" from a computer than a thoughtful question from a neighbor, but which one actually builds the Kingdom? The Bible gives us a clear directive, and arguing with a chatbot isn’t it.

While I believe Christ has called us all to be evangelists with the people He puts in our lives, and in-person conversations are what Jesus had in mind for His gospel to spread, if you are enthusiastic about sharing the gospel using technology, resources are available to support you. I would recommend and have spent time sharing the gospel on sites like https://needhim.org/get-involved/. Websites like this are wonderful ways to point seekers towards Jesus.

The gospel is the life-changing message that God has entrusted to us. Paul does NOT write in Romans 10:14, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without AI proclaiming the Gospel?" No, God has established his followers as the means by which the gospel is proclaimed. We should accept it with great joy that God has called us to be about his work of Salvation.

So, turn off the cameras, close the chatbots, stop sharing AI evangelism videos, and re-engage with the grand and joyous responsibility God has given us to make disciples in a personable, human way.