Christians and AI: Is It All a Matter of Prompts?

Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT at the end of 2022, comments and reflections on artificial intelligence have multiplied worldwide, addressing its uses, abuses, risks, and benefits. There has not been a news outlet that hasn't covered it, and many on social media have jumped on the bandwagon (and continue to do so), having understood its economic potential. We all know it exists, and we all think we know what it does and how it works.

Opening a chat with one of the AI tools is becoming one of the most common digital gestures of our era. It's similar to scrolling through social media and messaging on WhatsApp. We turn to AI with increasing frequency, from finding the most suitable recipe for the children's dinner to creating a resume and even scenarios that are sometimes light-hearted and sometimes psychoanalytical.

However, the heart of AI usage is undoubtedly represented by "prompts": instructions on how and what the program should answer. It's not just "give me the recipe for mac and cheese," but rather, "Starting from my personal profile, create a resume that highlights my international experiences, suitable for LinkedIn, and written in Spanish."

Here, we won't delve into the technicalities behind AI's great complexity, as we're more interested in this technological innovation's spiritual and ethical consequences on the life of a Christian believer. Therefore, we want to ask: What happens when prompts concern aspects of faith, spirituality, and our relationship with the Bible? In other words, how should we handle "Christian prompts"?

AI and the Bible: An Evolution of Study Methods?

The Bible teaches us that it must be studied, and that this study is a source of spiritual growth for believers (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Therefore, it is not surprising that aids for Bible study, such as commentaries, Bible dictionaries, key indices, and concordances, have proliferated over the past few centuries.

Although the use of these tools for more informed exegesis has sometimes been discouraged in the name of authenticity of the Holy Spirit's guidance in understanding the biblical text, the contribution of those who have dedicated themselves to these tools over time cannot be denied. Their work has been a blessing and help for generations of believers.

Furthermore, a few biblical examples demonstrate that interpreting and studying the Bible requires the use of aids that are not based on human wisdom: in Nehemiah 8, the Levites "read distinctly from the book in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading"; and in Luke 24:27, Jesus "beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself" while on the road to Emmaus with two disciples.

The digital revolution of the last thirty years has greatly facilitated the use of study tools, making them accessible to those who cannot afford expensive volumes. However, it has also introduced risks. Consulting a commentary or dictionary online deprives readers of the context they would naturally experience with a printed text. Searching for words or verses in a search bar can erode the ability to navigate the biblical canon over time, causing us to experience the Bible "in portions" rather than experiencing its wonderful, inspired unity.

Yet, the extreme usefulness of this research method would not be questioned by anyone. The door is opened to concepts that, if applied with discernment, enrich our understanding of the biblical text and thus influence our spiritual growth: the nuances of meaning of a Hebrew or Greek term; the reconstruction of the historical and social context of a biblical passage; the recurrence of certain terms within an epistle...

But here is the critical point of our issue: if until now the retrieval of information has been facilitated by online consultation of study tools, leaving us the "labour" of understanding and personal application through study and prayer, different attention must be paid to a digital tool that offers to experience that "labour" for us.

A tool that can create our perfect résumé is one that we can ask, "Find me all the Bible verses that talk about peace, identify the three most recurring concepts, and draw a message from them." While the first part of the request is a faster version of a function already present in many online Bible keys, the second part touches on the "generative" aspect of the tool and requires reflection. Here, indeed, we enter the field of concrete, applied spirituality. Are we sure we want to base it on probabilistic calculations?

"Be Diligent... in Study"

There are countless biblical exhortations to engage personally with the Word of God: to know the text (Deuteronomy 11:18), to meditate constantly (Joshua 1:8), to adhere to the message (1 Corinthians 4:6), to preach it (2 Timothy 4:2), to live by and apply its teachings (James 1:22), and to pass those teachings on (Titus 1:9).

The meaning of studying the biblical text emerges from our devotion (Psalm 1), a spiritual attitude of prayer, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13). It also emerges from the effort we pour into searching the endless riches of God's Word (Proverbs 2:4-5).

It is worth remembering that this effort is qualitative, not quantitative: "A day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere" (Psalm 84:10). Time spent in prayer and studying the Word of God is time spent opening up to God, making oneself available to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and meditating on the example of Christ. Whether studying for thirty minutes or three hours a day, the benchmark is not the quantity of information processed, but how much biblical truth changes our hearts.

Treating the Bible as a "preaching manual" or a "recipe book for moods," to be used quickly and efficiently, means depriving ourselves of God's blessing in our relationship with written revelation. Reducing the Bible to a series of concepts to be extracted is equivalent to walking by the flesh instead of the Spirit. I find what I need, but I don't meditate on what the Word wants to say to me. I give meaning to the text rather than letting the text guide me. In other words, I live the illusion of being a self-sufficient believer, which is the exact opposite of submission. Submission consists of times of shaping (the clay and the potter of Jeremiah 18), times of silence, and times of waiting.

Sometimes waiting for a single answer or divine word (Matthew 8:8). Not millions of data points.

This kind of attitude can be both a cause and a consequence of the abuse of "Christian prompts": the desire to have AI analyze the biblical text to arrive quickly at certain answers causes spiritual laziness, but it is in turn fueled by the illusion of self-sufficiency. All of this empties the significance of the task God has given every believer: to live the Word of God.

AI and the Bible: Just Lazy Abuse?

We discussed prompt abuse for a reason: the problem lies in the hearts of those who use the tool. A sincere believer with good intentions can benefit from the proper use of AI. If abuse exists, so does proper use.

But how can we identify the latter? By answering a simple question: "Am I asking the AI to help me understand the biblical text, or am I asking it to interpret the text for me?"

Let us try to answer this question concretely by providing examples of proper AI use and practices to avoid. We have already premised our rejection of spiritual laziness and the illusion of self-sufficiency.

Proper Use: Tools for Orientation

• Philological and Linguistic Data: "What is the etymology of the Greek term 'agape'?" or "What are the occurrences of this term in the New Testament?". In this case, the AI speeds up a search that we would have done in a dictionary or a concordance.

• Historical-Cultural Context: "What were the wedding customs in Galilee in the first century AD?". This helps to "clear the lens" through which we view the text, providing the historical elements to better understand the episode.

• Literary Analysis: "What are the rhetorical figures in Psalm 84?". Here, the AI acts as a highlighter, showing us the poetic or literary structure of the text upon which we will then meditate.

Note of Caution: AI can make mistakes or invent information out of thin air (the so-called “large language model hallucination”). It is necessary, as far as possible, to verify the answers obtained.

Abuse: Interpreting for Us

• Meaning and Personal Application: "Show me the applications of this passage for my life." This is an abuse because spiritual discernment is not an algorithmic process. AI cannot substitute for the voice of God in the secret place of prayer.

• Devotional Synthesis: "Write a meditation starting from Acts 1:8." Delegating the "digestion" of the message means presenting ourselves before God and men with bread we have not kneaded.

• Resolving Ethical or Doctrinal Dilemmas: "What is the definitive biblical position on this difficult topic?". Seeking a "packaged" answer deprives us of the necessary effort of searching the Scriptures and the time of waiting, which is fundamental for our spiritual maturity.

Christian faith is founded on a personal relationship with Christ. Salvation and blessings are received personally. Based on this principle, although Bible study can be aided by tools, even AI tools, they cannot study for us because they do not have a personal relationship with God.

And He has asked us to give Him our hearts, not our AI tool accounts.