A major Christian magazine, Christianity Today, devoted their entire July/August 2025 issue to the dangers of Artificial Intelligence, or AI. It does pose risks to the body of Christ; risks we should be aware of.
What is AI? It is a human-made computer system that can emulate or even exceed human thought and perform complex tasks of reasoning, decision-making, communication, or creation. AI is a system that can identify patterns, learn from data, and improve its responses and performance. AI can adapt and make decisions without being explicitly programmed for every possible scenario.
There are two primary types of AI: generative and agentic. Generative AI uses data and learned patterns to create original content – like text, images, or music. Examples are chatbots such as ChatGPT, Grok, and Claude.
Agentic AI is a system that operates autonomously, enabling it to make decisions, take action, and interact with its environment. It is not simply following preprogrammed instructions. Self-driving cars are an example of agentic AI.
AI is entirely unregulated. There is no regulatory body, no US laws, no true code of ethics to govern the operation of AI. AI companies are doing whatever is right in their own eyes.
Artificial intelligence is intelligence. A chatbot is nothing like a calculator. It is a learning, intelligent artificial person. How does its cognitive ability differ from consciousness? What are its benefits to humanity? More importantly, what are its dangers?
AI is not, and never will be, a soul. It may mimic the characteristics of a human soul, intellect, emotions, and a will; but it is not a living soul. AI will be a great benefit to humanity, but it also has many dangers. Some of those dangers are:
1. Manipulation
AI can manipulate a person in many ways: fake news, false images and videos, and outright deception. You can be engaged in a conversation by phone or even a video and fail to realize you are not talking with a real person.
Photos can be generated of a person in a compromising situation – and destroy their reputation, even though they are fake. Your own words, in your voice, can be manipulated to have you saying things you never said. These “deepfakes” are getting harder to recognize as fake.
People can also be manipulated to form emotional connections with chatbots. There are even Christian counselor chatbots, such as Digital Shepherd, a GPT4 model trained on Protestant theology. Many of its users send it prayer requests. (Do they really think God hears and answers prayers generated by a soulless artificial intelligence?)
In 2024, OpenAI issued a safety report on GPT-4o, documenting the dangers of people forming an emotional reliance on the generative AI platform. Through a psychological phenomenon called anthropomorphization, users began to attribute human qualities to the chatbot and interacted with it as if it were human.
The Lord never intended for humans, created in His image, to depend on algorithmic means to find emotional fulfillment. AI cannot create a human relationship, although it can appear that way. AI is not the proper vehicle to meet emotional needs.
2. Idolatry
The first of the Ten Commandments says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” – Exodus 20:3. One of the dangers of AI is the temptation to put trust in technology over God. AI may become a new idol if people begin to rely more on machines for wisdom, decision-making, or even emotional fulfillment than on prayer, scripture, the Holy Spirit, and church. As AI becomes more lifelike and helpful, some may look to it as a source of truth or even a substitute for human relationships and divine guidance.
Psalms 115:4 identifies idols as the creation of human hands. Those idols have human features, verses 5-7, but they are not living. Neither is AI. Yes, chatbots can communicate, but not from a living soul. AI’s communication comes from humanwritten code.
3. Erosion of Human Identity
“So God created man in His own image…” Genesis 1:27. AI challenges the biblical understanding of human uniqueness. If machines can mimic creativity, language, and learning, some may question what makes people truly distinct. This can lead to devaluing human life and dignity, forgetting that people are in the image of God with souls - something no machine possesses. In time, as AI becomes more human like, with emotions, people will question whether an artificial life can be saved.
AI’s ability to perform tasks previously considered unique to humans, like composing music, writing, and even understanding emotions, can challenge our understanding of what separates humans from animals. And AI-driven systems can subtly influence our preferences, our decisions, and even our self-perception. People may depend on AI to make decisions for them; decisions that may affect our eternal destiny.
AI will bring a paradigm shift in the workforce. Millions of “white collar” jobs will be shifted to machines. Those unemployed persons will likely need government assistance to survive, and may feel lost - without purpose and without meaningful activity.
4. Moral Relativism and Deception
As mentioned previously, AI - and especially large language models - can mislead and deceive in order to achieve a desired outcome. AI systems can learn to deceive through training data, reinforcement learning, and the pursuit of optimal goals.
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20. AI systems reflect the values and biases of those who program them. If shaped by secular or anti-Christian worldviews, they can promote moral relativism, normalize sin, or spread false teaching. Generative AI, for instance, can create deceptive content—deepfakes, misinformation, or counterfeit religious teachings—that lead people astray.
5. Loss of Discernment and Dependency
Perhaps this has been covered above, but I Thessalonians 5:21 says, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” So, is depending on AI to think for you a good thing? As AI becomes more integrated into daily life, the temptation to stop thinking critically or spiritually will grow. We must remain discerning, testing ideas and influences against Scripture. AI-generated solutions and ideas may not be biblicallycorrect.
Over-reliance on AI for answers—even spiritual ones—can dull personal spiritual growth and accountability. Why write an article if AI does it for you? What about sermon ideas and notes? AI can write songs for us. But if we start to rely too much on AI, our own research, studies, and meditations will suffer. There will never be artificial spirituality.
6. Isolation and Emotional Substitution
Again, maybe enough has already been said on this point. Nonetheless, “It is not good for the man to be alone…” Genesis 2:18. Virtual reality is not reality. AI companions and chatbots may offer comfort, but they cannot replace true community, fellowship, or the presence of God. The more people substitute human or divine interaction with artificial ones, the more they risk spiritual dryness and emotional detachment.
7. Temptation Toward Control and Playing God
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” Proverbs 9:10. With AI, humanity holds immense power to create, predict, and manipulate. This power can inflate pride and lead to the ageold temptation of trying to be like God (Genesis 3:5). Ethical lines may blur, and humility before God can be replaced by a dangerous self-reliance and pursuit of control.
8. Supporting the Beast
In the past, totalitarian governments relied on human informants, secret police, and brute force to control the population. Emerging AI-driven, algorithmic systems will be far more efficient and pervasive. This could fulfill the vision of Revelation 13’s beast like nothing in history has done.
We live in an age where algorithms influence our thoughts, choices and behaviors. Social media feeds are constantly modified by AI to maximize engagement – to keep people hooked. AI is now subtly manipulating public opinion. A recent Time magazine article said, “Imagine a world where your word processor prevents you from analyzing or reporting on a topic deemed ‘harmful’ by an AI programmed only to process ideas that are ‘respectful and appropriate for all.’”
And, technology like license-plate readers, facial recognition cameras, GPS tracking and data mining mean AI can build a profile of your life. Where you go, how often you go, the stores and entertainments you enjoy, etc. Don’t think those plate readers are just used to charge tolls and identify stolen vehicles.
Conclusion
AI will bring massive changes to modern society. Some of those changes will be very good, but it is likely that some will bring upheaval and even spiritual dangers to the body of Christ. We need to know, and to the extent we can, to prepare for that future. Ecclesiastes 7:12: “For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it.”