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Thoughts on AI

Cooper Rispin

A Helpful Resource from Crossway

Should we be afraid of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it is influencing our world, or should we be embracing it? If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably felt unsure or overwhelmed by all the rapid developments.

That said, Large Language Models (LLMs), often referred to as AI, have already been a wonderful asset, but not without their concerns. I am particularly thankful for how quickly tools like Grammarly have improved, helping me with my daily job of writing emails, talks, etc. It’s an example of how these tools have been a great asset to humanity.

If you want help thinking about AI/LLMs for you, your family, and your church, I want to recommend a two-part series from the Christian publisher Crossway, along with books by some of the hosts of these episodes. Below are some brief reflections on the episodes and things that stood out to me.

Technology Through a Biblical Lens

Throughout Scripture, we see humans inventing tools to ease the burdens of the fall and to help fulfil God’s command to rule and subdue the earth.

Genesis 4–11 and the Rise of Technology

In the opening chapters of Genesis, we read of the development of cities, musical instruments, metalwork, herding, and agriculture. These inventions helped people live, work, and flourish. Technology, in many ways, is an outflow of what it means for humans to be made in the image of our creator God, and, as such, it is a good gift from our Father. Things like refrigeration, advanced agriculture, precision medicine, the printing press, and the internet are such helpful things!

But we also see technology misused. At Babel, technological advancement was twisted into rebellion.

The Tower of Babel

In Genesis 11:3–4 we read;

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

Instead of using technology to serve God, they used it to rebel against Him. Some people today are excited at the arrival of the “Singularity” (the point at which computers become more ‘intelligent’ than humanity) as if it could become god‑like—something all‑knowing, all‑powerful, and worthy of trust. We’re seeing the same rejection of God and desire to “make a name for ourselves” as in the Tower of Babel.

The Spiritual Dangers

In the Crossway episodes, one of the most helpful insights was their unpacking of the potential spiritual dangers that LLMs such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and others may pose. These tools were created to serve us, yet we are increasingly seeing them shape us—our thinking, our habits, and even our relationships.

Like any human invention, it can be used in ways that harm us spiritually. It can: undermine human creativity, seek to replace genuine human connections, encourage passivity and distraction, shape our thinking through untrustworthy sources, and replace God’s Word as a source of wisdom.

Lies and Deception

Jesus teaches that the devil works through lies, and LLMs are well-known for portraying false information as if true, and affirming lies. 

…When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

That is said of the devil as the father of lies, deceiving many and distracting them from God. For many, LLMs like ChatGPT are being used to create and promote these lies, deceiving many. The enemy can use any tool—including social media, books, LLMs, and TV—to promote falsehood, distort truth, and convince us that we don’t need God. When we uncritically accept what AI tells us, or when we treat it as a source of wisdom, we risk being shaped by something other than God’s truth, and open ourselves up to the lies of Satan.

This is especially a concern for our children and youth who are increasingly turning to LLMs for advice and relationships, which is being supported by information from places like Reddit rather than the Bible, or people they actually know. If you use Google, it shows up popular searches as you’re typing. CoPilot does the same, and while I was writing this article, I could see the issue at hand: Help me deal with trust issues in my relationship.

Furthermore, these LLMs often give people exactly what they want to hear, much as we are warned about in 2 Timothy 4:3. The podcast also discusses how these LLMs promote the theft of intellectual property and creative works. All of these things need to be seriously considered.

Remembering Who We Are

To understand why AI can be spiritually risky, we must remember who we are and what we were made for.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)  

Humans—not machines—bear God’s image. We were created for:

AI is beginning to replace our creativity, our relationships, and even our reflection on God’s Word, pulling us from our true purpose: relationship with God, with others, and the work He’s given us. I’m especially concerned about “AI girlfriends/boyfriends” and their sexualised nature, like Grok AI, and how they will affect our children. As loneliness and isolation grow, more people will turn to AI for connection and validation. This is a real threat—but also a powerful opportunity for the church to offer genuine, deep human connection, the very thing people are longing for.

Technology Is Never Neutral

Technology has always shaped its users—cars, dishwashers, lightbulbs, and now AI. Increased mobility, for example, has been a blessing for many, allowing my wife and me to easily visit her family in Tasmania from NSW. 

Yet as Phillip Jensen noted in his 2018 Queen’s Birthday Conference, these same advancements have also weakened our sense of belonging to place and people. Many technologies can serve God’s purposes, but AI carries unique risks because it can subtly replace our critical thinking, relying on God’s Word as the ultimate source of wisdom, and stop us from worshipping God through creating music, art, and writing. Used wisely, AI can help us; used uncritically, it can form us in ways that pull us away from God and how he designed us.

Christians Must Stay Engaged

Christians shouldn’t reject AI outright, nor accept it uncritically. We need to stay involved and help shape how AI is used in our communities, churches, and families.

These questions matter:

AI can be a useful tool—as this article was refined with the help of an LLM (CoPilot) after I drafted it —but it must be approached with wisdom, discernment, and faithfulness.

The podcasts mentioned above also caution parents against framing AI as forbidden or dangerous in a way that makes children covet it, or the other extreme of letting them use it thoughtlessly with no boundaries. We need wise engagement.

Our hearts are easily drawn toward self‑reliance, and lies about God and ourselves. Let’s pray and ask the God of all wisdom to give us guidance on this matter for our families, churches, and community.

If you want to think further on this issue, I recommend the Crossway podcasts I listened to that prompted this reflection, and also:

And also, this article and book by Stephen Driscoll;

– Cooper Rispin

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