UNITED STATES (MNN) — New findings from Barna Research show: 48 percent of practicing Christians Let’s entrust their spiritual growth to artificial intelligence. One in three U.S. adults say they trust AI as much as their pastor’s guidance.
keys to kids ministryGreg Yoder calls this finding a bad sign. “This basically means that people are relying on AI to guide them instead of reading the Bible,” he explains.
“AI should not be used as a guide” [for] Your spiritual walk with Christ. You cannot be spiritually nourished unless you read the Bible, pray to Christ, and pray to God. ”
According to Barna, the willingness to trust AI is accompanied by some degree of concern. For example, more than 80% of Christians surveyed are concerned that AI could misinterpret the words of the Bible.
Ambivalence toward AI extends from Christian survey respondents to organizations like Keys for Kids Ministries.
(AI photo created by ChatGPT)
“Some of our staff hate it, and some of our staff love it,” Yoder says.
“At Keys for Kids Ministries, we try to use AI thoughtfully, biblically, and of course, carefully. We don’t simply embrace it because it’s new or reject it because it’s unfamiliar.”
The key is to view AI as a tool rather than an end solution.
“One of my concerns is that Christians could go to extremes, either blindly accepting technology without any guidance, or rejecting technology entirely because they don’t understand it,” Yoder says.
“We’ve seen how it can help us. It really helps fine-tune graphics, and it can help troubleshoot technology issues. But it can’t and should never replace humans. We’d never use it to create devotional content.”
For now, Keys for Kids Ministries will continue to help children, teens, and families come to know Jesus and grow in their faith. “If AI can help us accomplish that without replacing humans, the Holy Spirit, and the Gospel, then we will probably use it,” Yoder says.
“AI is a tool, and the gospel is our mission. Technology changes, but the truth remains the same. AI aids missionary work, but it should not replace missionary relationships.”
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Header image is a representative stock photo provided by Jo Lin/Unsplash.
