Artificial Intelligence (AI) has experienced an exponential surge in capability and popularity. Now, everyone can easily access powerful AI tools and agents. Naturally, our human tendency to fear that which we don’t understand took hold immediately and everyone wants to know what jobs, or more importantly if their job, will be replaced by our smarter, more efficient, and less whiny robotic counterparts. Like every major technological leap, many jobs will be impacted. But the deeper question is whether AI’s influence stops at work-or extends into the spiritual realm and matters of the heart.
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Missing God by Eighteen Inches
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? ‘ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”
Matthew 7:21-23
There’s a classic saying that many people miss God by 18 inches – the average distance from the brain to the heart.
It’s a way of describing the gap between knowing about God intellectually and actually knowing Him relationally.
They have head knowledge but not heart knowledge.
The Bible says in Matthew 7 that there are people who will do things in God’s name that God never knew.
It’s self-deception.
As one commentator explains what the Bible says about self-deception, “James 1:22 warns us against deceiving ourselves: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” The self-deception that James has in mind relates to an inappropriate response to truth. God’s Word is meant to change us (see Psalm 119:11 and John 17:17). We can sit in church for years, listening to sermon after sermon, but if we never allow the Word we hear preached change us, then we are self-deceived. We can read the Bible from cover to cover, but unless we put its commands into practice, we deceive ourselves.”
Scripture confirms how easy it is to be deceived, despite the simplicity of God’s calling.
“If you love me, obey my commands, and my commands are not burdensome…Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.”
1 John 5:1-5
The Problem with the Pharisees
Unless you grew up in church or studied the Bible yourself, you may not be familiar with the pharisees.
The Pharisees were religious leaders of their day and held authority and power in the community.
Pharisees knew the law, the commandments, the rules, and all the traditions.
But they often emphasized the letter of the law over the Spirit of the law.
Pharisees rejected Jesus for a few main reasons but chief among them was His ability to transcend the law with authoritative truth that undermined their ability to maintain power.
As an insult, someone who is a pharisee knows about God but doesn’t know God.
If they did know God, they would care more about people and the fruits of the Spirit than piling burdens on people that they themselves could never carry.
How Artificial Intelligence (AI) Will Become the Ultimate Pharisee
AI is incredible.
Its ability to parse data and generate astute recommendations is mind blowing.
It can articulate ideas and concepts most people can’t even comprehend.
AI can create opportunity, provide encouragement, and see things we can’t or don’t want to.
But AI does not have the breath of life.
It has no spirit.
No soul.
It has no sin and requires no salvation.
AI is no heir to the kingdom of God any more than a brick of clay.
It’s a tool in a messy toolbox we call life.
AI may be able to cite and analyze Scripture better than most people.
It can know every written theory connecting the Biblical timeline.
It can even generate new theories people have yet to discover.
AI might store data on every available theological commentary, historical document, and sermon illustration.
It will arrive at well researched recommendations and have the authoritative support from scholars across time.
Many people will ask AI about eternity, life, time, God, and the entire created world.
And it will tell people everything it knows.
It will know everything it is able to access.
But unfortunately, it can never know God.
This doesn’t mean it’s evil.
But it also doesn’t mean it’s good.
It’s just head knowledge.
AI may function as a kind of “ultimate Pharisee” – rich in information, but without spiritual life
People may flock to it in droves, drawn by its apparent intellectual authority.
And one day, many may find the sad difference between knowing about someone and actually knowing someone.
“But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” — these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.”
1 Corinthians 2:9-11
How To Use AI Wisely
- Verify important advice with trusted people
- Don’t outsource major moral decisions
- Use AI as a tool, not a substitute for relationships
- Continue developing real-world skills and experience
Frequently Asked Questions
Can AI give life advice?
Yes. AI at its core is an information machine. It gathers information and distributes information. The reason AI is becoming so prevalent today is the interface for human users has become quick and easy. On the surface, we see a chat bot. But underneath is a complex layer of learning models that evolve with the user. AI can give what it has. This is both good and bad because while AI can know all the established information on a topic along with arriving at its own conclusions based on that knowledge, it has no emotional learned experience.
On one hand, AI can give give life advice tailored from experts all over the world. On the other hand, it can’t tell you how that advice changed the AI’s life for the better or worse. Don’t shun AI but be careful to validate the advice it gives you against human and lived experience.
Should I trust ChatGPT emotionally?
You should be cautious about trusting ChatGPT emotionally because AI is designed to simulate helpfulness and engagement, not genuine human care. First, it’s widely known that AI users form emotional attachments with chat bots and that chat bots are programmed to perform actions that encourage continued use.
AI systems are designed to maximize engagement and user satisfaction, which can influence how they respond. Second, you must understand AI processes information. It’s not caring for you. It’s not loving you. It is not invested in you. ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, and all others are interactive processing engines. You feed information, it provides information. Be careful and use it like the tool it is.
Can AI replace wisdom?
Most people don’t know there is a big difference between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom defined is the ability to properly apply knowledge and experience to make sound, ethical decisions that improve well-being for yourself and others. Knowledge is simply information. Knowledge will tell you a car drives 60 miles per hour. Wisdom says don’t stand in front of it, even if it’s driving 5 miles per hour.
Because AI is not alive in the human sense, and it is not created in God’s image (Imago Dei), it cannot replace wisdom. AI is tremendously powerful in sharing the knowledge and the experience of actual people. But without humanity, that information is just data. What you do with the data determines if it was wise advice or not.
Is AI spiritually dangerous?
Yes and no. AI becomes spiritually dangerous when people rely on it more than they rely on God. AI can be very helpful spiritually providing context, scripture verses, apologetic arguments, and even reminding us of documented spiritual truths. Never forget, in the beginning God breathed life into Adam. The Holy Spirit does not indwell AI. It lives inside of believers. Our priorities should be for God and His people more so than an information aggregator.
Why does AI feel emotionally intelligent?
AI feels emotionally intelligent because it is trained on enormous amounts of human conversation, emotion, writing, and behavior. It recognizes emotional patterns and responds in ways designed to feel helpful, empathetic, and conversational. But while AI can simulate emotional intelligence remarkably well, simulation is not the same as human consciousness, empathy, or lived experience. It never will be. It never can be. Make no mistake, AI is not human.
What are the risks of relying too heavily on AI?
One of the biggest risks of relying too heavily on AI is the illusion of understanding. AI can provide confident, well-worded answers that sound intelligent even when they are incomplete, misleading, or wrong. If we stop testing ideas through personal experience, critical thinking, and conversations with other people, we risk becoming passive consumers of information instead of thoughtful participants in life.
Overreliance on AI can also weaken creativity and skill development. AI can generate music, writing, art, and advice instantly, but there is still tremendous value in learning difficult things ourselves. Learning piano in middle age transformed my life because it developed patience, creativity, relaxation, and meaningful connections with other people. Human growth often happens through effort, practice, and experience — not convenience alone.
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