Do you have an AI faith?

Intelligence has always been held in high esteem.  IQ tests are used to measure it. Honors are given to those whose academic achievement, inventions, breakthroughs, outstanding performances, and creative genius have set them apart from the rest of humanity. If you happen to score in the top 2% of the population, you can join the prestigious Mensa society.  More recent studies done by Harvard psychologist, Howard Gardner suggest that there are multiple types of intelligence. If you possess the right combination, you might win a boatload of money on Jeopardy. Oh, to be intelligent!
 
The emergence of AI has elevated intelligence to a new level, providing the 98% with a way to boost their baseline.  Thanks to Chat GPT, Siri, Gemini and a host of other AI assistants, we can all experience the benefit of being intelligent. We can write papers, solve problems, even compose songs.

However, AI has opened the door to “fake” intelligence. It’s AI gone rogue, but it appears real. For example, a recent Instagram post featured some preachers spreading a gospel that affirms sin. Celebrities on YouTube are making claims about coming to faith in Christ. Pop stars are singing worship songs. They look and sound authentic, but they are AI generated.   What you see or read may not be real; thus creating the need for fact-checking sites like Snopes (which just introduced a “bot” to sort out fact from fiction)  There is even an AI Bible!  Do you have an AI faith? How do you know your faith is real?

Search the Scriptures
In Acts 17, Paul meets up with a group of believers from Berea.  Here’s how they are described:  And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth.   (fyi: “the Scriptures” refer to what we know as the Old Testament) Read the chapter to find out the rest of the story.  How does the response of Thessalonicans compare to the response of the Gospel by people today?
 
Many people have had their faith derailed by spending hours on YouTube, rather than searching the Scriptures by themselves or with a small group.  AI faith allows others to define spiritual reality. It doesn’t take the time to learn, but leaves the discovery of the truth to someone else.

Go “Live”
How were the Bereans introduced to Paul’s teaching?  They heard him “live”.   They didn’t hear it from someone else or interpreted by someone else. They were present.  They had context.  We live in a livestream world.  It is easy to watch – to attend virtually.  But there is no substitute for being in the service, in the atmosphere of the room, hearing the words for yourself.  Like the song says, “there’s nothing like the real thing, baby”

One definition of faith is informed trust. It is belief that is backed by evidence. Belief that has been proven trustworthy, that is lived out authentically and in community.  How were the AI generated videos unmasked? By going to the source.  

• No one actually heard Ed Sheeran sing a worship song “live” (it has since been pulled by YouTube)
• Elon Musk and Mel Gibson did not go public to share how they “risked it all to follow Jesus”.

Real faith is “Berean”. Go, “live” – attend a real congregation with real people. Go to the source:  Study the Bible personally, and with a small group of committed believers.  Not only will you be able to discern, you will have a kind of intelligence, not listed in Howard Garner’s study.  You will have FI: Faith intelligence. And it’s real!