Justin R. Lester argues AI isn't demonic or the mark of the beast. He says humans created it using God-given creativity, it's a neutral tool, and churches can use it to spread the gospel.
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Well, hey, everyone, it's Justin. Welcome back to my YouTube channel. Thank you guys for being so faithful to be a part of our channel. And thank you for being a part of this as well. As you guys know, my goal is to talk about scripture tech, artificial intelligence. And you guys see our podcast Working from Home too. I wanted to come on here and if you haven't already, please be sure to hit that like and that subscribe button and be sure to follow along and turn on notifications because we want to make sure we give you the best information possible. One of the areas that I love engaging is debunking myths that I feel are just foolish. And we live in this world nowadays where a lot of preaching, a lot of teaching is now getting centered on AI, especially demonizing artificial intelligence. What I've learned in my career is that that which we don't understand, we demonize. And whether that's artificial intelligence or whether that's music, whether that's dress will demonize it. So if a woman comes to church wearing a certain thing in church, she's Jezebel, because you've never studied Jezebel. If a man comes to church and he wants to do certain stuff, he's Samson, because you never studied Samson. Understanding the scriptures, understanding what's going on is a lot different from us making up some precondition, contrived notions of something, applying it to something we don't understand. That's what we don't understand. We demonize. And now another place where I'm personally passionate about that, we've done the very same thing is artificial intelligence. If you haven't, go follow my YouTube, my Instagram, and TikTok of that tech pastor. And you see my passion for artificial intelligence. And so I want to try to answer the question today, is artificial intelligence demonic? I've seen some Facebook statuses and some things that are out there that are talking about how it's the mark of the beast, this is the telling that Jesus is coming back again. Okay, one, AI has been around since 1919, right? This stuff has been around. There was the first AI conference that was at Dartmouth back in the 60s and back, sorry, back in the 80s, and then now it's just more accessible to everyone. So AI has been around for years and it sparked this debate recently because it's become more accessible, it's become cheaper to be more accessible by everyone. And now all of a sudden, it's a tool of the Antichrist. We give Satan way too much credit. So Satan does not deserve the credit for artificial intelligence at all. I think it's crucial we approach this with wisdom and take scripture to understand it. So let's dive into why I want to argue it is not demonic. It is not a mark of the end times. It is not a mark of the beast. It is not a mark of the second coming of Jesus. The mark of the second coming of Jesus is what Jesus has told us. The mark of the second coming of Jesus. The book of Revelation is the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus has literally told us what the end times looks like. And it's not artificial intelligence. We want Jesus to come back so bad, but yet none of us want to die. We want to only live once. So live your life like crazy. But then we're all just fearful of Jesus coming back. The coming of Jesus. The second coming of Jesus is actually really amazing. It's joy filled. So here's, here's four reasons I want to argue that AI is not demonic. Number one, AI is a technology that was created by human beings. God has endowed every single one of us with the ability to create and innovate. And AI is a product of this God given creativity and ingenuity. So is the creation of the car demonic? Right. Is the creation of computers demonic? Is the building of homes demonic? No. Your children, are they. Because it's something that we created. It's a testament to the remarkable potential of the human mind which was created to reflect God's image. It goes back to Genesis, chapter 1, verse 26. Then God said, let us make mankind in our own image and God's likeness so that they'll rule over the fish, to see the birds of the sky, the livestock and the wild animals. If we are fearful of what we've created, it's because we're really fearful of ourselves and don't trust the gift of God inside of us. So we made it. Number two, AI is a tool. And tools can be used for good or evil. What you put into AI is what you receive. So if you put bad things in, you're going to get bad things out. You put good things in, you get good things out. Like any tools, it's beneficial or it can be harmful, depending on how we use it. If we use it the wrong way, it could be wrong. If we use it the right way, it can be used for our good. Number three, it should not be equated with the mark of the beast. Like I want to go to the mark of the beast. Text Revelations 13 through 13 16, 17 says this. It's also forced on all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave to receive a mark on their right hands or their foreheads. So they cannot buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name. The mark of the beast is a symbolic representation of our allegiance to the Antichrist system and rejection of God's authority and a willful embrace of evil. AI is just a computer program. I want to be really clear here. The mark of the beast is a willful allegiance to the rejection of the authority of Christ and a willful embrace of evil. It's not inherently good or evil is something that we, we created people of varying beliefs, of varying allegiances and algorithms that we've created to assist us to live our lives. It is not the mark of the beast. It's just a technology. And lastly, AI can be a powerful tool to advance the gospel. We have to be wise stewards of our resources and our opportunities. AI has the ability to revolutionize fields, to revolutionize our churches, to automate our churches, to let small churches have extra staff members on their team without having to hire more people. By embracing and using this responsibly, we can effectively share the love of the lord Jesus. Listen, First Corinthians 9:22 puts it like this. Jesus Christ has become all things to all people, so that by all possible means we may save some. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means we might save some. So it's important to be diligent and vigilant about misusing technology. But to assign demonic terms to tech and to demonic terms to AI is just wrong. It's a tool created by human beings. And like any tool, it can be used for good or evil. So we have to be the ones as Christians, as good discerners, how we're going to use this technology and any other technology to either allow the world to use it or we use it to spread the spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus. Why I'll leave you with this. Ephesians 2, verse number 10. For we are God's handiwork, created by the Lord Jesus Christ to do good works, the works God has prepared in advance for us to do. God ain't surprised. Don't you be surprised. And don't give the devil that much credit. For more content like this, be sure to like and subscribe. Follow along the journey and I'd love to hear about your thoughts about artificial intelligence in the comments below. It's not demonic. Go have some fun with it. God bless you.
