In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant strides in generating human-like text, leading to its application in various fields. Sermons have not been immune, as preachers have experimented with this new technology.
Many of us have been tempted to save time by having a computer produce our sermons for us. The results may seem acceptable, and anecdotal accounts have circulated about how AI sermons have been well received. However, there are several drawbacks to relying on machine-generated sermons.
One of the most significant limitations is the lack of a personal perspective, which can lead to sermons that feel cold and detached. This is hardly surprising, given how these systems work. In brief, a generative AI system is trained on many billions of words of text. This results in a language model which can predict the probability of different word combinations. So, the model specifies that the phrase ‘he is the fastest man in the…’ is more likely to be completed with the word ‘world’ than the word ‘kitchen.’ As a result, AI can produce perfectly correct grammar and plausible sounding text. The problem is that using the words is not the same as living the reality.
Imagine if, from the moment of your birth, you had been locked in a small windowless room with no human contact. (We will skip over the details of how you survived.) Instead of living a normal life, you had access to all the books in the world. (Again, we ignore the question of how you learned to read.) How much of reality would you understand? It seems doubtful that you would truly know what sunshine was – or ice cream, tennis, jealousy or love. You would know the words and could use them. But there would be no genuine experience.
That is exactly the situation with writing produced by AI. The words might make sense but are vacuous. The best sermons are crafted by religious leaders who draw on their own lives, emotions, and a deep understanding of humanity. They might not always include personal testimony, but when the preacher speaks of faith, hope, fear, sin, God or salvation, there is a genuineness that underlies everything that is said. It is this authenticity that allows a congregation to empathise with a sermon at a deep level.
Moreover, sermons often address specific contexts and congregational needs, which AI cannot comprehend. A preacher considers these factors, crafting sermons with relevant examples and stories. AI, lacking this contextual awareness, produces generic sermons that may not connect with the audience’s experiences or concerns – or, worse, may connect with them in an entirely inappropriate manner.
Additionally, AI struggles with religious texts, lacking the nuanced understanding that humans inspired by the Holy Spirit, possess. This can result in misinterpretations and theologically dubious messages.
There are other limitations as well. Sermons often address the specific situation and context. What kind of place is the church in? Who is in the congregation? Are there particular local or national issues that need to be tackled? Knowing these things, a good preacher will prayerfully consider what God might be saying to these people at this time. They will then mould the sermon with appropriate examples, stories or illustrations. AI systems have no contextual information, resulting in sermons that fail to relate the Christian good news to people’s experience and concerns.
AI-generated sermons could also lead to a homogenization of messages. With AI drawing from similar sources, there’s a risk that sermons across different congregations could become indistinguishable from one another, losing the unique perspectives and teachings that individual preachers bring to their communities.
It is not just the context that is a problem for AI. Religious texts can be a stumbling block as well. AI algorithms are trained on vast datasets, but they lack the nuanced understanding of the Scriptures that humans possess – especially when they are inspired by the Holy Spirit. This can lead to misinterpretations, potentially conveying messages that are out of context or theologically incorrect.
To generate sermons, AI systems draw on existing sources, which causes a number of further problems. There are legal issues around plagiarism and copyright as the original authors are unlikely to have had the opportunity to give permission for their words to be used. Also, AI may not be able to distinguish between sources that have been written by theological experts, those that are the work of amateurs, and those that are heretical or not even produced by practising Christians at all. In cases like these, it is unclear who is accountable for the content. If a sermon generated by AI causes offense or harm, it’s difficult to determine responsibility.
AI has the potential to assist in many aspects of life. The technology is revolutionising healthcare by assisting in medical diagnosis and developing new treatments. It is being used in environmental conservation to monitor wildlife, combat poaching and optimise energy usage. The AI language systems of the kind that that create sermons can even have their benefits. For example, they can help people with dyslexia to communicate more confidently by making spelling, grammar and stylistic corrections to their writing. However, it is clear that AI-generated sermons come with real drawbacks and limitations. It is, therefore, crucial for religious communities to weigh these concerns against the benefits that AI brings and decide what role AI should play in their spiritual lives.
Ultimately we must allow God to be God. The Psalmist writes: ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’ (Psalm 19.1), reminding us that every part of creation can speak of God. In Numbers 22, we read how the LORD opens the mouth of a donkey so that it can talk to Balaam. If a human being can hear God’s Word through an animal, we should not rule out the possibility of God using AI sermons for His purposes. God is alive and active in our world. So anecdotes about inspiring AI sermons might contain more than a grain of truth. However, we preachers would be foolish to hand over the responsibility of creating sermons to AI. The dangers are too great.
This article is a edited version. The original was commissioned by Preach Magazine and will be available to read in full in their September 2024 edition, which focuses on Artificial Intelligence. Click here for details of Preach Magazine.