RaShan Frost is the director of research at ERLC, with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). According to him, new technology has always been used to spread the gospel. Without the printing press there would have been no Reformation. The automobile has allowed many people to gather in church communities several miles away. The internet globalized the spread of the gospel.
Now, along comes artificial intelligence. Frost says that time will tell how that will be leveraged, but Southern Baptists want to be at the center of the answer.
“With the emergence of A.I. on a more practical level, we want to be able to speak into specific issues in the life of our Southern Baptists and all Christians in particular,” says Frost.
To that end, the ERLC has produced a new church guide to help the church adapt to life in the age of artificial intelligence.
“To provide a theological framework, an ethical framework, to look at A.I. and also to provide practical scenarios in how to deal with certain issues from a pastoral response,” states Frost.
The “Foreword” of the guide states that the prevalence of A.I. over the last several years transformed the way people perceive relationships, education, work, warfare, and the understanding of being human. The framework that is provided is “not only necessary but also required for Christians to think through how A.I., as a technological marvel, will shape human life and, subsequently, the course of human history.”
The guide, called The Work of our Hands, offers practical scenarios on the use of A.I., from sermon prep for pastors to counseling alternatives to language translation.
“A.I. is a tool. The question is, how are we using the tool as that tool shapes us in the way we see the world?” asks Frost.
Frost says technology is not neutral. It will shape the way people view the world. The SBC wants it to be in a positive direction that supports the spread of the gospel.
“We're going to use technology to help make something of this world that God created — this good world. It is also impacted by sin,” says Frost.
