Precisely five decades ago, in New York City, the first-ever mobile phone call was made. The innovative engineers who designed the system would have had no idea of the significant impact such technology would have around the world. It would be a monumental task to attempt to fully describe how far wireless communications have come since that time and the vast array of opportunities it has and continues to provide in transforming the way we; live, work, study and even preach.
There now seems to be another technology with an equally pervasive potential, a technology that is fast finding its way into every part of human life. Even someone who only knows a little about Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be aware of the concerns about its potential negative impact. It is fair to say, AI probably has the potential to cause more harm to humanity than any technology or system ever designed by man. The very name “Artificial Intelligence” tells of what could happen when a system is designed with the capacity and capability to learn, adapt and produce outcomes that can only leave the simple at heart baffled. Nevertheless, for centuries, technology and innovation have not only played a crucial role in propagating the gospel but also coming in a timely way.
The first to mention was during the time of Martin Luther and the reformation move he led. The breaking away from a doctrine which left people in utter darkness, was challenged by a simple but profound revelation from the book of Romans chapter 1:16-17 – “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
The just did live by faith, and soon Martin Luther began to write based on this revelation to challenge the spiritual and moral error of his day. However, what made it possible for his writings to gain widespread distribution was the invention of the printing press. It was now possible to spread the new understanding premised on the Word of God at a time known as the “dark ages”. This was revolutionary development which advanced biblical teaching.
Fast forward to March 1954, during one of Billy Graham’s crusades in London. Some earnest brethren seeking the Word of God to reach people across the United Kingdom received inspiration to relay the preaching at the crusade venue to hundreds of gathering centres in cities and towns across the country via the wired telecommunication network. Overnight, divine inspiration met technology to enable what was seen to be a truly novel way to share the gospel. It was reported an extra half a million people to those on the crusade ground heard the Word of God as a result of the ingenuity.
Fast forward again to 2023, and we find ourselves with another opportunity to take the gospel across barriers that would otherwise have prevented an increase of the Word of God in people’s hearts. Barriers such as illiteracy, limit an estimated 775 million people across the world from being able to read a bible in their language. AI can play a significant and expeditious role in advancing text-to-speech applications, that quickly train language models which read out the bible to those who cannot read. Further innovation in AI could also enable the creation of animation tools, that allow Sunday school teachers to bring life to their teachings to children. With a few computer clicks, these teachers could create animated stories of bible characters to reflect the message they want to pass across. Another idea could be to develop AI-driven bible study tools, trained with contextual understanding that offer additional biblical references to aid our study of the Word of God. All these and many more could be ways to advance the Word of God in our own time using AI. The question for those who seek the fulfilment of Christ’s command to make disciples of all nations should be, “Is there a way AI could be used to bring the Word of God to people?”
Let us always remember, “To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled”. Titus 1:15.
A great opportunity may well be waiting to be seized upon for the glory of God.
God bless you
Mystery of The Gospel 
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