“He lacks a soul”: why ChatGPT will not replace priests or rabbis

Among those who write SermonsThere is fascination and some concern with the growing capabilities of artificial intelligence programs such as ChatGPT. So far, the consensus among clergy is that yes, these programs can write sermons. Moderately convincingBut they cannot duplicate the passion of a true preacher.

They lack a soul, I don’t know how else to say it – he explained. Herschel YorkA pastor in Kentucky who is also dean of the School of Theology and professor of Christian preaching at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Sermons are meant to be the focus of worship and are often the best weekly opportunity for religious leaders to engage their congregations in theological and moral guidance.

York admits that some lazy clergy may be tempted to use AI for this purpose, “but not great teachers, those who love to preach, those who love their people.”

Rabbi from New York Joshua Franklinrecently told his congregation at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons that he was going to give a plagiarized sermon on topics such as trust, vulnerability and forgiveness.

Finally, he asked the believers to guess who wrote it. When they were confused, he revealed that he was the author of ChatGPT, after using the program to write a 1,000-word sermon related to his weekly Torah lesson.

“Now they’re clapping…I’m scared to death”Franklin commented as several congregants applauded. “I thought the trucks would go to rabbis long before we lost our jobs to AI.”

“ChatGPT might sound really smart, but the question is: You can be compassionate And that, at least not yet. It can’t be,” Franklin added. He said that artificial intelligence has yet to develop empathy and love, and that it cannot create society and human relationships.

“This is what unites us,” the rabbi concluded.

Rachel KeefeThe pastor of the Living Table United Church of Christ in Minneapolis conducted an experiment similar to Franklin’s. He published a short essay in his online pastoral notes in January on how to take care of mental health amid the stress of the holiday season.

was Good but a bit blandFinally, Keefe revealed that the essay was written using ChatGPT, not himself.

“While the facts are correct, something deeper is missing,” he wrote. “AI doesn’t understand community and inclusion and how important these things are to building a church.”

Several members of the congregation answered him with similar words.

“It’s not terrible, but yes, I agree. Pretty generic and a little creepy,” wrote Douglas Federhart. “I prefer what you write. It comes from a truly living being, with a big brain and a compassionate, beating heart.”

Todd BrewerNew Testament scholar and managing editor of a Christian website mocking In December, he wrote about his own experiment: he asked ChatGPT to write him a Christmas sermon.

He was very specific: he asked for a sermon “based on Lucas’s nativity story, with quotes from Karl Barth, Martin Luther, Irenaeus Lionel and Barack Obama.”

Brewer wrote that he was “unprepared” when ChatGPT responded with a performance that met his criteria and was “better than some of the Christmas sermons I’ve heard over the years.”

“AI seems to understand what makes the birth of Jesus a real good story,” Brewer added.

However, ChatGPT preaching “Human warmth is missing”, write. “The preaching of artificial intelligence cannot convincingly empathize with the human predicament.”

Mike GlennThe 32-year-old senior pastor of Brentwood Baptist Church in Tennessee wrote a blog post in January after a computer-savvy assistant joked that Glenn AI software could replace him.

“I don’t think so,” Glenn wrote. “AI will never be able to preach a decent sermon. why because The gospel is more than words. This is evidence of a changed life. “

“When listening to a sermon, what the congregation is looking for is evidence that the pastor was with Jesus,” Glenn added. “AI will always have to take other people’s words literally… It will never be a sermon that convinces someone to come and follow Jesus.”

Who also decided to experiment with online essay was Rev. Russell MooreFormer head of public policy for the Southern Baptist Convention and now editor-in-chief of the Evangelical Journal. Christianity Today (Christianity Today). He confided to his readers that his first sermon, delivered at age 12, was a well-intentioned disaster.

He confided to his readers that his first sermon, delivered at age 12, was a well-intentioned disaster.

“Preaching requires a person who knows the text and can convey it to the people, but it is not just about conveying information,” Moore wrote. “When we hear the word preached, we hear not only the word of God, but the word of God.”

“Life-changing news has to be delivered personally,” he added. “A chatbot can investigate. A chatbot can type. Maybe a chatbot can even pray, but A chatbot can’t preach.”

The Southern Baptist chapter, formerly chaired by Moore, the Commission on Religious Liberty and Ethics, has been monitoring the development of artificial intelligence for several years under the direction of Jason Thacker, its research chair in technology ethics.

He shares the view that “wise and virtuous pastors” will not allow new technology to prevent them from being personally immersed in their sermon writing. “But I can also see it being used improperly or unethically,” he added.

“Some young cattlemen may become too dependent on these machines.… and don’t see the downsides of these tools,” Thacker told the news agency. PA. “A lot of pastors are overwhelmed, tired, full of anxiety…you can see why a pastor might say, ‘I can’t do all the things I need to do,’ and start projecting ideas onto himself.”

herschel york A pastor and teacher in Kentucky argued that some of the best sermons contain elements of heartache.

“Artificial intelligence can mimic this to some extent, but I don’t think I can convey the same feeling of suffering, sorrow and pain as a person“, he claimed. “It comes from the heart and soul, that’s what great preachers have, and I don’t think you can get that by proxy.”

(Courtesy of AP)

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