A committee of the World Evangelical Alliance General Assembly on Wednesday morning urged the Church to use artificial intelligence with a clearly biblical ethics, positioning it as a human-forming technology that demands theological clarity, pastoral care, and practical safeguards.
Moderated by AI and Faith Director Brenda Ng, the session was also attended by ethicist and minister Sam D. Kim. Quintin McGrath, advisor and researcher at AI and Faith. Chris Watkin, Associate Professor, Monash University. and Gargantua Group CEO Nick Kim. The discussion outlined the risks and opportunities for the Christian witness as AI becomes integrated into everyday life, ministry, and the economy.
McGrath began by noting the wide range of views within evangelicals, from those who see generative AI as a “gift of God” to those who see it as a threat, and proposed a middle path of “responsible, ethical, and biblical AI.”
He identified four pressure points that required Christian response. The collapse of trust through hallucinations, deepfakes and opacity. Economic justice concerns about the digital divide and job disruption. Environmental management amid mass use of energy, water, and materials with AI. In each, he said, there is a corresponding opportunity for the Church to strengthen human agency, deepen dependence on God’s wisdom, advocate for the vulnerable, and model care for creation.
A Trust Framework for Responsible and Faith-Based Use of AI
Mr McGrath laid out the ‘how’ and outlined a proposed ‘Trust Framework’ for ministries considering AI implementation. Relational influence (does it strengthen specific relationships?). Utility and justice (does it fairly meet real human needs without fostering unhealthy dependence?). Sustainability and stewardship (is it being pursued with long-term responsibility for creation?). Transparency and accountability (are the uses of AI declared, understandable and controllable?).
He recommended building on internationally recognized AI standards where possible, “redeeming” widely accepted benchmarks for use in the church, and combining ethical reflection with compliance checks and independent verification. “We have to move from statements to action,” he said. “Ethics must be both theological and practical.”
The church must view AI through the lens of the Biblical story
Watkin urged the church to evaluate AI through the Bible’s overarching storyline (creation, fall, salvation, and new creation) rather than primarily from a political or commercial perspective. “AI is about people,” he said, emphasizing the people building the systems, the people whose data will be used, the communities hosting the data centers, and the people deploying the tools.
“An emphasis on putting people first is essential to a faithful Christian ethic,” Watkin said. He argued that Christians would be “selling out the Bible” if they limited their analysis of AI to policy and culture. Instead, believers need to bring the “totality of divine counsel” to bear on how intelligence and responsibility are understood in the age of algorithms.
Ethicist urges Christians to offer salvation to technological destruction
Sam D. Kim, an ethicist and pastor from Manhattan, offered a theological reflection on what he calls the rhythm of “destruction and repair” that runs through the Bible and human history. From the Tower of Babel to the invention of the printing press, he said, moments of turmoil have always been accompanied by both judgment and rebirth, scattering humanity but paving the way to salvation.
“In the context of AI, we are once again at a moment of rupture,” Kim said. “It brings pain and consequences, but it also offers the possibility of repair if approached through the Gospel.” He compared AI to the excesses of Babel, noting that technological ambitions can distort humanity’s desire for autonomy and control. But like the printing press, an innovation that once revolutionized access to the Bible, AI, when guided by divine wisdom, has the potential to accelerate the spread of truth and justice.
Kim warned against a purely utilitarian approach that treats AI as a neutral tool. Instead, I sought spiritual insight into how emerging technologies shape human formation and discipleship. “The lordship of Christ means not only being a disciple, but being Lord,” he said. “How we are shaped by this new technology—how it shapes our imagination, our empathy, and our sense of mission—is at the heart of this conversation.”
He noted that the ability of AI to access and process biblical data “in seconds more than any theologian or biblical scholar” raises serious questions about the nature of revelation, knowledge, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. “If the Word became flesh, then our discipleship must remain incarnational. The incarnation, not disembodied knowledge, must guide how we teach, lead, and follow Christ in a world shaped by AI,” Kim said.
Kim framed the church’s response as a test of its ability to extend a helping hand rather than retreat in fear. “Whether you have a dystopian view or a utopian view, destruction with repair is always at the heart of the gospel story,” he said. “This is not a time for retreat, but for faithful innovation guided by Scripture and prayer.”
Engineers warn that AI will outsource human intelligence and reshape human relationships
Nick Kim, an engineer who worked in Google’s engineering department before starting his own AI consulting firm, spoke from a practitioner’s perspective about how technology is rapidly transforming society. He said AI is “critically different” from previous inventions because it outsources humanity’s most distinctive function, intelligence, to machines that can learn and self-improve.
“Most technologies make life easier, but they don’t redefine what it means to be human,” he said. “Cars don’t grow and they don’t think. But AI creates intelligence that can create more intelligence. This is a seismic shift.” He explained that the exponential growth of machine learning systems will reshape all areas of society, including business, education, governance, communications, and even outreach.
For the church, he said, this is both an opportunity and a risk. “We can’t afford to get left behind,” Kim warned. “If this is the next platform through which culture and decision-making will flow, the church must lead with wisdom and ensure that this powerful tool is used for the benefit of God’s kingdom, not for manipulation or exploitation.”
He emphasized the urgent need to develop Christian engineers, ethicists, and pastors who can think biblically about design, data, and human dignity. “This is not just a policy issue, it’s a theological issue,” Kim said. “The question is not whether the church will use AI, but whether it will use it faithfully.”
As AI increasingly mediates communication between people, we need to take seriously the hidden effects of this technology on relationships and discipleship, Kim said. “The way we interact with each other is already changing,” he said. “Large language models are now embedded in the way we speak, write, and even pray. They may translate languages and suggest phrases, but they also embed their own value systems. If discipleship is one person walking alongside another, how does that dynamic change when a machine stands in the middle?”
He warned that if churches deploy AI tools without considering their underlying motivations and algorithms, “our relationships and spiritual formations can be subtly shaped by systems that do not share our values.” This makes transparency, accountability and human oversight essential, he said.
AI requires cognitive and spiritual discernment, not blind adoption or fear
Summing up the discussion, Ng said the goal was not to demonize AI or glorify its potential, but to restore theological literacy in the age of automation. “If you think about printing presses or cars, there was no cognitive engagement between the user and the tool,” she said. “AI has that, and that means we have to bring the heart and spirit of the Bible to every interaction.”
The committee agreed that AI will have a profound impact on how people learn, worship, and experience community. “We must resist the temptation to let AI replace the presence,” McGrath said earlier, adding that the church should remain a place where humans come face-to-face with each other and with God.
