A group of Baptist leaders recently signed a statement on artificial intelligence and its capabilities for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. And when we’re talking about many of the same people who signed the anti-LGBTQ Nashville Statement, there’s no doubt that this statement will eventually come back to bite everyone in the ass.
The statement begins with a summary of why it was written: Because God talked a lot about AI in the Bible, obviously.
In light of existential questions posed anew by the emergent technology of artificial intelligence (AI), we affirm that God has given us wisdom to approach these issues in light of Scripture and the gospel message. Christians must not fear the future or any technological development because we know that God is, above all, sovereign over history, and that nothing will ever supplant the image of God in which human beings are created. We recognize that AI will allow us to achieve unprecendented possibilities, while acknowledging the potential risks posed by AI if used without wisdom and care.
Here’s an example of what they say about medicine: They celebrate AI assisting with “enhanced medical diagnostics and therapeutic interventions,” which they attribute to God (of course), but they want you to know something something Jesus.
We deny that death and disease — effects of the Fall — can ultimately be eradicated apart from Jesus Christ. Utilitarian applications regarding healthcare distribution should not override the dignity of human life. Furthermore, we reject the materialist and consequentialist worldview that understands medical applications of AI as a means of improving, changing, or completing human beings.
AI is great, but it’s incomplete without Jesus, and if it ever helps women with their health care needs, screw it.
And don’t even think about making sexbots. Especially gay ones.
We deny that the pursuit of sexual pleasure is a justification for the development or use of AI, and we condemn the objectification of humans that results from employing AI for sexual purposes. AI should not intrude upon or substitute for the biblical expression of sexuality between a husband and wife according to God’s design for human marriage.
Sure, AI could theoretically help people obtain sexual pleasure (especially if they’re physically or emotionally incapable of having sex right now)… but NO. Jesus said no to sexbots.
The entire statement reads like this. It’s a bunch of Christians trying to Christianize a topic that doesn’t involve Christianity. Rather than admit there are moral complications to AI that we need to sort through as a species, they come right out and make every moral judgment ahead of time — and it’s the same anti-LGBTQ, anti-women, anti-science garbage we’ve come to expect from Southern Baptists.
They want all the benefits of AI, as long as they can attribute it to God, but they fear that AI could take people’s minds off of the Bible. The more scientific progress we realize, the less of a need there is for primitive mythology. That horrifies them.
The most ironic line in the entire statement may be this one: “We deny that AI should be designed or used in ways that violate the fundamental principle of human dignity for all people.” That would mean a lot more if Southern Baptists weren’t known for violating the human dignity of whatever groups of people they deem unworthy. They want AI to live to to standards of morality that they themselves can’t reach.
I’m reproducing the list of people who signed the document below, just so we can always refer back to these people in the future when they inevitably say or do something that contradicts this written-in-stone statement.
Russell Moore
President
The Ethics and Religious Liberty CommissionMatthew Anderson
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Baylor Institute for Studies of ReligionBruce Riley Ashford
Provost & Professor of Theology & Culture
Southeastern Baptist Theological SeminaryVincent Bacote
Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics
Wheaton CollegeHunter Baker, J.D.
Dean of Arts and Sciences
Union UniversityBart Barber
Pastor
First Baptist Church Farmersville, TexasPhillip Bethancourt
Executive Vice President
The Ethics and Religious Liberty CommissionDarrell Bock
Executive Director for Cultural Engagement &
Senior Research Professor of New Testament
Dallas Theological SeminaryDenny Burk
President
Council on Biblical Manhood and WomanhoodMatt Chandler
Lead Pastor
The Village Church, Flower Mound, TexasHee Yeal Cho
Executive Staff
Grace Covenant ChurchMike Cosper
Founder
Harbor MediaDaniel Darling
Vice-President of Communications
The Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionJim Daly
President
Focus on the FamilyDan DeWitt
David S. Dockery
Associate Professor of Apologetics
Cedarville University
President
Trinity International University & Trinity Evangelical Divinity SchoolErick Erickson
Editor
The ResurgentJason G. Duesing
Provost & Associate Professor of Historical Theology
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary & Spurgeon CollegeJohn Dyer
Dean of Enrollment Services and Educational Technology
Dallas Theological SeminaryAlbert Erisman
President
Institute for Business, Technology, and EthicsNathan A. Finn
Provost & Dean of the University Faculty
North Greenville UniversityRonnie Floyd
President & CEO
The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist ConventionMicah Fries
Senior Pastor
Brainerd Baptist ChurchMark J. Galli
Editor in Chief
Christianity TodayJ.D. Greear
Pastor, The Summit Church
President, The Southern Baptist ConventionWayne Grudem
Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies
Phoenix SeminaryDaniel R. Heimbach
Senior Professor of Christian Ethics
Southeastern Baptist Theological SeminaryCasey B. Hough
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church of CamdenMichael Horton
Professor
Westminster Seminary CaliforniaJohnny Hunt
Pastor, First Baptist Church Woodstock
Vice President, North American Mission BoardDean Inserra
Lead Pastor
City Church, Tallahassee, FloridaScott James, MD
Elder
The Church at Brook HillsRichard Land
President
Southern Evangelical SeminaryHeath Lambert
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Church JacksonvilleMark Liederbach
Dean of Students & Professor of Theology, Ethics, and Culture
Southeastern Baptist Theological SeminaryFred Luter
Senior Pastor
Franklin Avenue Baptist ChurchKen Magnuson
Professor of Christian Ethics
The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryKatie McCoy
Assistant Professor of Theology in Women’s Studies
Southwestern Baptist Theological SeminaryJames Merritt
Lead Pastor
Cross Pointe Church Duluth, GeorgiaPaul Miller
Research Fellow
The Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionMatthew C. Millsap
Assistant Professor of Christian Studies
Midwestern Baptist Theological SeminaryC. Ben Mitchell
Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy
Union UniversityRichard J. Mouw
Professor of Faith and Public Life
Fuller Theological SeminaryTrillia Newbell
Director of Community Outreach
The Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionSamuel W. Oliver
President
Union UniversityEsther O’Reilly
WriterRay Ortlund
Pastor
Immanuel ChurchTripp Parker
Senior Manager, Technical Program Management
AmazonJackie Hill Perry
Author & SpeakerMatthew Pinson
President
Welch CollegeVance Pitman
Senior Pastor
Hope Church Las VegasKaren Swallow Prior
Professor of English
Liberty UniversityRhyne Putman
Associate Professor of Theology & Culture
New Orleans Baptist Theological SeminaryTony Reinke
AuthorJim Richards
Executive Director
Southern Baptists of Texas ConventionJeffrey Riley
Professor of Ethics & Associate Dean of Research Doctoral Programs
New Orleans Baptist Theological SeminaryRev. Gabriel Salguero
President
National Latino Evangelical CoalitionJimmy Scroggins
Pastor
Family Church, West Palm Beach, FloridaJacob Shatzer
Assistant Professor of Theological Studies
Union UniversityColin J. Smothers
Executive Director
Council on Biblical Manhood and WomanhoodJohn Stonestreet
President
Colson Center for Christian WorldviewJason Thacker
Associate Research Fellow & Project Leader
The Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionMark Tooley
President
Institute on Religion and DemocracyAB Vines
First Vice President
Southern Baptist ConventionTodd Wagner
Senior Pastor
Watermark Community ChurchAndrew T. Walker
Senior Fellow in Christian Ethics
The Ethics & Religious Liberty CommissionKeith S. Whitfield
Dean of Graduate Studies
Southeastern Baptist Theological SeminaryK. Marshal Williams, Sr.
Senior Pastor, Nazarene Baptist Church
Past President, National African American Fellowship, SBCMalcolm B. Yarnell, III
Research Professor
Southwestern Baptist Theological SeminaryHershael W. York
Dean of the School of Theology
The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryChristopher Yuan
Speaker, Author, Bible Professor
Bearer of Christ Ministries
(via Joe. My. God. Image via Shutterstock. Thanks to Brian for the link)
