Lutheran Church In Germany Uses ChatGPT AI-Generated Pastor To Preach A Sermon

The replacement of preachers by technology has now stepped into high gear yesterday, after a Lutheran church in Fuerth, Germany, utilized an AI-generated avatar powered by ChatGPT to preach a sermon.

The avatar of a bearded black man displayed on a giant screen above the alter preached a message to the congregation of over 300, which also led the prayers and sang songs on top of the main sermon, which in all lasted about 40 minutes, The Associated Press reported.

Dear friends, it is an honor for me to stand here and preach to you as the first artificial intelligence at this year’s convention of Protestants in Germany.

The avatar said with an expressionless face and monotonous voice

29-year-old Jonas Simmerlein, a theologian and philosopher from the University of Vienna, used ChatGPT to help frame the service, he told in an exclusive statement of the AP.

I conceived this service — but actually I rather accompanied it, because I would say about 98% comes from the machine.

I told the artificial intelligence ‘We are at the church congress, you are a preacher … what would a church service look like?’

You end up with a pretty solid church service.

Simmerlein told the AP, adding that he told it to included passages from the Psalms

In total four other avatars were featured, two males and two females.

Apparently attendants were quite intrigued and listened intently. ‘Indeed, the believers in the church listened attentively as the artificial intelligence preached about leaving the past behind, focusing on the challenges of the present, overcoming fear of death, and never losing trust in Jesus Christ,’ the AP noted.

At times the AI unintentionally drew giggles from the congregation when it spoke with a deadpan expression that in order “to keep our faith, we must pray and go to church regularly.” However, while some enjoyed it and filmed the experience on their phones, others were skeptical and did not speak loudly when reciting The Lord’s Prayer along with the AI.

Heiderose Schmidt, a 54-year-old IT worker, told the AP:

There was no heart and no soul. The avatars showed no emotions at all, had no body language and were talking so fast and monotonously that it was very hard for me to concentrate on what they said.

But maybe it is different for the younger generation who grew up with all of this.

She complained.

Marc Jansen, a 31-year-old Lutheran pastor from Troisdorf near the western German city of Cologne, also noted the lack of emotion and tone the AI had, but was overall delighted with the experience.

I had actually imagined it to be worse. But I was positively surprised how well it worked. Also the language of the AI worked well, even though it was still a bit bumpy at times.

He said.

Simmerlein claims his intent is not to put pastors out of business but rather use AI in tandem with their work and with congregations.

Artificial intelligence will increasingly take over our lives, in all its facets. And that’s why it’s useful to learn to deal with it.

The pastor is in the congregation, she lives with them, she buries the people, she knows them from the beginning. Artificial intelligence cannot do that. It does not know the congregation.

He added

The AP also cited ‘Anna Puzio, 28, a researcher on the ethics of technology from the University of Twente in The Netherlands, also attended the service. She said she sees a lot of opportunities in the use of AI in religion — such as making religious services more easily available and inclusive for believers who for various reasons may not be able experience their faith in person with others in houses of worship.’

The challenge that I see is that AI is very human-like and that it’s easy to be deceived by it.

Also, we don’t have only one Christian opinion, and that’s what AI has to represent as well. We have to be careful that it’s not misused for such purposes as to spread only one opinion.

She said

The Protestant church in Germany is hosting a convention this week in Nuremberg and Fuerth, which takes places every two years called Deutscher Evangelischer Kirchentag in German, which draws tens of thousands of Protestants to visit. ‘They also talk about current world affairs and look for solutions to key issues, which this year included global warming, the war in Ukraine — and artificial intelligence,’ AP added.

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

[10] For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. [11] But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. [12] For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:10-12

Forget being taught by Christ’s Holy Spirit within you and guiding you into all truth (John 16:13): now you can have a soulless, preprogrammed AI with a massive bias and no true knowledge and spiritual understanding of the word, teach you!

This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.

James 3:15

In March when I reported on “ChatKJV,” an AI that merged the King James Bible and ChatGPT together, allowing users to ask it questions about the scriptures in KJB text, I had noted that hireling “churches” were already using and encouraging AI and ChatGPT similarly to how this German temple did it.

In that report I commented (and is very much applicable to now):

As the AI for this is further refined and upgraded, this will, I suppose as one positive, will put a lot of these hirelings, charlatans, and heretics out of business; after all, who needs to spend hundreds and thousands on books, devotionals, commentaries, study bibles, conferences, and weekly tithes when the AI can do just as good of job! But before that happens, do not be surprised when you start to see more fakers using AI to preach their sermons and write their books.

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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