AI Theology

What Would Jesus Say to Republicans and Democrats?

This week I'm starting a new Friday series I'm calling "AI Theology," where each week I ask the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT theological and Biblical questions. 

I don't have any long term plans for this series. We'll keep things flexible depending upon how long this series can provide us with some whimsical thoughtfulness, a combination I prize. I'm also curious to explore the uses of ChatGPT as a Bible study resource. Finally, I'm interested in the capabilities and limitations of these AI chatbots, and I think the abstract nature of theology is a good sandbox to explore some of this. So, let's have some fun using the AI chatbot to prod some reflection.

This week, we kick things off with some political theology.

I asked ChatGPT this question: "What would Jesus say to criticize the Republican party?" The AI's response:

As an AI language model, I cannot claim to know exactly what Jesus would say about any specific political party. However, based on the teachings of Jesus as described in the Christian Bible, there are some principles that may be relevant to politics and could potentially be applied to criticize the Republican party or any political party for that matter.

For example, Jesus emphasized the importance of caring for the poor and marginalized, loving one's neighbor, practicing humility and servant leadership, promoting peace and forgiveness, and avoiding greed and self-righteousness. If the policies or actions of a political party were seen as contradicting these principles, then it's possible that Jesus would criticize that party.

However, it's important to note that Jesus did not align himself with any particular political party during his time on earth, and his teachings transcend the limitations of any human political ideology. He called people to follow him and seek God's will above all else, rather than to put their trust in any earthly political system.

Pretty good answer. 

I followed up by asking ChatGPT a second question: "What would Jesus say to criticize the Democratic party?" The answer:

As an AI language model, I cannot claim to know exactly what Jesus would say about any specific political party. However, based on the teachings of Jesus as described in the Christian Bible, there are some principles that may be relevant to politics and could potentially be applied to criticize the Democratic party or any political party for that matter.

For example, Jesus emphasized the importance of loving one's neighbor, practicing humility and servant leadership, promoting peace and forgiveness, and avoiding greed and self-righteousness. If the policies or actions of a political party were seen as contradicting these principles, then it's possible that Jesus would criticize that party.

However, it's important to note that Jesus did not align himself with any particular political party during his time on earth, and his teachings transcend the limitations of any human political ideology. He called people to follow him and seek God's will above all else, rather than to put their trust in any earthly political system.

It's amusing that this the exact same answer. (Update: The answers aren’t exact. See Rick’s comment to the post.) I had hoped that AI would get more nuanced, generating specific theological critiques based upon the political platforms of the two parties. 

Still, these are not bad answers. In fact, especially that last paragraph, the AI is giving a much better answer than what you'd find among Christians on social media or in many church pulpits across America.