This is the first in a four-part series that looks at the theological foundations for a faithful response to AI in Christian schools. This post is an excerpt from Paul Matthews’ book A Time To Lead.
“Where on earth do I even start?”
This is one of the most common sentiments I hear as I work with schools to help them navigate the problems and possibilities of artificial intelligence.
As Christian educators, our response to AI should begin with the most foundational Christian creed: Christ is Lord.
The gospel writer Matthew concluded his account of Jesus’ life by focusing on his lordship. In the prologue to The Great Commission (a blue-ribbon Christian education text), Christ states, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18, ESV).
Before Jesus gives the apostles their marching orders, he fixes their gaze on his authority over all things. His lordship is their orientation as they seek to make disciples of all nations and teach them obedience to Christ. Their worldview was not to be decisively shaped by the social climate, political landscape, or marketplace gossip; it was to be shaped by Christ’s lordship.
Put simply, the disciples’ great commission was to be grounded in a great disposition: a joyful awareness of the limitless, heaven-and-earth-encompassing authority of Jesus. As their commission is ours, so ought their disposition be ours.
As we seek to lead our students, our schools, and ourselves into a world infused with AI, we shouldn’t fix our gaze on the news, our social media feed, or keynote speeches from big tech companies. We fix our eyes on the ruling and reigning Christ who, in the words of Abraham Kuyper, has a rightful claim over all things, including technology.
As we navigate our way through emerging technologies, we must live, work, and walk under the Lordship of Christ. It is to be our north star, our founding principle. Not only is this disposition biblically faithful; it is profoundly practical. It will help us avoid two key errors.
Living under lordship will give us freedom from fear.
Rapid technological change can give us a profound sense of fear.
We have no idea what lies ahead, and we feel ill-equipped for what we may encounter. This fear is common among Christians, with author Tony Reinke arguing that “in the church, fear is winning out over faith when it comes to technology.” Fear of the unknown is an instinct we must confront with supernatural truth.
As Christians, we know that even when earth seems to be in a state of change, the courts of heaven remain unchanged. Indeed, our Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8, ESV). Artificial intelligence did not take Christ by surprise, and no technological disruption will disrupt his love, care, and provision for his people. Indeed, we must remember that every believer has God’s Spirit, which is a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and self-control (II Tim. 1:7, ESV, emphasis added). Living under the Lordship of Christ will free us from the fear of change and the unknown. There is, however, an equal and opposite error that the lordship of Christ allows us to avoid.
Living under lordship will help us escape idolatry.
While some fear rapid change, others swerve into the opposite ditch. Perhaps one of the besetting sins of our age is an idolatry of technology.
Everyone has a worldview, whether expressed or implied. Everyone has answers to the questions—“What’s gone wrong, and how do we fix it?” For many, the big problem with our world is not moral but technological. They suppose that the needs we face daily, whether hunger, disease, or disaster, will eventually be put out of commission when our technology becomes advanced enough.
While faith in technology bears little resemblance to bowing to an Asherah pole, the modern technophile is every bit the idolater as the ancient Canaanite: they are still prone to worship and serve created things rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). Modern technology produces great tools but terrible saviours.
If the 20th century has taught us anything, it is that prophets of the technological utopia radically overpromise and underdeliver. Living under the Lordship of Christ will free us from the sin and continual disappointment of idolising technology.
Living under lordship helps get the best out of technology.
Having avoided the opposite errors of fear and idolatry, living under the Lordship of Christ allows us to get the best out of technology.
Reinke describes technology as taking the patterns and elements of our created world to amplify our abilities, allowing us to be more productive than we could on our own. One of the great questions that technology poses, given that it allows us to do more and do it faster, is “what shall we use it for?” Reinke goes on to say—
The true challenge … is not in determining which technologies should be made possible but in determining how those new possibilities are wielded. Thus, Scripture puts the emphasis not on the technology, but on how those innovations are used.
As Christians who have the mind (Phil. 2:5) and the Spirit (Eph. 1:13) of Christ, we can use technology in a way that acknowledges the Lordship of Christ and furthers his kingdom. Christ came feeding the hungry, and with technology, we have reduced the global undernourishment rate dramatically in the last 60. Christ came healing the sick, and over the last decades, infant mortality, maternal mortality, and deaths from cancer, tuberculosis, and malaria have all fallen dramatically.
I am not suggesting that technology replaces the work of Christ, but that Christians, with the mind and spirit of Christ, can continue this work aided by technology.
Living under Lordship allows us to flee from fear, escape idolatry, and get the best out of technology. But using technology well isn’t as simple as using it for noble purposes. It’s not enough to think about what we do with technology; we must think about what technology does to us, as I will discuss in Part II of this series.
