Although I doubt Nickless had any biblical intentions, allegorical
fiction which depicts Bible truth through imaginary characters and settings is
not at all unusual. C. S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles is one of my
favorites. Lewis’ deep Christian faith coupled with an amazing imagination
allowed him to create an entertaining and thoroughly biblical imaginary world
through which his characters present God’s truth. An older allegory, John
Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, has long been revered for its depiction of
the struggles common to anyone who wants to live as a Christian. The Hobbit
and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien echo the biblical
truth that the battle of good against evil is the inescapable reality that
every one of us faces daily.
The pervasive influence of artificial intelligence has
created a whole new sub-genre for the development of allegorical characters and
plots. It has also opened a floodgate for Satan to twist the thinking of people
who become immersed in computer simulations. When I wrote “Artificial
Intelligence?” I commented, “We can expect that the enemy of our souls will
use AI to further his ends just as he has with many technologies.” Search for
“Christian books about AI” and you will get hundreds of examples, most with
dire warnings. Nichole J. Suvar shared insights from her book, “I Don't Have
to Hold It All Together,” on Moody Radio recently. One of her greatest
concerns is that Gen Alpha is going to be drastically influenced by AI. She
fears they will be changed elementally the same way cell phones affected Gen X to
an even greater degree.
We know from neurological studies that human brains grow and
change by doing mental “work” much the same way muscles are built by exercise.
We also know that children who have excessive amounts of screen time develop a
different brain architecture than those who pursue other activities. As a
teacher, I
have expressed my concern that AI is removing the need to do meaningful
research. The development of critical thinking skills is essential for making
logical decisions whether in a secular or religious context. Combine AI with
the common teaching technique of providing answers rather than encouraging students
to seek out the best answer and you have a recipe for dull soup. It is a prime
factor in the dumbing down of American students.
I mentioned earlier that I was both fascinated and
frightened by the premise of Barbara Nickless’ book about AI simulation games.
I am frightened for all the reasons I have just mentioned. But I am fascinated
by how thoroughly the concept of a simulation fits the truth we have revealed
in Scripture. Follow me carefully. Read the Bible from cover to cover and you
learn that a Being of superior intelligence created an alternative reality
apart from His own. He then created players who were given rules and
responsibilities to navigate the created reality. The first two players broke a
cardinal rule and subsequently lost full access to everything the created
reality had to offer. The Creator then began a sub-program that would
eventually provide a way for players to regain full access.
Stay with me. Jesus came preaching the coming of an
alternate reality, the Kingdom of Heaven. He told Pilate His kingdom was not of
this reality. If it were from here, He said, His disciples would fight to free
Him. He knew that His freedom was going to come from an exit strategy planned
in the ages before this reality was even created. His death and subsequent
resurrection and ascension reunited Him with the Creator with whom He had lived
in that other reality, commonly called Heaven, prior to becoming a player in
this reality.
There’s more. The Apostle Paul said this reality is passing
away to be replaced by another reality. This one, he said, is temporary –
temporal – time-based. The other reality is eternal “in the Heavens.” Soon
after He was invited to play the role the Creator had planned for him, Paul was
transported to the heavenly reality and given insights that were so incredible
he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about them. He did say he believed that when
he died, he would immediately be in the presence of Jesus in the heavenly
reality. He also said that those who trust Jesus in this reality will be given
a new kind of body after their death – a body suitable for the reality that
would be their eternal home. In that place, the Creator and all His chosen
players would once again enjoy all the privileges and responsibilities that
were forfeited in the original simulation.
I just pictured life for humans as a grand simulation. That
is an analogy; it is so close to what is happening in today’s AI simulation
games that it is spooky. There is one huge difference between AI sims and life
as we know it: the Creator of the “game of life” is a Person who loves His
creation so much that He literally died to save it. We also know that God
created the earth perfectly good, and one day, He will banish sin and Satan
from His creation. Then He will recreate it as He originally intended, and we
will spend eternity there with Him.
Satan, the Great Perverter, has been luring people with his
own simulations since the Garden of Eden. He convinced Adam and Eve that there
was a better reality than what God had ordered. He infected early Christian
thinkers with Platonic ideas that flesh is evil and only spirit is good; this allowed
the Gnostics to believe that fleshly sin was acceptable as long as one’s spirit
was pure. Some people still act that way today. By way of a lying spirit, he
gave Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, an alternative reality that
sounded biblical, but was deceptively evil. There are other similar deceptions.
Peter’s roaring lion has become today’s AI “friend” seeking someone to devour. Peter’s
advice is still sound: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the
devil.” If you fall for one of his simulations, there is no coming back.
Related Posts: On the dumbing down of America: Read This
or Die; Who is Jesus: Nailing
Down Jesus; The true purpose of life: What
Did You Do Today? What about when the “game” gets tough: Driven to
the Cross
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