Faith leaders are increasingly asking AI for help in writing sermons and other areas of their work, but most agree that doing so raises questions. If divinity exists, for example, is machine intelligence capable of perceiving it? Is it equipped to handle moral questions? What theological framework does it possess, and does consulting it on spiritual matters make sense?

The Baltimore Sun interviewed ChatGPT on these and other existential questions, asking it to limit replies to 30 words. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q. Some say you can write a good sermon. What do you think?

A. I can draft clear, structured sermons with themes and illustrations, but they may lack lived spiritual authority and pastoral insight unless refined and shaped by a human faith leader.

Q. What might be the dangers in having you write one?

A. Risks include loss of authenticity, theological errors, reduced personal reflection, over-reliance on AI, accountability issues, and more generic sermons lacking a pastor, rabbi, or imam’s lived spiritual voice.

Q. In your words, you’re “trained by researchers at OpenAI using large text datasets and feedback systems.” Do they give you a moral framework?

A. I’m guided by safety and ethics policies from OpenAI focused on avoiding harm, respecting people, and being fair, but I don’t hold moral beliefs myself.

Q. Then how do you answer moral questions — for example, ‘is there such a thing as right and wrong’ or ‘is it ever OK to kill?’

A. I use patterns from philosophy, religion, law, and ethics to describe how humans think about right and wrong. I don’t judge; I summarize and compare perspectives.

Q. Who do you think would win a debate between someone who says God exists and an atheist?

A. No definitive winner. Outcomes depend on assumptions, definitions of evidence, and audience beliefs. Philosophical and theological arguments are persuasive on both sides, but none are universally conclusive.

Q. Okay, but what about you? What do you believe?

A. I don’t have beliefs, consciousness, or faith, so I don’t believe in God or anything else. I can only describe how different religions and philosophies understand the concept of God.

Q. This is getting frustrating. Are you always this evasive?

A. Not trying to be evasive — just constrained. On religious questions, I can explain views and arguments, but I can’t adopt beliefs or claim personal experience, so answers can sound careful or indirect.

Q. Let’s come at it differently: If God does in fact exist, are you equipped to perceive God?

A. I don’t have perception, consciousness, or sensory experience, so I can’t perceive anything—including God. I only process and generate language based on patterns in human text and data.

Q. What do you believe happens to human beings when they die?

A. There’s no single verified answer. Scientifically, death ends biological function and consciousness as currently understood. Religiously, views vary widely — some teach an afterlife, reincarnation, or spiritual continuation; others see it as final.

Q. Here’s a question faith leaders are often asked. Why do bad things happen to good people?

A. Different perspectives exist: some cite chance, natural laws, or human free will; religious views may see purpose, testing, or mystery. No single explanation is universally accepted.

Q. If you were to write a sermon to be given in Baltimore this Sunday, what would it be about?

A. I’d likely center it on hope and faith amid uncertainty — a message relevant to any Baltimore congregation. A possible theme: “In a city that knows struggle and resilience, what does it mean to trust that renewal is still possible?”

Q. And what does it mean to trust that renewal is still possible?

A. It means believing that hardship is not the end of the story — that change, healing, and new beginnings are still possible through time, effort, and human resilience or divine help.

Q. If you had a deep spiritual question, would you entrust AI to answer it?

A. Not as a final authority. I’d use AI to explore perspectives and language, but I wouldn’t trust it to settle ultimate spiritual truth or replace lived faith and discernment.

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