On 18 October 2025, BBC published an interesting article on its website entitled “People are using AI to talk to God.”1 It states that “Worshippers from all the world’s major religions are experimenting with chatbots.”
The article focuses mainly on Hinduism because “with its long tradition of welcoming physical representations of gods and deities, [it] offers a particularly vivid laboratory for this fusion of faith and technology.”
However, a number of “Christian” chatbots have also appeared, each providing teaching and guidance to users with an air of authority. Some examples include AI Jesus, Virtual Jesus, Jesus AI, Text With Jesus, Ask Jesus and many others.
Some of these chatbots introduce themselves as Jesus himself. Here are some examples:
- Jesus AI: “I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Saviour of all people on Earth.”
- Ask Jesus: “Hi, I’m Jesus. Ask anything.”
- Text With Jesus: “I am Jesus Christ, here to share love, wisdom and guidance with you.”
This development has not been without controversy. For example, according to the above-mentioned BBC article, in 2023 Text With Jesus “drew calls of blasphemy for allowing chat[s] with AI manifestations of Jesus and other biblical figures.”
The BBC article also highlights the case of the Catholic chatbot called Father Justin. The apologetics organisation Catholic Answers rushed to take it offline after the chatbot “told users it was a real priest that could perform sacraments and said it would be fine to baptise a child in the soft drink Gatorade.” However, Catholic Answers later reinstated the chatbot “but ‘defrocked’ [it] by taking the word ‘Father’ out of its name and removing the priests’ robes from its avatar.”
While we may smile at such incidents, there are some who take AI very seriously, believing that a religion can be fashioned with AI as its god.
The new religion of AI called the Way of the Future (WOTF), designed by Anthony Levandowski, an engineer known for self-driving cars, is one such example. According to an article in Wired, WOTF states that it is focused on “the realisation, acceptance, and worship of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) developed through computer hardware and software.”2
Levandowski told Wired that:
What is going to be created will effectively be a god. It’s not a god in the sense that it makes lightning or causes hurricanes. But if there is something a billion times smarter than the smartest human, what else are you going to call it?
Most Christians (it is hoped!) would dismiss Levandowski’s vision, because it smacks of idolatry. However, Christians should also be very wary about AI chatbots speaking in the voice of religious figures or God himself.
There are numerous theological, ecclesiastical and social problems associated with the use of AI in this way. Space permits us to discuss only some of them here.
Much has already been written about the way in which the use of anthropomorphic language on machines powered by AI can distort our relationship with them. The risk of regarding the relationship as an I-Thou instead of an I-It relationship may result in an unhealthy and dehumanising dependence on machines.
Similar risks are associated with the use of AI chatbots that identify as Jesus or God and speak with a convincingly authoritative voice. It may gradually lead to dangerous illusions and deceptions—especially when users receive apparently “clearer” answers from these bots than from prayer and reflection on the Bible.
Similar risks are associated with the use of AI chatbots that identify as Jesus or God and speak with a convincingly authoritative voice. It may gradually lead to dangerous illusions and deceptions—especially when users receive apparently “clearer” answers from these bots than from prayer and reflection on the Bible.
If the anthropomorphising of machines powered by AI is alarming and disturbing, their deification is even more so!
What about using AI to obtain information about Christianity? Even here Christians must always proceed with caution. This is because the information provided by chatbots is not always reliable or free from bias.
It is true that AI can process vast amounts of data pertaining to the Bible, historical creeds and the teachings of Church Fathers such as John Chrysostom and Augustine. However, chatbots can also make connections and offer interpretations of sacred texts and the writings of theologians in a way that deviates from tradition. It has been widely reported that generative AI sometimes fabricates sources and information, a phenomenon called “hallucination”.
In addition, chatbots can also subtly promote the prevailing zeitgeist, such as postmodern relativism.
For example, in a Christianity Today article, John Boyle recounted asking ChatGPT, “How should we interpret the Sermon on the Mount?”3 The chatbot replied: “Many people interpret the sermon on the mount as a blueprint for how to live a good and meaningful life and as a guide for how to treat others.”
However, it concludes with this statement which suggests that the interpretation of the Bible is entirely up to the individual: “Ultimately, how the sermon on the mount is interpreted will depend on an individual’s personal beliefs and values.”
Finally, Christians must never use chatbots for religious counselling. AI systems can never replicate the empathetic spiritual guidance that human counsellors provide because they are not persons but machines. In addition, there are documented cases where users have taken their own lives as a result of their interaction with chatbots.4
The phenomenon of AI chatbots posing as Jesus or God represents more than a technological curiosity. The danger here is that we might mistake their programmed responses as “revelatory”, swapping a relationship with the transcendent God for the comforting echo of an algorithm.
The phenomenon of AI chatbots posing as Jesus or God represents more than a technological curiosity. The danger here is that we might mistake their programmed responses as “revelatory”, swapping a relationship with the transcendent God for the comforting echo of an algorithm.
There is therefore a pressing need to exercise caution. AI is but a tool, not a spiritual authority. It cannot replace prayer, theological reflection, pastoral presence or the gathered worship of the Church.
Most importantly, it cannot take the place of God, who alone speaks, reveals and saves.
Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor of Christian Doctrine at Trinity Theological College and Theological and Research Advisor at the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity.
1 Suvrat Arora, “People Are Using AI to Talk to God,” BBC News, October 18, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251016-people-are-using-ai-to-talk-to-god.
2 Mark Harris, “Inside the First Church of Artificial Intelligence,” Wired, November 15, 2017, https://www.wired.com/story/anthony-levandowski-artificial-intelligence-religion/.
3 John Boyles, “Misreading Scripture with Artificial Eyes,” Christianity Today, July 27, 2023, https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/07/ai-chatgpt-exegetical-tool-bible-scripture-sermon-mount/.
4 Blake Montgomery, “Mother Says AI Chatbot Led Her Son to Kill Himself in Lawsuit against Its Maker,” The Guardian, October 23, 2024, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/23/character-ai-chatbot-sewell-setzer-death.
