ChatGPT vs The Bible

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The online and AI-powered chatbot “ChatGPT” has been getting a lot and I mean A LOT of attention lately. 

Put simply, people are impressed by its ability to answer questions and seemingly create poems, songs and writeups just like a human would.

We asked it to “Write a poem about reading an article on graceandtruthmag.org” and this is what it came up with:

With eyes fixed upon the screen
I delve into the words unseen
A world of knowledge, a wealth of thought
Grace and Truth Magazine, I have sought

Its pages hold such depth and weight
A treasure trove of insight, so great
Each article a gem to behold
A story, a lesson, a truth to be told

From cover to cover, I am enthralled
As my mind is stretched and my heart is called
To deeper understanding, a wider view
Of the world around me, and of what is true

The words on the page come to life
As I learn and grow, through toil and strife
I am challenged, inspired, and renewed
As the wisdom of ages is here imbued

So I read on, with eager eyes
Into the depths of grace and truth I dive
And as I turn the final page with a sigh
I know I will return, again to try

For the knowledge and wisdom, found within
Are worth the journey, time and again
Grace and Truth Magazine, a true delight
A source of learning, both day and night.

Enough of the flattery 😏… how does it perform when we ask it about spiritual things?

We asked:

“Who is Jesus”

It replied:

Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, is a central figure in Christianity and is considered by many Christians to be the Son of God and the Savior of humanity. He was born in Bethlehem in the Middle East around 2,000 years ago to Mary and Joseph, and his life and teachings are recorded in the Bible’s New Testament.

According to the Bible, Jesus began his public ministry at the age of 30, preaching and teaching about God’s love, forgiveness, and the coming of the Kingdom of God. He performed many miracles, such as healing the sick and feeding the hungry, and he gathered a large following of disciples.

However, Jesus’ teachings and popularity angered the religious authorities of the time, and he was ultimately arrested, tried, and sentenced to death by crucifixion. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross to atone for humanity’s sins and that he rose from the dead three days later, demonstrating his power over death and offering the promise of eternal life to those who believe in him.

Jesus’ life and teachings have had a profound impact on human history and continue to inspire millions of people around the world today.

ChatGPT

Sounds impressive doesn’t it?

One issue though, which you might have spotted, is that it states that Jesus was “born … to Mary and Joseph”. In other words, it gives the impression that Joseph was Jesus’s biological father. Someone who hasn’t read the Bible and has a high level of trust in ChatGPT would come away with the idea that Joseph was Jesus’s biological father which is contrary to what the Bible says.

This points us to one of the main issues with ChatGPT.

Below is a case in point:

😲 Shocking isn’t it?

It was only after I pointed out and pushed it on its error that it replied thus:

Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that ‘ChatGPT’ doesn’t have a mind! It is really just a parrot of whatever data it was made with. If you have ever crammed lots of information for an exam but didn’t really understand the subject and you still pass then you know exactly how ChatGPT works! You would have memorised many questions and their answers and so all you had to do in the exam was determine how closely that question is to one you have seen and then modify your crammed answer to match the question’s wordings.

ChatGPT was given a lot of data from the Internet and so it has a LOT of examples of how humans write and what sounds like a probable response to most questions and tasks. In this case, it’s likely that the data used to develop it was biased towards saying “Jesus is not the creator” but it had enough data to know most Christians believe otherwise. Nevertheless, it couldn’t connect the dots. It is actually not (that) smart!

The title of this article is ‘ChatGPT vs the Bible’ and yes it might be a case of comparing apples and pears but because ChatGPT does stray into the Bible’s territory, it’s important we understand its limitations, biases, and shortcomings. We should not develop an unhealthy dependency and faith in whatever ‘ChatGPT’ says and most especially when it is an area the Bible comments on. We should always instead go back to the Bible!