Christians Have a Mandate to Shape AI. Here's What That Means.
TL;DR: Instead of fearing or blindly adopting AI, Christians have a biblical mandate to steward this technology, actively shaping it to honor human dignity and relational health.
A headline from Christian Daily this week put words to a conviction I've held for years as a Christian and a software builder. Reporting on a message from Brad Hill, president of Gloo's AI division , the article argued that believers are called to shape artificial intelligence toward "abundance" and human flourishing, not dystopia .
He's exactly right. But I'd go a step further. This isn't just a good idea or a strategic move for the church. It's a non-negotiable part of our original mission.
Christians often fall into one of two ditches with new technology. We either retreat in fear , seeing it as a worldly corruption to be avoided, or we dive in with blind optimism , adopting every new tool without asking what it's for or what it's doing to us. Neither response is adequate. Both are a form of abdication.
The biblical alternative is stewardship . This idea goes right back to the beginning, to what theologians call the cultural mandate.
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28 (KJV)
This command to "subdue" and have "dominion" isn't a license for exploitation. It's a call to responsible cultivation. It's the job of bringing order, beauty, and fruitfulness out of the raw material of creation. And technology, from the first flint axe to the latest large language model, is one of the primary ways humans do this. AI is simply the newest frontier for this creation mandate .
What "shaping AI" actually looks like
This isn't just a task for engineers at Google or OpenAI . Every Christian has a role to play in steering these powerful tools toward good.
As someone who builds AI systems, I feel this responsibility acutely. When we designed FaithGPT , every decision came with a theological and ethical dimension. Should the AI give prescriptive advice? No, it should guide users back to Scripture. Should it replace pastoral counsel? Absolutely not. It should be a supplemental tool for study and prayer. These aren't just product choices; they are moral decisions about what technology is for. Building a tool is an act of discipleship, requiring a clear ethical framework rooted in the dignity of the person made in God's image.
But this mandate extends far beyond developers. It applies to pastors , parents , and every person using these tools.
Pastors must decide how AI will serve their ministry. Will it be a shortcut for sermon writing that flattens their unique pastoral voice, or a research assistant that deepens their study?Parents must decide what role AI companions and tutors play in their children's lives. Will they outsource formation, or use tools to spark curiosity and conversation?All of us make daily choices about whether to use AI in ways that enhance our humanity or diminish it. Automating a personal note to a grieving friend might be more "efficient," but it comes at the cost of real presence and empathy. We must constantly ask whether a tool is helping us love our neighbor better or just helping us avoid the effort of doing so. This is about protecting our relational agency in an age of automation.
We can think of it as two competing design philosophies.
Approach · Consumption-Centered AI · Flourishing-Centered AI
Primary Goal · Capture and hold user attention. · Enhance human capability and creativity.
Metric of Success · Time on platform, engagement rates. · Meaningful outcomes, deeper relationships.
Human's Role · A consumer of content, a data point. · An agent, a creator, a steward.
Example · An infinitely scrolling social feed. · A tool that helps you study Scripture.
The argument from fear
The strongest counter-argument I hear is that AI is simply too dangerous, too prone to bias, or too "worldly" for Christians to engage with. "Just stay away," the thinking goes. "Don't touch the unclean thing."
I understand the fear. The risks are real. AI models can inherit and amplify human biases. They can be used to create misinformation at a massive scale. And their design can encourage addictive, isolating behaviors.
But a retreat is not the Christian answer. We are called to be salt and light in the world, not away from it. To abandon the most influential technology of our time is to cede its development entirely to those who may not share a biblical vision of human flourishing. It's to leave the field, allowing the weeds to grow, rather than working to cultivate a harvest.
Our job is not to fear the raw material of creation, but to shape it with wisdom, discernment, and love. The task is not to curse the darkness, but to build lamps.
This is why I believe so strongly in building tools specifically for the church. Take our Prayer Journal for instance. The goal isn't to make prayer "easier" or to have an AI pray for you. The goal is to provide a simple, focused space to support the very human and spiritual discipline of prayer—to help you remember your commitments, see God's faithfulness over time, and persist in conversation with him. It uses technology to serve a spiritual end without replacing the human heart at its center.
That's stewardship. It's a small example, but it's the principle we must apply everywhere.
The challenge laid out by leaders like Brad Hill is the right one. The stakes are incredibly high. Will this new technology lead to greater connection or deeper isolation? To creative abundance or automated emptiness?
The answer depends on the builders and the users. As Christians, we have been given a blueprint for human flourishing in Scripture. We believe people have inherent dignity because they are made in God's image. We believe relationships, community, and loving service are central to a meaningful life. Now, we have a mandate to embed those values into the tools we create and choose.
It's time to get to work. Start by exploring tools built to support your faith, not just consume your time. You can begin that journey of discovery right on the FaithGPT platform at www.faithgpt.io .
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