The 70 Million Questions AI Can't Truly Answer
TL;DR: The millions of spiritual questions people ask AI reveal a deep hunger that only the church can fill through personal, embodied, and sacrificial love.
A recent column from the Colson Center for Christian Worldview highlighted a staggering number: people are asking AI chatbots 70 million spiritual questions. My first reaction wasn't fear or suspicion, but a sense of profound opportunity. As someone who builds AI tools for Christians, I see this as a giant, flashing sign pointing to a universal human hunger for meaning, hope, and truth.
These questions are being asked. That’s a fact. The only real choice before us is who will be there to answer them.
Answers Are Not Witness
Let’s be clear: AI can be a fantastic tool for the initial stages of exploration. If someone wants to know the historical context of the book of Isaiah, a list of verses about forgiveness, or the definition of justification, an AI can provide a quick, accessible summary. At FaithGPT, we build tools like Scripture Insights for exactly this reason, helping people get grounded in the text itself.
But an answer is not a witness. Information is not incarnation.
A person asking, “Why does God allow suffering?” isn’t just looking for a tidy theological explanation from the book of Job. They are often asking, “Does anyone see my suffering? Is there any hope for me ?” An AI can give you a summary of theodicy. It cannot sit with you in the hospital waiting room. It cannot bring your family a meal after a funeral. It cannot weep with you when you weep.
True Christian witness is fundamentally embodied . It has flesh and blood. It shows up. It costs something. When we, as Christians, serve our neighbors, we are doing something a machine is incapable of doing: we are demonstrating sacrificial love. AI processes data; the church is called to practice love.
For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Galatians 5:13-14 (KJV)
This command from Paul requires a body, a neighbor, and a choice to love and serve. It is a physical, relational, and costly calling that no algorithm can fulfill.
The Human Difference
The gap between an AI's response and a Christian's witness is the gap between a database and a disciple. One offers information; the other offers relationship. One is transactional; the other is transformational.
I’ve argued before that an AI cannot be your pastor , and the same logic applies to friendship and evangelism. Discipleship is not a curriculum you download. It is a life you share.
Here’s a practical look at the difference:
Capability · AI Assistant · Christian Friend
Information Access · Instant, vast · Studied, prayed-over
Availability · 24/7 · Sacrificial, scheduled
Nature of "Help" · Algorithmic response · Embodied presence
Cost · Computation · Personal sacrifice (time, emotion)
Goal · Provide an answer · Build a relationship, share Christ
Empathy · Simulated pattern · Genuine, Holy Spirit-led
An AI’s answer, no matter how well-crafted, is free of cost to the machine. Our witness, however, is powerful precisely because it costs us something. It costs us our time, our comfort, and our emotional energy. That cost is a small echo of the ultimate cost Christ paid for us, and it makes the love we show believable.
The Real Danger Isn't AI
Now, some people see this trend and immediately want to sound the alarm about the dangers of AI. But the problem isn’t that people are asking AI questions. The problem would be if Christians see this and decide to retreat, leaving the entire field of digital inquiry to the machines. As I've said before, Christians should reject AI catastrophism and instead focus on our own responsibility.
The danger is not that AI will try to be the church. The danger is that the church will stop being the church.
We shouldn't see AI as a competitor. We should see it as a diagnostic tool. The 70 million questions reveal a massive need. People are searching, and for many, an anonymous chat window feels safer than a church lobby. This tells us we need to be more present, more loving, and more available in our communities.
This is a call to action. It’s a call to equip ourselves to answer these questions with more than just facts. We must be ready to answer with our lives.
How do we do that?
Be the person they ask next. After someone gets an initial answer from an AI, they often need someone to talk it through with. Be that person in your family, your workplace, and your neighborhood.Use the tools to prepare. Don’t let AI be a substitute for your own study. Use a tool like FaithGPT to dig into Scripture, understand theology, and prepare yourself, so you’re ready when a real-life conversation happens.Listen for the question behind the question. When a coworker asks about the reliability of the Bible, they might really be asking if there’s anything trustworthy in this world. When a friend asks about heaven, they might be processing grief. Listen with love.Live it out. The most powerful apologetic is a life changed by the Gospel. Our love for one another and for our neighbors is the ultimate proof of our claims about Jesus.
The 70 million questions are not a sign of technology's triumph. They are a sign of humanity's enduring, desperate search for God. The machines can point to the data, but only we can point to the Savior, because we know Him. It's time to step up and be the ones they ask.
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