This week I’m attempting to bring biblical theology to bear on the subject of artificial intelligence. In the previous post, I suggested that writer David Brooks asks a very important question in this regard. As we see to understand a theological viewpoint on technology, we also (first?) need to answer the question: what does it mean to be human? An important way the Bible describes humanity is found in Genesis 1, when God says,
“Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”
God is saying that humans are utterly different from technology, and in fact from the rest of all creation, in that we are made in the image of God. What it means that we are made in the image of God is something biblical scholars and theologians have debated for centuries, and so in what I say next I do not want to give the impression that I somehow have the final word on the subject. I simply want us to understand the basics of what it means for humans to be made in the image of God. And in this description of the image of God, I think you will see how vastly different humans are from not only other animals, but also technology.
When the writer of Genesis describes God saying that we are made in God’s image, it means that we are created. We are not God. Being made in God’s image is not the same about being God. We are not equal to God. Let’s get that out of the way first.
Being made in the image of God also does not mean that God has a physical body as we do. That is not how we resemble God. God is spirit. That goes for God the Father, God the Son and of course God the Spirit. We know, that God the Son, the Christ, took on a human body, just like any human body. But do not see God as having any body. That’s why we do not believe God is gendered. Yes, I know the biblical writers refer to God as male, but that was in keeping with their culture. God is not male or female. God has tendencies of both genders and in fact transcends human gender. What about Jesus? Yes, he was born into a male body, which we believe he retains. But that male body is not his essence. Our Trinitarian God is, always was and always will be essentially spirit.
That said, being made in God’s image means that we have some combination of the following: a freedom of will, a self-aware mind, a creative impulse, a spiritual side. None of these are found in the animal kingdom or technology in the same sentient way in which they are found in humans, at least not without training or programming by humans. We are utterly different. We are, therefore, specially loved in God’s eyes.
This is why we need not fear technology in the ultimate sense. God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere; thus God is infinitely mightier than technology.
But there is a sense in which we are wise to be cautious about technology. And that gets us to the heart of something else related to the image of God. As I mentioned, part of being made in the image of God is our creative capacity. When we create, whether it be art of any kind or technology or medicine or the many other ways we humans create, we are reflecting the image of God the ultimate creator.
Our creativity operates rightly when we are creating to the glory of God. We well know the wonderful discoveries in the sciences, math, philosophy. Creative genius has unlocked many secrets of the universe and has led to human flourishing on many levels. We also know the disasters human creativity has perpetrated. From the massive destructive force of hydrogen bombs or automatic weapons to addictive drugs. Our creativity is operating wrongly when we are creating for selfish or destructive reasons. When we create to harm, we are not creating in a way that honors God.
Photo by Frankie Cordoba on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 