Written By
Dr. Joseph R. Miller
Course Lead,
Assistant Professor, College of Theology
Explore how Christians can navigate artificial intelligence with wisdom and discernment. Learn why faith-based education matters, the dangers of outsourcing convictions to AI and how biblical principles guide technology.
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Approved and verified accurate by the Associate Professor of the College of Theology on Nov. 26, 2025.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Grand Canyon University. Any sources cited were accurate as of the publish date.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become one of the most discussed topics of our time, raising profound questions for many Christians: Can machines think? Should we trust them? Should Christians use AI? What does Scripture say about technology that appears almost human? These questions extend beyond theory; they touch on faith, ethics and how we live out our calling in a quickly changing world.
In this article, Dr. Joseph R. Miller discusses the intersection of AI and Christianity, examining what the Bible teaches about wisdom, stewardship and dependence. Education and discernment must come first; while technology can serve as a tool, it should never replace our pursuit of understanding or reliance on God.
AI is much more complicated than just a simple tool for correcting grammar or speeding up tasks. It is a system capable of generating ideas, shaping narratives and influencing decisions, often without users fully understanding how it functions. For Christians, this reality underscores the importance of education, especially in understanding what AI is, its capabilities and its limitations. Without this foundation, we risk misusing technology or placing trust in something that cannot provide wisdom or truth. Before we integrate AI into ministry, scholarship or daily life, we must approach it with discernment and a commitment to learning. It is essential to ensure that our use of AI aligns with biblical principles, rather than being driven solely by convenience.
Artificial Intelligence refers to computer systems that are designed to perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving and language generation. Unlike traditional software, AI can adapt and improve based on data, making it much more powerful than a simple program.
For Christians, understanding AI matters because it is influencing culture, ethics, and even theology in subtle yet significant ways. If we overlook what AI is and how it functions, we risk becoming passive consumers of technology instead of discerning stewards. By knowing its capabilities and limitations, we can engage thoughtfully with AI, ensuring that our use of this technology reflects a biblical view on artificial intelligence and aligns with principles of wisdom, responsibility and reliance on God rather than on machines.
Like every other educator, I’m adapting my teaching to a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. A recent email from a colleague captured the tension well. He argued that professors should stop worrying about AI use and treat it the same way we treat spell-check:
“Do we penalize students for using spell-check or grammar tools? Of course not — we expect them to use them. Today’s AI tools are becoming an integral part of professional writing. Submitting work without them may soon appear unprofessional.”
His point sounds reasonable — but it reflects a flawed understanding of both AI and the human mind. I appreciate AI. I use it daily to research, edit, and even produce The Schaeffer Dialogues podcast. But as Christian educators, we must draw a clear line between using AI wisely and outsourcing human thinking.
When we allow artificial intelligence to influence our beliefs and convictions, we risk losing the very essence of human discernment. While AI can mimic reasoning and generate persuasive arguments, it lacks the lived experiences, moral grounding and spiritual depth that shape authentic worldviews. Relying too heavily on algorithms for issues of faith and ethics can result in shallow convictions that are disconnected from personal reflection and genuine understanding.
Recently, I sat with a student — let’s call him Thomas — who used AI to generate his Christian worldview paper. When I asked him basic questions about the words in his essay, he couldn’t define them. The paper was flawless, but the student behind it hadn’t engaged his mind or heart.
Does Thomas deserve an A for “professionalism,” or has he failed at something deeper — learning to think? A business plan with a few typos written by a student who can explain it? Or a flawless plan created by someone who doesn’t understand what they’ve produced? Which engineer is better prepared for practical challenges — the one who can derive a formula by reasoning, or the one who can only prompt AI to do it?
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are not intelligent beings; they are predictive systems that generate what is most statistically likely to be true. In other words, AI gives us consensus answers. But Christian education is not about consensus — it’s about truth, wisdom and virtue.
These questions expose a critical danger: reliance on AI can atrophy the very muscles that education is meant to strengthen.
Academic assignments are not simply exercises in producing words on a page; they are opportunities to develop critical thinking, personal conviction and intellectual honesty. When students rely on AI to complete their work, they compromise the integrity of the learning process and undermine the purpose of the task: to grapple with ideas and express a perspective that reflects their own understanding. Integrity in scholarship demands more than just providing accurate answers; it requires authenticity, effort and a commitment to engage deeply with the subject matter. Without these elements, education shifts from being transformational to merely transactional.
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Our calling as Christian educators is not simply to produce employable graduates but faithful disciples — men and women who can think critically, lead ethically and serve compassionately. AI may help students polish their writing, but it cannot shape their character or deepen their faith.
That’s why AI is not spell-check. A spell-checker fixes what’s objectively wrong; AI predicts what’s most popular. Spell-check depends on a dictionary; AI depends on data, often shaped by the biases of its programmers.
At a Christian university, we must go beyond cultural consensus to cultivate wisdom rooted in Scripture. We must teach our students not just how to use technology, but how to use it righteously.
The goal of Christian higher education is not perfect prose but transformed people. Our students’ essays are not merely academic exercises — they are windows into their minds and hearts. I would rather read an imperfect paper written from conviction than a flawless one generated by code.
As I tell my students, “AI might help you pass a class, but it won’t help you become the man or woman God has called you to be.”
So yes, our pedagogy must adapt to new technologies. But adaptation is not capitulation. Christian universities must remain places where students wrestle with truth, reason through complexity and learn to think deeply — precisely because the world around them is increasingly content to let machines do the thinking for them.
AI may make writing easier. But only faith, discipline and human thought make it meaningful.
At a Christian university, we affirm that the human person is not merely a collection of neurons or a set of algorithms. We are soulful beings created in God’s image, capable of reason, creativity and moral discernment. These qualities must be cultivated through discipline, dialogue and reflection — skills that no AI can replicate.
A spell-checker corrects simple, technical errors. It helps me catch typos I might miss. AI, however, does something far more sweeping: it generates entire essays. That capability may seem helpful, but it bypasses the uniquely human process of critical thinking and moral reasoning — the very capacities higher education exists to develop.
One of my students recently admitted she used AI because she was embarrassed by her writing. “I didn’t want to fail,” she said. But failure, I reminded her, is not fatal — it’s formative. Christian education teaches students to see failure as part of God’s refining process. Growth happens through struggle, not avoidance.
When educators or institutions make AI a crutch to prevent failure, we rob students of the opportunity to mature. Failure builds resilience, humility and dependence on God — qualities essential for leadership in any vocation.
Fear of failure often leads us to take shortcuts, but these shortcuts rob us of the growth that comes from struggle. Engaging with complex concepts, navigating uncertainty and persevering despite setbacks are what deepen understanding and build resilience. When we bypass that process, whether through AI or other means, we sacrifice long-term development for temporary relief. Authentic learning is forged in the tension between effort and challenge, not in the ease of outsourcing. Choosing growth over convenience takes courage, but it cultivates character and competence that shortcuts can never provide.
As AI continues to reshape how we learn, work and communicate, Christians are called to approach this technology with discernment rather than dependence. Tools can assist us, but they cannot replace the wisdom, character and spiritual depth that come from wrestling with truth. If you are passionate about exploring these questions and grounding your understanding in a biblical worldview, consider pursuing one of our bachelor’s degrees in Christian studies. Equip yourself to lead with integrity in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, because faith and wisdom will always matter more than convenience.
