Theologian Dr. John Piper recently offered a stern warning to preachers leveraging generative artificial intelligence (AI) to draft sermons, emphasizing that AI will never be able to worship God and arguing that using it to create sermon material is dishonest.
Piper is the author of numerous books and was the pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis for more than three decades. He remains the chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary.
Piper’s comments came in the context of his “Ask Pastor John” podcast, in which Piper responds to listener questions about ministry and theology.
In an episode released on Feb. 24, Piper focused on two questions. The first was whether it is appropriate for a ministry leader to use AI to write newsletters to ministry supporters, and the second was whether pastors should use AI for sermon preparation.
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“Let’s start with a definition,” Piper said, joking that he got the definition from Google and that it was “artificial intelligence defining artificial intelligence.”
“’Artificial intelligence is a technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem-solving, decision-making, creativity, and autonomy,’” Piper recited. He then drew attention to “the fact that missing from that definition, that list of things that it simulates, is emotion.”
Piper argued that the absence of emotion is significant, because “the ultimate purpose of the universe is that God be glorified, and he is glorified not merely by being rightly thought about, logically comprehended, but by rightly being enjoyed, admired, appreciated, valued.”
“And God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him, which means no artificial intelligence will ever be able to worship,” Piper said. “Worship is not simply right thinking, which computers can do. Worship is right feeling about God.”
“We are not bothered—I’m not bothered anyway—that a computer can simulate human logical reasoning,” Piper added. “But we consider it ludicrous when a machine attempts to rejoice or delight or be glad or stand in awe or be amazed or feel grief or fear…The very phrase ‘artificial emotion’ is an oxymoron.”
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While Piper conceded that generative AI tools can produce “an astonishingly well-written sermon,” he argued that using that work as one’s own would be “wicked.”
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