Articles
Artificial
In 2023, Collins Dictionary named ‘AI’ [the abbreviation for artificial intelligence] the word of the year, and explained, “Considered to be the next great technological revolution, AI has seen rapid development and has been much talked about in 2023.” Indeed, it does not seem to be any less popular than last year, with the world’s largest businesses [by net worth of their stock value] all scrambling to integrate AI into their systems, software, hardware, and social media offerings. It seems everyone wants on the bandwagon of artificial intelligence, even though many would have to admit they don’t know what it is, how it works [or is purported to work], and what are its limitations and/or applications to their particular business or usage. Right now, it is the technology industry’s equivalent of the old advertisers’ phrase ‘New and Improved!’ It grabs attention and promises ‘better,’ but quite often fails to deliver.
As it is intended in this phrase, artificial means “made by human skill; produced by humans” [Random House Dictionary], which is somewhat ironic being that it is computer-generated. But I am afraid the results bring to mind another definition for artificial: “imitation; simulated; sham.” It is not ‘the real thing,’ but only an imitation — and a really bad one, sometimes. Sometimes, it is even dangerous. Because current AI systems all rely on machine learning, it can never truly be called intelligent and it doesn’t really qualify as ‘learning’ because all these systems do is ‘observe’ visual and textual information, and then use algorithms that simulate [i.e., fake] the learning and decision-making processes of the human brain. To say these systems are ‘learning’ is the equivalent of saying a college student who copied their neighbor’s notes and test answers ‘learned’ algebra. No, nothing is truly ‘learned’; it is merely copied and all information [right and wrong, correct and incorrect] stored in its vast memory databases.
I make all these points not just to rant about the failures of AI, but to get us to think about a similar problem we have in this country and in many churches where individuals make the claim to be ‘Christian,’ but don’t really meet the definition. In all reality, they are merely artificial Christians. Sadly, the ‘faith’ of many who claim to be ‘Christian’ is imitation, simulated, and a sham. It did not come “by hearing…the word of God” (Rom. 10:17), and it is not “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1), but merely a poor imitation of the faith demonstrated by many true disciples as seen the New Testament. Many would fail the test if compared to the earliest disciples, and because their faith is not real; they would fail because they do not actually follow and obey Jesus; they would fail because there is no proof of their faith seen in the way they live. I am afraid that if some today were admonished to heed the words of Paul when he wrote, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1), or even the words of Jesus when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24), they would decline, simply because they would see it as ‘too difficult,’ or merely ‘out of touch with modern society,’ thus, undesirable to them.
Let us not be artificial Christians, but endeavor to be the real thing. Let us strive to truly “walk just as He walked” (1 John 2:6), and to “follow His steps” (1 Pet. 2:20) wherever they may lead us. To do that, we must know what a real Christian looks like and what a real Christians does, and then make that our pattern to follow. Let us consider just a few things that will help ensure our faith is real, and that we are genuine disciples, rather than mere fakes.
The Love of God. John asked, rhetorically, “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John 3:17); the question answers itself! John then admonishes us, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18). The Greek word translated as “in truth” in our English Bibles, literally means ‘free from affection, pretence, simulation, falsehood, deceit.’ [Thayer’s] In other words, our love for God cannot be merely words, but must be proven by our deeds and actions, and must be seen by what we are willing to do for others. If we merely say we love God and love our brother, but do nothing to prove it, our love is artificial — ‘imitation; simulated; sham.” It is not ‘the real thing.’
Our Worship. Worship, by definition, is ‘reverent honor and homage paid to God,’ or ‘The reverent love and devotion accorded [God].’ Is our worship truly that, or is it merely artificial? Jesus once chastised the religious leaders (Matt. 15:8, 9) for honoring God with their lips [in words] while their hearts were far from Him [i.e., there was no real love for God and no desire to exalt and honor Him], and God would say of them as they did this, “in vain they worship Me,” because it was artificial and they held their traditions above even the word of God!
Let us not fool ourselves and think we can offer up mere ‘lip service’ to God and be acceptable! When Jesus answered the Samaritan woman’s statement about worship, He told her, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23, 24). There is that phrase again — “in…truth.” And it means here the same thing it did in John’s words: It must be ‘free from affection, pretence, simulation, falsehood, deceit.’ It must be real worship — not faked, not superficial, and not insincere.
Love of One Another. Peter admonished the early disciples, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (1 Pet. 1:22). The Greek word translated as “sincere” is one that means unfeigned, and literally ‘without hypocrisy’ — the very thing Paul said to the Roman brethren (Rom. 12:9). Again, this speaks of the need for genuineness in our actions and in our love for one another. There can be no ‘ulterior motive’ and nothing impure in our love for one another, but it must be, as Jesus admonished (Luke 6:32-36), with no expectations of anything in return — just like His love for us!
If our love for others does not meet the characteristics as noted by the apostle Paul in his divinely inspired words (1 Cor. 13:4-8), then maybe our love isn’t really love at all — at least not genuine love. Let us be willing to examine ourselves [better yet, let someone else examine us and report to us] to ensure our love is genuine and demonstrated with the purest of intentions and not done to gain some personal benefit. Again, Christ’s love for us is the standard!
When Paul wrote one of his last letters [to Timothy], he noted that Timothy’s “genuine faith” was cause for Paul remembering him in all his prayers, and a cause for joy (2 Tim. 1:3-5). Friends and brethren, our genuine faith can be a cause for joy in others, too! This world needs no more fake Christians, no more fake worship, and no more fake love. We need the real thing. We need to be the real thing!
Only you and God know whether your faith is real, your worship is genuine, and your love is real, but don’t fool yourself: He knows. Be real. — Steven Harper
