Thought for the Week

This blurb is not written by generative AI. Apparently, however, I am increasingly in the minority when it comes to using generative AI at work, at school, at university, or for any form of self promotion. With the rise of the internet my description of world religions as a ‘supermarket of religion’ is becoming increasingly like a corner convenience store for late night needs because more and more people can find a veritable religious smorgasbord online at home – and who doesn’t want things delivered to us at home these days?

While the internet grants access to knowledge for more people, it’s very openness means that anyone can put up an electronic shingle, set up a box in ‘speaker’s corner’, hold a sign on an electronic ‘street corner’ and say or claim what they want and the authority of the words increasingly is the personality, appeal, or agreement with the speaker rather than any objective truth. And so we have all sorts of claims about science, politics, economics, psychology, theology, religion, and more that are increasingly all given the same ‘status’ and our knowledge and beliefs become more opinions – and it is easy to have our opinions inside our skulls, online with our preferred feeds and groups, and – perish the thought – even ignorant of facts or proper authority.

The internet and generative AI challenge the previous ‘gate keepers’ of truth and knowledge. Professional knowledge, research and study, and academic rigour are not necessarily high on people’s criteria of truth – often because in all domains of knowledge we can find examples of where the data was manipulated for other ends – personally or politically. Where can we go for truth? Are we all in The Matrix and someone else is writing the programme?

And religions have always been particularly susceptible to this type of manipulation of knowledge – usually by the promotion of a person and his – usually it’s a man but not always – version of the hidden world of deities and messages that require faith and trust. That is why the cult of personality can do such harm in the Church – and why Jesus established the Office of the Ministry – so that people could be assured that where words, water, bread and wine occur in his name, people are meeting Jesus and the pastor ‘fades’ or is less and less the focus of attention. It is the pastor’s role to be the bridge bringing God’s Word to specific people in specific times and places as best he can so they will encounter Jesus – and trust the Holy Spirit to do his work! Law and Gospel might be generic statements as a teaching of the Church but they also must be spoken and heard personally which requires human interaction.

And so we encounter a mystery running through Christianity that a sinful pastor can speak God’s Word – and that forgiven sinners can hear human words and God’s Word at the same time as they encounter Scripture in the Bible, in a sermon, in hymns and songs, in conversation and counselling, in prayer – and in encountering Jesus, people meet a person who is truly God and truly human who will not use his power and glory for his own ego but is committed to serving his creation and people.

At Christmas and at The Epiphany of Our Lord – as we hear of pregnancies, birth, angelic and shepherd messengers, and later Magi, Herod’s murderous response, exile, growing up in Nazareth, and then Jesus’ Baptism – 30 years in about 2 weeks of the Church Year – we are meeting God who does not stay in the heavenly realm but who is among people in the hurly burly of life to engage personally with us. That is where Christianity lives – not as a packaged product – but in the physical and personal interactions of people in the hurly burly, the ups and downs, the success and failure, joy and sorrow of our real life with a God who can be easily overlooked. His manger, cross, even empty tomb never sparkled or glowed – and only once did Jesus ‘glow’ and that was on a mountain with 3 disciples who were told to say nothing until after the resurrection – because Jesus seeks to be part of our real living – not the ‘sparkly’ one we dream about or what generative AI thinks we want. Jesus is with his people to help in his way – and should I be doubted or mocked for such a message, I can still declare it to be true – because a cross and empty tomb remain witnesses the world has not been able to disprove or relegate to opinion. Jesus is God with us still today – a God who serves!

GS