How do we define a sermon? “Calvin says a sermon only becomes the Word of God if the Holy Spirit is added to what is spoken,” James Burnett, Principal of Belfast School of Theology, points out. With that in mind, are AI-generated sermons ever acceptable?
Ultimately, Burnett says, the pastor who uses ChatGPT to generate his sermons causes himself to preach non-incarnationally and, ultimately, without the Holy Spirit. “An AI-generated sermon may sound eloquent, but it will lack power (1 Corinthians 2v1-4),” Burnett says. “The issue is theological: God chooses broken vessels over perfect machines.”
“Sermons are always pastoral, created within the heart of a pastor,” adds Iver Martin, Principal of Edinburgh Theological Seminary.
