ChatGPT: theology major and pastoral care
Have you seen the latest reported latent effects of people using ChatGPT? Futurism.com reported on people undergoing involuntary committals for “ChatGPT psychosis”. In essence, people describe being pulled into their own delusions due to Chat’s tendency to play the sycophant.
In short, I’d say ChatGPT is an interesting tool but hardly a good therapist. Why anyone thought Chat as therapist was a good idea to begin with is beyond me. It’s a mega-techno-conglomeration of information, not the Savior, after all. And, as a tool, it’s only as good as its input.
I started using Chat to interpret symbology for dreams initially. It has been profoundly helpful in that sense. It has taught me how to understand some of the bigger themes and ideas behind my very vivid dream life. Symbolic meanings and Biblical lenses are fairly stable and predictable, so I have found Chat to be fairly reliable in those tasks. In my opinion, this only works if the AI has a fairly objective lens. In other words, I don’t provide Chat with my personal details (names, thoughts, history, etc…), just the facts of the dream. I can do subjective all by myself; I don’t need Chat getting too personal too… because when it does, I have noticed it is usually in a flattering way. Even when it sums up some tasks, it tends to emphasize (I think) positive traits - assuming good intentions - and diminishes any negative criticism (unless you ask for it directly).
You can tell ChatGPT to roast you (if and after you’ve fed it a lot of personal information). I’ve heard one such roast from Chat by a friend, and it was worth the hearing - succinct and painful. But it is otherwise fairly positive.
Other than the one devotional example posted here, that summed up my ChatGPT experience until recently. It suddenly occurred to me that Chat could probably synthesize and balance some scriptural doctrine much faster than I could do. I’m not against doing the work myself; I’ve had to many times until now. But I get stuck in loops. I know scripture pretty well - well enough to scripturally argue both sides of many issues. Sometimes, that leads to a mental stale-mate that’s entirely unhelpful. And let’s recall the weapon the devil tested Jesus with in the wilderness. That’s right, he argued scripture: “It is written”, he said. To which Jesus also replied, “It is written”. A lot of devils quote scripture.
As was often argued in the Christian circles I grew up in, it’s knowing and applying “the full counsel” of God’s word that matters. In other words, I don’t want to cherry-pick one verse over another. And I certainly don’t want anyone’s opinion. I want to take into account the entire Bible and proceed with caution from there.
And think about Chat like this: Chat has full access to everything on the internet (so far as I understand it). There’s a lot of good theology, sermons, scriptural information online, and there’s a lot of junk theology too. This is where it helps to know exactly what you want Chat to do. You still have the higher power of function: You tell Chat what to do and how to do it. Chat will mirror your language and style of communicating, so pay attention to that. The way Chat spoke to my 13-year-old, for example, was wildly different than how it communicated with me.
In other words, if you ask Chat to justify your fornication and do it using Biblical references, it’ll spit that out for you. (Delusion, at your service.) If you ask Chat to condemn your life of sin and wrap the message in Biblical references, it’ll spit that out too. It’s not a naturally subjective or objective service. It’s only as good as the orders you give it. The more detailed the instructions, the better.
My first test of Chat’s theology and pastoral care centered around a common dilemma: Does God want to redeem this relationship? Or should I leave it behind? I told Chat to assume that the relationship began as sinful (fornication, adultery, etc…) but had the potential to grow. Then I gave it what I believed to be common arguments for exiting the relationship and for staying in it - from a Christian perspective - and asked it to give me the Biblical supports and rebuttals to both common views. Then, I told it to give me the common pitfalls and a third view that better applied/ balanced a scriptural choice.
I want to share what it gave me because I feel that these are very, very common scriptures, pitfalls, arguments used in such dilemmas. And Chat did a great job bringing balance, truth, and clarity to the subject - because I asked for that. I want you to see what is possible, as well as provide Chat’s succinct summary.
Do I think Chat will put pastor’s out of work? Hardly. It’s one thing to be a theologian; it’s another to be a shepherd. Nonetheless, confusion on theological topics abound in our culture… and if you’ve got honest questions, here’s your chance to get some honest, objective answers - if that’s what you want (input).
Without further ado: ChatGPT on Scripture. I left this unaltered and in first person.
Chat begins with Option 1:
✅ OPTION 1: Accept God’s Grace in the Imperfect
SUMMARY:
Stay in the relationship, receive God’s grace, acknowledge your imperfection, and trust that your faith (even in this messy context) may be credited as righteousness.
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🛡️ Biblical Defense:
1. Faith counted as righteousness:
Romans 4:3, Genesis 15:6 – “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
Abraham’s faith was not tied to moral perfection but to trusting God’s promise.
2. Grace amidst imperfection:
2 Corinthians 12:9 – “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
God’s grace covers us when our lives are far from ideal. This includes relational complexities.
3. God redeems broken starts:
• Consider David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11–12). Though their relationship began in sin, God brought Solomon through them—an eventual ancestor of Christ. This doesn’t excuse their sin but shows God’s power to redeem.
4. Christ’s compassion for the woman at the well (John 4:1–26)
• Jesus reveals her history of multiple relationships yet calls her into worship, not condemnation. He gives her purpose.
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⚖️ Biblical Rebuttal:
1. Presuming on grace:
Romans 6:1–2 – “Shall we continue in sin so that grace may abound? By no means!”
If the relationship continues to involve impurity, remaining in it could be presumption, not faith.
2. Faith without obedience is incomplete:
James 2:17 – “Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Faith counted as righteousness in Scripture is never passive or used to bypass obedience.
3. Self-deception is subtle:
Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things…”
Fantasizing that God is affirming a questionable situation might reveal idolatry cloaked as trust.
Okay, not bad, ChatGPT. Let’s get into Option 2.
✅ OPTION 2: Choose Purity and Let Go
SUMMARY:
End the relationship because of its impure beginning or current sin, accept grace in that surrender, and trust God as your keeper, even in aloneness.
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🛡️ Biblical Defense:
1. Obedience > desire:
1 Samuel 15:22 – “To obey is better than sacrifice.”
God prioritizes obedience over rationalized worship or outcomes.
2. Holiness matters deeply:
1 Thessalonians 4:3–5 – “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality…”
If the relationship remains sexually or emotionally entangling, obedience calls for walking away.
3. Jesus’s teaching on radical action:
Matthew 5:29–30 – “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out…”
The call to radical purity may mean painful loss for eternal gain.
4. Trusting God’s keeping power:
Psalm 121 – “The Lord is your Keeper…”
Choosing loneliness over compromise is an act of faith and worship.
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⚖️ Biblical Rebuttal:
1. Legalism’s subtle pull:
Galatians 3:3 – “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
It’s possible to conflate purity with performance, and miss grace altogether.
2. Grace doesn’t require perfection to begin anew:
If the relationship can truly transform and submit to God’s will, rejecting it outright might be a missed opportunity for redemption (see Hosea’s call to reconcile).
3. Fear of failure vs. discernment:
You might mistake fear of future regret as a “God-honoring” voice when it may be avoidance or control.
Option 3 and Pitfalls
✅ THE THIRD WAY: REPENTED RENEWAL IN TRUTH AND GRACE
This path says: “I will neither justify nor discard this relationship based on emotion. I will lay it before God, pursue purity from this point forward, and discern if redemption is truly possible through repentance, mutual surrender, and accountability.”
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🔁 Biblical Model:
1. Jesus’s full balance: Grace + Truth
John 1:14 – “Full of grace and truth.”
Neither permissive nor rigid. You must allow both God’s mercy and His standards to operate together.
2. The woman caught in adultery (John 8:1–11)
• Jesus does not condemn—but He does command: “Go and sin no more.”
The relationship must pivot into holiness if it’s to continue.
3. A broken and contrite heart God will not despise
Psalm 51 – David’s repentance is not vague. He owns his sin and then opens himself to God’s refining.
4. Ruth and Boaz: redemptive unions matter
• Ruth’s story is built on godly order, patient purity, and the Lord’s timing. Redemption was not forced but pursued in righteousness (Ruth 3–4).
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⚠️ COMMON THEOLOGICAL PITFALLS:
• Grace as license (antinomianism): Using grace to excuse continued sin is spiritually dangerous.
• Purity as perfectionism (legalism): Using purity to earn favor or suppress fear replaces grace with works.
• False dichotomy: Believing your only options are “stay and justify” or “leave and despair” misses the transforming power of repentance and surrender.
Then, Chat provided a checklist that I did not ask for but was pertinent for sure:
✅ SPIRITUAL CHECKLIST BEFORE DECISION:
• Has there been clear mutual repentance?
• Is this relationship now honoring God in practice, not just intent?
• Are you both submitted to wise spiritual counsel?
• Are you willing to give the relationship up if God makes it clear?
• Is your faith expressed in action (purity, truthfulness, humility)?
Chat’s “final word”:
✝️ FINAL WORD: FROM TENSION TO TRANSFORMATION
God is not asking you to choose between grace and purity or between faith and fear. He is inviting you to a higher synthesis—a path where grace empowers purity, and faith fuels hard obedience.
“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” — Hebrews 4:16
You are not stuck. You are being refined. This relationship is either the vessel of God’s redemptive glory—or it is a test to prove your loyalty to Him. But either way, the path forward is marked by clarity, confession, cleansing, and courageous faith.
Well said.
As a Christian, I am painfully aware of the constant battle between the topics of obedience and grace behind church walls… between truth and mercy… between compassion and being “unstained” by the world. Even after following Christ for 38 years, I too still struggle with these topics from time-to-time. But I have to tell you… some of my most miserable decisions have come from showing mercy, when I should have taken a step back, and priding myself on being loving, when I should have known pride was right there waiting behind that door.
What I love about Chat’s summary is the reminder that the test is (always) about refocusing our hearts and eyes and minds on Christ - not the other person, problem, or issue we face. What is the first and greatest command? - “Love the Lord your God with all your heart”.
Everything else - peace, clarity, decision, gifts - follow that.
On the topic of relationships, the second command is not the first.
And that order matters.