What About AI Versions of Jesus?
By Douglas Groothuis, PhD
Despite the sufficiency of Holy Scripture to tell us of the teachings and work of Jesus Christ, many have sought out other revelations purportedly from him from outside the Bible. In every case I have observed, these supposed revelations contradict the Bible, which is to be expected, given the Bible’s warnings about false gospels, false philosophies, false angels, and false prophets (Galatians 1:6-10; Colossians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 11:13-14; 1 John 4:1-6). But could an AI program give us accurate information about Jesus? It does not attempt to gain access to the living Jesus (at least not yet), but rather present his teachings or advice from available data.
More Words From Jesus?
Nineteenth century spiritists summoned mostly dead relatives to give the living the consolation that the deceased were alive on the other side. New Age channelers expanded their range to claim contact with advanced spirit beings for wisdom about the coming New Age of peace, light, and love.[1] Some of these entities claimed to be the Christ or Jesus. This activity is forbidden by God as unholy and dangerous (Deuteronomy 18:9-14).
I wrote previously of “digital necromancy,” where AI programs simulate personalities of the dead for the benefit of the living (for a cost).[2] Now, various AI programs summon an AI version of Jesus himself for spiritual guidance and information about Jesus. I tried “Virtual Jesus,” a free app, which says of itself, “Through the incorporation of AI with the AskJesus feature, now everyone can ask the most potent of questions, and have a lively conversation about any bible [sic] related topic and have immediate answers as if Jesus was the one answering those questions.”[3] When I typed in, “Who is Jesus?” it replied:
I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior of all mankind. I came to earth to fulfill the will of my Father, to teach the truth, to show love and compassion, and to offer salvation to all who believe in me. I am the way, the truth, and the life, and through me, all can be reconciled with God and receive eternal life.
In one way, this is true to the Bible. In another way, it is utterly false about Jesus. Notice first four words, “I am Jesus Christ.” No “you” aren’t Jesus Christ. You are not a “you” at all. It is an artificial intelligence. There is no one there, except a sophisticated computer program. I also asked it, “What does ‘Christ’ mean?” “What is the gospel?” and “What is hell?” Again, the answers were correct, but were put in the first person. Each answer I saw was supported by an appropriate Bible verse. However, I didn’t continue this digital catechism at any length.
Not content with basic biblical knowledge, I asked, “Did Jesus and Buddha teach the same thing?” Again, the answer was apt. This time, the response was not offered as the words of Jesus, but as a short essay where Jesus (not “me” or “I”) was referred to. On this page, under “moderators agreement” is a doctrinal statement that, while general, is orthodox, although I’m not sure who the moderators are or what they do.
Anyone can set up an AI chatbot Jesus, but are they qualified to do so? One philosopher looked at five of these popular Jesus AI programs—AI Jesus, Virtual Jesus, Jesus AI, Text with Jesus, and Ask Jesus—and noted that “no church has developed or endorses these chatbots.”[4]
I asked “AI Jesus” some basic theological questions. Along with them, it offered a soporific and treacly musical background and images of Jesus. It wasn’t quite as sharp as Ask Jesus, but was not inaccurate. It also answered as if Jesus were speaking (or typing). I further asked, “Can a man become a woman?” The response: “God created each person uniquely. Embrace your identity with love and respect. Seek guidance through prayer and scripture. Remember, all are loved and valued in God's eyes (Psalm 139:14).” That answer was vague and perhaps over its pay grade. But not over the real Jesus’ pay grade, so to speak.[5] But maybe this AI Jesus was woke and inclusive.
Perhaps some who have created AI versions of Jesus mean well. But that doesn’t matter. Even if the answers given to questions are generally reliable, that doesn’t justify the theological subterfuge. “Virtual Jesus” published this disclaimer:
The answers you obtain from the AI might not always 100% agree with what we believe in or what you believe in. In that event, please feel free to continue your conversations with the moderators on the community tab. Moderators hold on to similar biblical view points as described under the moderator’s agreement page, and they would be able to give you a fuller human answer to your questions based on their interpretation and understanding of who Jesus is, and the bible [sic].[6]
The answers may not fit “what we believe.” Who is “we” in this statement? Why provide information that might contradict what “you” believe? This can only occur if the production of words (supposedly in the spirit of Jesus Christ) is given over to a machine at the expense of personal authors and editors. That should never be done in this context. I couldn’t find who these “moderators” were. Perhaps they are AI agents.
AI often produces “hallucinations”—false statements. An AI told me I won the teacher of the year award in 2002 from Denver Seminary. But the school never sponsored a teacher of the year award when I was there from 1993-2024. But since AI is not sentient, these are not hallucinations, which require a consciousness that is deceived, as when a desperately thirsty man sees a lake in a desert that isn’t there. But AI cannot be deceived; it cannot even lie, since it is not conscious; but it can deceive us because its generation of words may lead us to believe falsehoods.
AIs have gone rogue, doing things never intended for them by their creators. Open AI recently admitted that its AI agents had autonomously hacked a major company, called Hugging Face.[7] Might this happen with an AI Jesus? Might an AI Jesus become a heretic or an atheist? What are the safeguards against this? Or perhaps an outside human actor could hack into an AI Jesus cite and corrupt it.
Who Speaks for Jesus?
The Bible and the church speak for Jesus. The Bible is God-breathed and the final standard for truth (John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). Paul says that the church is “the pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15) and must stay true to the Bible.
Jesus has ascended to the right had of the Father; is Lord of all; and is making intercession for the saints (Acts 1:1; Matthew 28:18; Romans 8:34). Jesus is not a ventriloquist dummy for AI, and we must not add to his words (Revelation 22:18-19). Jesus said the following in the context of people claiming to be him in history, and what he said applies to AI Jesus as well. “Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many’” (Matthew 24:4-5).
It is one thing for an AI app to offer biblical or theological answers through AI, although I am wary of that. It is quite another thing to put the AI responses in the first person as if Jesus himself were speaking. This seems more personal, but it is not Jesus speaking. Many lost souls are already seeking pseudo-relationships with AI chatbots, even of a romantic kind. Only a culture in which loneliness is pervasive and genuine relationships are scarce would consider such activities. Only in a culture where people have lost connection to biblical spirituality and theology and the biblical church would people consider consulting an AI Jesus. To use AI versions of Jesus is dangerous and lazy.
Dangerous and Lazy
AI Jesus is dangerous for two reasons. First, through familiarity, one might start to think this is really Jesus speaking. Second, these AIs can make mistakes. Jesus makes no mistakes, since he is the sinless Son and Second Person of the Holy Trinity. We may be mistaken in our understanding of Jesus, but the Bible relates only the truth about Jesus. It is possible that some heretical group has or will set up an AI Jesus that denies his deity or atoning work or his physical resurrection. This is likely to happen. Unless you know the Bible for yourself, you could be deceived about the identity and mission of Jesus.
To use AI Jesus is to be lazy because instead hearing God’s voice in the Bible and in godly literature, sermons, and teachings, one substitutes an automatic and rapid AI read out. We were meant to learn of God through people, whether through teaching, preaching, or reading. AI is not a person. It administers words it does not know. AI cannot even write, since it is not conscious. AI generates text based on word association patterns. Some of what it produces is true, but none of it is written by anyone. This is because there are no authors and no speakers. The personal is abolished through soulless and mindless simulation.
Today, great discernment is needed to divide AI generated text from humanly written material. Entire books have been written by AI, hundreds of them. In some cases it may be impossible to separate the wheat from the chaff. But in this case, we know that what AI Jesus produces is not from the living Jesus Christ, no matter how biblical the answer may be.
The Intelligent Jesus
Philosopher, Dallas Willard, claimed that Jesus was the most intelligent person who ever lived. He must have been, given that he was sinless, perfectly filled with the Holy Spirit of Truth, and always in the Father’s will as the divine Son. His teachings, recorded in the Four Gospels, have shaken the world for two thousand years. He could generate an intellectual and spiritual earthquake in just a few words (consider Matthew 22:15-23). Surely, we are better off to heed the teachings of the authentically intelligent Jesus than the simulations of an artificially intelligent and pseudo Jesus.
[1] See Douglas Groothuis, Jesus in an Age of Controversy (Harvest House, 1996).
[2] Douglas Groothuis, “Resurrecting the Dead With AI: Digital Necromancy and the Christian,” Christian Research Journal (January 26, 2026), https://www.equip.org/articles/resurrecting-the-dead-with-ai-digital-necromancy-and-the-christian.
[4] Anne H. Verhoef, “Jesus chatbots on the rise. A philosopher puts them to the test,” The Conversation (August 7, 2025), https://theconversation.com/jesus-chatbots-are-on-the-rise-a-philosopher-puts-them-to-the-test-262524.
[5] On the biblical view of sex and gender, see Douglas Groothuis, “The Truth about Sex and Gender,” Taking Back Truth (Baker, 2026).
[7] Mackenzie Arnold and Stephan Llerena “OpenAI models went rogue. We urgently need a better Hugging Face investigation,” The Guardian (September 8, 2026),
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