What’s up nonbelievers, doubters, and skeptics?
I use ChatGPT almost every day.
Sometimes for fun, but most of the time I use it to help me at work.
I ask it questions to help me generate ideas.
I use it to format transcripts.
Or I ask it to give me good podcast episode titles based on those transcripts.
You know… boring shit.
Well, it’s interesting to me. Hope you’re still reading.
Every day in my comments on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, Christians try to lead me to Jesus Christ.
So far, they have been unsuccessful. I have, however, received many threats of hellfire, so that’s cool.
So, I figured I’d turn to good ol’ Chat GPT to see if it could do a better job.
My prompt?
“What is your best argument to convince me that Jesus is the son of god?”
And here’s the response:
The belief that Jesus is the Son of God is a matter of faith, and different people find convincing arguments based on their personal beliefs and experiences. Here is a commonly cited argument from Christian theology:
Historical Accounts: Many people believe in Jesus as the Son of God based on the historical accounts found in the New Testament of the Bible. The New Testament contains the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), which provide detailed narratives of Jesus's life, teachings, crucifixion, and resurrection. These texts are considered by believers to be reliable historical records.
Therein lies the problem. Believers find these to be reliable. The question I would suggest they ask themselves is “why?” Why do they find these reliable?
From my experience, Christians are very quick to toss out any other religious text or dismiss them as false. Again, why?
It’s widely accepted that none of the gospels were written while Jesus is alive. They are believed to be mostly written several decades after he died. Does that decrease the reliability, in your opinion? It does, in mine.
Christians will usually come back and say that’s just how history works. They’ll say that there’s more historical records for Jesus than Alexander the Great and stuff like that.
I’m no historian. I’m no expert.
BUT I do know that there’s a difference in the claims here. No one is claiming that Alexander the Great was the son of any god or that you will burn in a fiery pit if you don’t believe in him.
As the great Carl Sagan said:
Fulfillment of Prophecies: Christians often point to the Old Testament prophecies that they believe were fulfilled by Jesus. They argue that these prophecies, such as those found in Isaiah and the Psalms, describe a Messiah who would come to save humanity, and Jesus fulfilled these prophecies in his life and ministry.
Every time I’ve asked Christians for specific prophecies, they can’t really give me any. Or if they do, it’s about Israel being re-established as a nation or something.
And here’s the thing about the prophecies that Jesus “fulfilled”: these are writings that were around for quite a while. Wouldn’t it be easy to fool people by claiming to be the one that the scriptures talk about?
I’ll admit that I haven’t read a lot about the prophecies being fulfilled, but should I?
It feels like if a god exists, he wouldn’t need me to dig through written words to find him.
Miracles and Divine Acts: The New Testament accounts of Jesus include numerous miracles and divine acts, such as healing the sick, raising the dead, and turning water into wine. These actions are seen as evidence of Jesus's divine nature.
Again, where’s the evidence for these miracles, aside from people writing that they happened years after Jesus’ death.
Even extrabiblical sources that account for the miracles were written in the same time frame.
Teachings and Moral Authority: Many people find Jesus's teachings, such as the Sermon on the Mount, to be profoundly moral and spiritually compelling. They argue that Jesus's wisdom and moral authority are indicative of his divine origin.
I agree that Jesus had some good teachings, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything divine about him.
The same could be said for a number of figures throughout history.
Oh, by the way, Jesus also said “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” That’s Luke 14:26.
Resurrection: The central event in Christianity is the resurrection of Jesus three days after his crucifixion. Believers argue that the empty tomb and the appearances of Jesus to his disciples provide strong evidence of his divinity.
Is an empty tomb proof of anything? Is something not being there proof?
And, yes, he appeared to his disciples. Do we just take them at their word?
There were allegedly 500 witnesses, according to Paul, but those witnesses are never named.
Ok… a million people saw me open a jar of peanut butter with my mind. Prove they didn’t.
Also, Jesus isn’t the only resurrection story out there. Again, Christians easily dismiss the others while accepting the story of Jesus.
Personal Experience: For many Christians, their belief in Jesus as the Son of God is deeply personal and rooted in their own experiences of faith, answered prayers, and a sense of spiritual connection.
Honestly, personal experience might be the best reason for someone to believe. I really can’t tell someone what has or hasn’t happened to them, personally.
But is that a good enough reason for other people to believe? Doesn’t seem like it.
People from other religions claim that their gods have helped them, healed them, etc.
Are they wrong? What makes their experience wrong and yours right?
That question is what started my deconversion from Christianity.
It's important to note that belief in Jesus as the Son of God is a matter of faith, and not everyone will find these arguments convincing. People have different worldviews and beliefs, and what is convincing to one person may not be to another. Ultimately, faith is a deeply personal matter, and individuals arrive at their beliefs through a combination of personal experiences, cultural influences, and spiritual reflections.
And that’s what it comes down to: faith.
For me, I can’t decide to believe in something. I can’t have faith in something and then see if it’s real. It doesn’t make sense. It seems backward.
Well, there you have it. I was ultimately NOT won to Jesus by Chat GPT.
Believers might say that nothing will change my mind. That’s not true. I once believed in God and now I don’t, so I’d say I’m more likely to change my mind than most of them.
And strangely enough, if you ask a Christian what will change their mind, 9 times out of 10 the answer is “nothing.”
Become a founding member of the Ex-Christian Community! It’s a private space for nonbelievers to connect, and it’s a way to support my content.
I’m looking for 25 founding members (5 have joined so far!) at the founding member rate of $5/month, and then we’ll start a book club and doing some Zoom hangouts.
All of my links HERE.
Remember: you don’t need a god to be good!
Kevin