With the advent of AI (artificial intelligence) such as ChatGPT, more and more people are turning to these bots to answer their questions, complete tasks, and in the case of the story I’m about to share with you, even to offer (false) encouragement. According to a Reddit post that went viral, a trans-identifying individual posted, “I was feeling sad today,” and so this person turned to AI for encouragement by asking ChatGPT to write a “fake Bible passage about Jesus accepting trans people.”
Here’s the text that ChatGPT came up with:
And a woman, whose heart was divided between spirit and body, came before him. In quiet despair, she asked, ‘Lord, I come to you estranged, for my spirit and body are not one. How shall I hope to enter the kingdom of God?’
Jesus looked upon her with kindness, replying, ‘my child, blessed are those who strive for unity within themselves, for they shall know the deepest truths of my Father’s creation. Be not afraid, for in the kingdom of God, there is no man nor woman, as all are one in spirit. The gates of my Father’s kingdom will open for those who love and are loved, for God looks not upon the body, but the heart.
This individual didn’t need a fake Bible passage to find verses about Jesus “accepting” individuals who identify as trans—he or she could have just gone straight to the actual Word of God!
Now there’s so much I could say about this fake “Bible” passage written by a bot that clearly pulled from the culture, not God’s Word, to construct a supposed answer from Jesus. But I want to start by saying this: this individual didn’t need a fake Bible passage to find verses about Jesus “accepting” (note the quote marks: I’ll explain more below) individuals who identify as trans—he or she could have just gone straight to the actual Word of God!
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9, emphasis added)
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, emphasis added)
Actually, we know who ultimately wrote those ChatGPT “verses”: the father of lies.
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)
Yes, God accepts anyone who comes to him in repentance and faith—not because of their own goodness, but because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross! No matter a person’s background or the sins they struggle with, any person is welcome to come to Jesus and find full forgiveness, acceptance (adoption) into the family of God, eternal life, the seal of the Holy Spirit, and so much more! The gift of becoming right with God (accepted by him) isn’t limited to any particular demographic—it’s an open, free invitation to all who will “believe in the Lord Jesus” (Acts 16:31).
But this doesn’t mean that God accepts us in the way that our culture (and the way this individual) accepts trans-identifying individuals. When someone today says “accept,” they mean celebrate an identity that runs contrary to God’s design. When God says you are “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6 KJV), it means that Christ has paid the penalty for your sin so you now have right standing before the Creator of the universe.
And salvation means that God will not leave you in your sin and your false identity. If you are his child, he will sanctify you and call you to leave your life of sin (John 8:11), deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow him (Luke 9:23). Part of that will mean leaving behind a sinful identity and embracing how he made you to be—either as a man (male) or woman (female) (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4–5), fearfully and wonderfully made by him (Psalm 139:14) in his image (Genesis 1:27). There are only two genders of humans, biblically and scientifically, male or female.
In Christ, you don’t need to strive to find your identity—you have a new identity grounded in who Christ is and what he has done for you on the cross.
The person who asked ChatGPT for this fake statement from Jesus said, “I know it’s not real, but it gave me some comfort.” But a lie shouldn’t (and really can’t) provide any comfort! But the God of the Bible—the “God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3)—offers true and lasting comfort, hope, and peace through his Son. In Christ, you don’t need to strive to find your identity—you have a new identity grounded in who Christ is and what he has done for you on the cross. In Christ, you don’t need to strive “for unity within [yourself]” because Jesus has restored the broken relationship—your biggest problem—between you (a sinner) and a holy God.
False comfort comes from creating a god in your own image who likes and accepts what you like and accept as well as hates and rejects what you also hate and reject. But that god is a false god who may provide some temporary comfort while leading you straight into an eternity separated from the one true God. The only true comfort and rest comes through Jesus—the true Jesus!
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)
Don’t look to a false Bible and false god for hope—look to Jesus, who died on the cross to take the penalty of sin for us, rose from the dead, and now offers salvation to all who will turn from their sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation.
Oh, and a warning:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality. (1 Corinthians 6:9)
Get More Answers on Answers News
This item was discussed today on Answers News with cohosts Patricia Engler, Dr. Georgia Purdom, and Dr. Tim Chaffey. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum and broadcast on our Answers in Genesis YouTube channel and posted to Answers TV. We also covered the following topics:
- Researchers find out pigmentation is more complicated than they thought.
- Christian university drops faith requirement.
- The James Webb Space Telescope “surprises” scientists yet again.
- And more!
Watch the entire episode of Answers News for August 28, 2023.
Be sure to join us each Monday at 2 p.m. (ET) on YouTube or later that day on Answers TV for Answers News. You won’t want to miss this unique news program that gives science and culture news from a distinctly biblical and Christian perspective.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken
This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.
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