People are using AI to talk to Jesus. Why it's controversial (www.today.com)

A new wave of faith-focused apps—led by Text With Jesus—uses AI chatbots to simulate conversations with religious figures, offering users on-demand spiritual guidance, Bible citations and even premium features (the app advertises a Satan persona). Developer Stéphane Peter acknowledges the system is an AI “pretending to be Jesus or any of the apostles,” and the app’s responses are algorithmically generated from text sources and scripture variants; the team is testing voice features and more characters ahead of the holidays. The trend (including bible.ai and EpiscoBot) arrives amid broader religious shifts in the U.S.—nearly 30% report no affiliation—positioning these tools as potential gateways for people exploring faith. The controversy centers on transparency, theological accuracy and social risk. Scholars and religious leaders warn that opaque model training, mixed scripture translations and generative AI hallucinations can produce inconsistent or misleading theology, while critics fear people might substitute algorithmic answers for pastoral care and human community. Advocates say AI can help locate texts and spark reflection, but commentators from TODAY and faith researchers stress it should supplement—not replace—human-led spiritual guidance. Technically, the debate raises familiar AI questions: provenance of training data, version control over quoted scriptures, and safeguards to prevent harmful or doctrinally problematic outputs.