Pub Theology 11/18/25 -- Jesus ex machina

Peter Trumbore • November 17, 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI for the uninitiated) seems to be worming its way into more and more aspects of our daily lives. Or at least AI hype seems to be.


In high schools and colleges we have students using AI to do their homework, in the working world job-seekers are using AI to write and submit job applications while businesses use AI to read and evaluate those applications. Folks are using AI to plan their vacation itineraries, set fitness goals and create workout plans, write recipes, give them relationship advice, to take the place of therapists, and even as stand-ins for real world friends, confidants, or romantic partners. And now it's come for our churches.


Some years back in one of our pre-pandemic conversations, we talked about the role of technology in our faith lives, but at that time the most exotic application we had run across was a "virtual reality Jesus experience" that purported to let users walk alongside Jesus and the disciples through the Gospel narrative. That sounded pretty lame to all of us, including our resident VR enthusiast at the time. Let's just say the technology has ... moved forward ... since then.


Where VR Jesus offered a chance to walk with Jesus, new AI-based apps will let you talk with the Son of God, or at least a chatbot version of the Savior. The Text with Jesus app lets users ask questions of and converse with not just Jesus, but other biblical figures, from apostles to prophets. Apparently the premium version will unlock the ability to chat with Satan too.


Other AI-powered faith resources are out there too, including EpiscoBot, created for The Episcopal Church by TryTank, a research institute associated with the church's Virginia Theological Seminary. This draws on church resources and teaching to respond to faith-based and spiritual queries. For Roman Catholics, apps like One Day Confession and Confession -- Catholic (you can find them in the Apple App Store) help the faithful confession and spiritual reflection. And a California megachurch pastor has created an AI chatbot version of himself to provide one-on-one spiritual guidance, all for the low, low cost of $49 a month. We're not providing a link to that one.


What to make of all this? That's the topic of our conversation this week. To help you think about the issues, here's a link to an article just published in the UK-based web magazine UnHerd, written by a friend of mine, a priest in the Church of England. In it the Rev. Gerry Lynch writes that despite the perils and pitfalls, "Some churches will nonetheless become tempted by the AI hype. They should heed the lessons learnt during the pandemic, when online services and “virtual church” were presented as a God-sent means of Christian revival instead of a regrettable necessity in extreme circumstances." And here's another story on one experiment in having an AI Jesus hear confession at a Roman Catholic Church in Switzerland.


Join us for the discussion this Tuesday evening, Nov. 18, starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion. Word on the street has it that we may even reach out directly, or via text at least, with Jesus himself and see what the Redeemer of Mankind has to say.

Living With Uncertainty

By Andrew Guffey • March 6, 2026
What do we do when we don't know what to do?

Second Sunday in Lent | March 1, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • March 1, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Living Faithfully, Acting Bravely

By Andrew Guffey • February 27, 2026
Reflecting on Seven Years

Pub Theology 2/24/26 -- It's an illusion

By Peter Trumbore • February 23, 2026
We're building our conversation this week around the above quote, that has widely been attributed to English modernist writer and feminist pioneer Virginia Woolf. Before you ask, yes, we are aware that some of Woolf's views, especially on race and class, would make her persona non grata in certain circles today. But that said, the quote is worth thinking about. In some ways it is reminiscent of a quote from C.S. Lewis that was the focus of one of our conversations some eight years ago. Lewis said: "When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." What both writers seem to be pointing to is the obvious truth that as we age we grow and change. Including our views, our ideas of how the world works, our preconceived notions of ourselves and others. And sometimes that change will feel like loss. What takes the place of those things we've lost? For Woolf, it's other illusions. This brings us back to Woolf's quote. What do you think she is getting at here? Are there illusions that you've had to lose as you've grown older and (hopefully) wiser? What might those be for you? And what about the other half of the quote? What kind of new illusions have we acquired as we've shed others? Finally, are there "comforting illusions" that you still cling to? And to make it a little provocative, is your faith one of them? Come help us sort it all out tomorrow evening. Join us for the discussion Tuesday, Feb. 24 starting at 7pm at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

First Sunday in Lent | February 22, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • February 22, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Ashes and Honesty

By Andrew Guffey • February 20, 2026
This is us.

Last Sunday after Epiphany | February 15, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • February 15, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.

Invitation to a Holy Lent

By Andrew Guffey • February 13, 2026
Rem ember, you are dust.

Pub Theology 2/10/26 -- Yes to acts of kindness, but why random?

By Peter Trumbore • February 9, 2026
Every now and again we dip into the archives to bring back a topic from a past discussion. When you've been doing this for more than a dozen years, there's plenty of good stuff to revisit. So we're doing that this week, and it turns out to be a surprisingly timely decision. Next Tuesday marks Random Acts of Kindness Day (yes, really), and it turns out that nine years ago, almost to the very day, our conversation revolved around the idea of random acts of kindness. Since we last talked about it, the idea of random acts of kindness has become surprisingly institutionalized. According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation , which actively encourages just such things, "When we choose kindness, our brains light up with oxytocin, dopamine, and connection; reminding us that kindness is not just good for the world, it is good for us." And almost 250,000 people worldwide have signed up with the foundation as RAKtivists, pledging to try to make the world a better place one act of kindness at a time. For its part, the foundation, which aims to make kindness a norm, offers kindness tips and suggestions, creates teaching materials, and encourages kindness in our schools, homes, and in our workplaces. For example, when on social media they suggest: "Scroll until you see someone's creative effort -- a drawing, recipe, a photo -- and leave a genuine, specific compliment." To be honest, that sounds like a really nice idea! Here's the prompt from our discussion way back in 2017: In 1982 Anne Herbert wrote the phrase "practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" on a restaurant placemat in Sausalito, Calif. Since then, the call to practice random acts of kindness has become firmly rooted in our social culture. So what's an example of this? When's the last time you were on the receiving end of a random act of kindness? What did that feel like? When was the last time you performed one? How did that make you feel? Is such a gesture really meaningful, or is it a way to avoid making kindness a part of our everyday lives and routines? Join us for the conversation tomorrow evening, Tuesday February. 10 starting at 7pm. We gather at Irish Tavern in downtown Lake Orion.

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany | February 8, 2026

By Andrew Guffey • February 8, 2026
This Sunday, all are welcome to join us for a morning of worship and fellowship. Whether you are with us in the sanctuary or joining from afar, your presence strengthens our community. Our service is at 9:30 a.m. We warmly welcome those who cannot attend in person to join us via our live stream.