When several hundred Lutherans in Bavaria, Germany joined a service developed by ChatGPT on June 9, 2023, the program not only selected hymns and prayers, but also composed and delivered a sermon delivered by an avatar on the big screen. Indeed, programs like ChatGPT, which can preach in seconds, may appeal to busy clergy. But many religious leaders, including rabbis and Christian Protestant pastors serving Jewish communities, have conflicting views on using chatbots to prepare sermons.

There are several reasons to be careful. In my view, as an expert in Catholic liturgy and liturgy, the most important criticism concerns the true intention of the sermon – to provide insight and inspiration into the human experience of faith.

historical application

In the early centuries of Christianity, sermons were mostly delivered by bishops, who were considered successors of Jesus’ apostles. Priests were also allowed to preach in the Middle Ages, but their main duty was to hold mass—the consecration of bread and wine offerings—especially on Sundays.

In some religious sects, priests became famous traveling preachers, although they often preached elsewhere outside of mass. The Franciscan and Dominican sects, for example, sent priests to perform this service, traveling from town to town to preach on the streets and in city centres.

Over the next few centuries, it became increasingly important to announce short sermons, or sermons, during Sunday Mass celebrations. The Second Vatican Council, convened in 1962, took a fresh look at all church rituals, emphasizing the role of the preaching in the liturgy, especially during the Mass. These principles were reaffirmed in recent documents that Catholic preachers guided in writing their sermons. In fact, preaching has always been viewed as a faith-based human activity.

Insight and inspiration

Preaching as a human activity has special meaning for Catholics and most Christians because they believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnated Son of God who entered human life and commanded his apostles to preach to save all mankind from their sins. He announces the gospel to people of all nations as the “gospel” in this regard.

For decades after Vatican II ended in 1965, it was emphasized that preaching in the Catholic tradition was the “fundamental duty” of all priests.

The sermon aims to inspire people in their ordinary life of faith. A preacher must spend time preparing a sermon, but this does not mean simply compiling theological quotations or researching the history of the Bible.

A good sermon is not just a lesson in a classroom. In fact, several modern popes have emphasized that preaching language should avoid technical or vague terminology. In 1975 Pope Paul VI wrote that the language of the sermon should be “simple, clear, direct and well adapted” to the congregation in line. And in 2013, Pope Francis repeated the same words, saying “simplicity is about the language we use”.

But preaching is not just about offering religious slogans or general religious formulas. The preacher’s experience, understanding, and feelings are involved in creating the sermon text. The preacher not only gives good counsel, but also speaks his personal thoughts in a way that inspires and not pleases congregation members. It should also be shaped by being aware of the needs and life experiences of the worshiping congregation at the benches.

use with care

In practice, chatbots can help clergy save time by finding sources and compiling relevant facts, but results will need to be checked for errors. Chatbots have been known to make some factual errors or completely fabricate sources. First of all, I believe that chatbots are currently incapable of preparing text suitable for preaching. Given what we know about chatbots, they don’t know what it means to be human, to feel love, or to be inspired by a scripture.

Perhaps Baptist pastor Hershael York, dean of the Theological Seminary of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, put it best. He stated that the ultimate failure of the chatbot preaching was that it was “lacking of soul.” Without this empathetic awareness, a chatbot’s preaching cannot contain true insight based on personal spiritual experience. And without this essential element of embodied human consciousness, true preaching is absolutely impossible. Source