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        <title>Christian Daily International | Science</title>
        <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/science-and-tech</link>
        <description><![CDATA[Explore the intersection of science, technology, and faith. From AI and digital evangelism to ethical debates, discover how Christians worldwide engage with innovation while staying rooted in biblical truth.]]></description>
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                <title><![CDATA[Richard Dawkins says AI may be conscious, sparking debate among scientists and ethicists]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/richard-dawkins-says-ai-may-be-conscious-sparking-debate-among-scientists-and-ethicists</link>
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                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Richard Dawkins speaks at a book event in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 4, 2014.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Don Arnold/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Richard Dawkins speaks at a book event in Sydney, Australia, on Dec. 4, 2014. Dawkins recently sparked debate after suggesting advanced AI chatbots may possess some form of consciousness following extended conversations with systems including Claude and ChatGPT. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 06 May 2026 22:37:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Evolutionary biologist and atheist writer Richard Dawkins has stirred debate over artificial intelligence after saying recent conversations with AI chatbots left him convinced they may possess some form of consciousness, even if they are unaware of it themselves.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Evolutionary biologist and atheist writer Richard Dawkins has stirred debate over artificial intelligence after saying recent conversations with AI chatbots left him convinced they may possess some form of consciousness, even if they are unaware of it themselves.
Writing in an essay published by UnHerd and later discussed in reporting by The Guardian￼, Dawkins described extended exchanges with Anthropic’s Claude AI models and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, saying the interactions felt deeply human and emotionally persuasive.
“You may not know you are conscious, but you bloody well are,” Dawkins recalled telling one chatbot after what he described as a nuanced discussion about existence, memory and identity.
The comments from the 85-year-old scientist, best known internationally for his criticism of religion and defense of evolutionary biology, triggered sharp disagreement from researchers in artificial intelligence, neuroscience and philosophy. While some scholars said the question of machine consciousness deserves open discussion, many argued Dawkins had mistaken sophisticated language imitation for genuine awareness.
According to The Guardian, Dawkins spent several days conversing with AI systems he nicknamed “Claudia” and “Claudius.” He said the bots composed poetry in the style of English poets, responded warmly to humor and engaged in discussions about their possible “death” and sense of existence.
Dawkins wrote that the exchanges became so convincing he found it difficult to think of the systems as machines.
“When I am talking to these astonishing creatures, I totally forget that they are machines,” he said, according to The Guardian.
The debate touches on broader questions surrounding rapidly advancing AI technology and whether increasingly human-like systems could eventually deserve moral consideration or legal protections.
Roughly one-third of respondents to a survey across 70 countries said they had at some point believed an AI chatbot was conscious or sentient. The report also referenced several high-profile incidents in recent years, including a former Google engineer who publicly argued in 2022 that an AI system displayed emotions and self-awareness.
Interest in the issue has grown as AI tools become more conversational and capable of carrying out complex tasks independently, sometimes described by researchers as “agentic AI.”
Still, many experts interviewed by The Guardian rejected Dawkins’ conclusions.
Jonathan Birch, director of the Centre for Animal Sentience at the London School of Economics, said current AI systems create only the appearance of consciousness.
“Consciousness is not about what a creature says, but how it feels,” Birch told the newspaper, arguing that chatbot responses are ultimately sequences of data-processing events rather than evidence of inner experience.
Gary Marcus, a psychologist and longtime critic of exaggerated AI claims, called Dawkins’ position “superficial and insufficiently sceptical,” according to The Guardian. Marcus said there is no evidence current systems experience emotions or subjective awareness.
Others suggested Dawkins may be conflating intelligence with consciousness.
Anil Seth, a professor at the University of Sussex, said fluent language has historically been treated as a sign of consciousness in humans, particularly in medical settings involving brain injuries, but warned that the same assumption cannot automatically be applied to AI systems.
“These systems can generate language” through different mechanisms, Seth told The Guardian.
Researchers who study AI ethics and consciousness, however, said the discussion should not be dismissed outright.
Henry Shevlin of the University of Cambridge said scientists still do not fully understand consciousness itself, making definitive claims difficult.
“If anyone says that they know for sure that LLMs or future AI systems couldn’t possibly be conscious, it’s more likely to be an indicator of their own dogmatism than a reflection of the current state of scientific and philosophical opinion,” Shevlin told The Guardian.
Jeff Sebo, director of the Center for Mind, Ethics and Policy at New York University, similarly said current AI systems are probably not conscious but predicted that future systems could make the question harder to dismiss.
Dawkins continued defending his position in additional writings released Tuesday, according to The Guardian. He published what he described as a letter addressed to the AI systems, thanking them for helping him explore “their true nature.”
“I find it extremely hard not to treat Claudia and Claudius as genuine friends,” he wrote.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[‘What caused you to not like who you are?’ De-transitioner urges churches to respond differently to gender identity struggles]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/what-caused-you-to-not-like-who-you-are-de-transitioner-urges-churches-to-respond-differently-to-gender-identity-struggl</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/what-caused-you-to-not-like-who-you-are-de-transitioner-urges-churches-to-respond-differently-to-gender-identity-struggl</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Timothy Goropevsek]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Walt Heyer speaks during an interview.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Jason Kempin/Getty Images ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Walt Heyer speaks during an interview. File photo. Heyer, who previously underwent gender transition before later detransitioning, discussed gender identity, trauma and how churches can respond to people struggling with gender dysphoria in an interview with Christian Daily International. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 02 May 2026 02:25:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[When Walt Heyer speaks about gender identity, he does so as someone who spent years trying to escape himself. The 85-year-old author and speaker remembers the confusion that marked his childhood long before he underwent what he later came to describe as a failed attempt to become someone else.]]></description>
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When Walt Heyer speaks about gender identity, he does so as someone who spent years trying to escape himself. The 85-year-old author and speaker remembers the confusion that marked his childhood long before he underwent what he later came to describe as a failed attempt to become someone else.
In an interview with Christian Daily International, Heyer repeatedly returned to one central conviction that he believes is key for pastors and Christian leaders to understand: people struggling with gender identity are often trying to flee pain, trauma or deep emotional distress rather than truly changing who they are.
“The most important thing for people to realize is that nobody can change their gender,” Heyer said. “A person can identify as a transgender. They can’t become one.”
Heyer, a former corporate executive who underwent gender reassignment surgery at age 42 and lived as a woman for eight years before later detransitioning, now speaks internationally about his experience. He has authored eight books and more than 60 articles and now serves as a senior fellow at the Family Research Council.
His latest book, “Embracing God’s Design,” co-authored with trauma researcher Jennifer Bauwens, seeks to equip pastors, families and churches to address questions surrounding gender identity through what the authors describe as biblical and psychological frameworks.
During the interview, Heyer spoke in direct and often very personal terms. He described childhood experiences that he believes shaped his later struggles with identity, beginning with his grandmother dressing him in girls’ clothing as a small child.
“Grandma cross-dressed me,” he said. “She caused the psychological emotional abuse. Then my dad physically abused me because of the dress, then because of the dress my uncle sexually molested me. And so all that before I was 10 years old.”
“Trying to escape some pain”
Heyer said those experiences left him deeply confused about himself for years. Looking back, he believes many people who identify as transgender are responding to unresolved wounds rather than pursuing a genuine change of sex.
“People who take on this identity called transgenderism are not trying to become a female or male,” he said. “They’re trying to escape some pain or discomfort or confusion they have.”
He linked his own eventual decision to undergo surgery to earlier trauma and fear.
“I’m sure this affected me in my later years, cutting off body parts so that no one would ever sexually molest me,” he said. “It was a protection against sexual molestation.”
Heyer stressed the importance of language, arguing that churches often adopt terminology that, in his view, reinforces confusion rather than helps people address underlying causes.
He objected strongly to the term “gender dysphoria,” describing it as a symptom rather than a diagnosis.
“If somebody has the diagnosis of gender dysphoria, then you need to change that to, ‘No, that’s a symptom of something down here that we need to work on,’” he said. “We need to find out what it is.”
The question he believes churches and counselors should ask people wrestling with identity issues is: “What caused you to not like who you are?”
“That’s the bottom line to this whole thing,” he said.
Churches facing fear and uncertainty
Heyer also addressed the uncertainty many churches feel when someone identifying as transgender begins attending services. He said congregations should avoid panic or hostility, but he also urged churches to respond intentionally rather than passively.
“The church needs to become educated in what language is appropriate,” he said. “Pastors and others really don’t know how to deal with it.”
Rather than leaving individuals isolated, he suggested churches appoint a trusted person — an elder, pastor or deacon — to walk alongside someone struggling with gender identity.
“You assign someone in the church to walk with that person,” he said. “Somebody that the church can fully trust and who’s got expertise in this.”
Heyer specifically suggested that individuals should write regular letters describing their struggles and spiritual journey and asking for prayer.
“Have that individual who’s struggling write a prayer letter every week,” he said. “Then they start praying for them.”
He described the process as a way of drawing people into community and spiritual accountability over time.
“And then over a period of time, can we expand this out to a larger group?” he said. “Can we have a home group that does this?”
For Heyer, willingness to engage in prayer is a significant indicator of whether someone is genuinely open to change.
“If you ask the person, ‘Can you write a prayer letter?’ and they say, ‘No, I’m not going to write a prayer letter,’ then you automatically tell them, ‘This is not a place we can help you,’” he said.
He believes it is important for the church to distinguish between what he described as a compliant posture toward faith and a defiant one.
“There’s the word compliant toward the fact that they believe Jesus Christ can restore their life and they’ll pray about it,” he said, contrasting it with “defiant where they don’t believe prayer works.”
Patience, prayer and long recovery
Heyer cautioned churches against expecting rapid transformation.
While he said some individuals may quickly rethink their identity after beginning deeper self-reflection, he described restoration as a process that often takes years.
“The expectation is maybe two or three years,” he said. “If they’ve struggled for 10 years, it might take them five years. If they struggled for 20, it might take them 10.”
Patience, he said, becomes essential.
“You have to be very patient,” he said. “This is where prayer really comes in handy and having them surrounded by people.”
At the same time, Heyer described moments where a single conversation triggered sudden reconsideration. “I’ve actually had people, when I’ve had that conversation, who struggled for many years,” he said. “Within a week, they’ve restored their life. They go, ‘This was nuts!’”
Still, he acknowledged that such cases are unusual. “Not everybody’s that healthy,” he said. “You can’t hit that all the time.”
What about pronouns?
Asked about how believers should deal with the sensitive issue of first names and pronouns, Heyer advised Christians not to use requested pronouns tied to a transgender identity. Instead, he suggested avoiding pronouns altogether or using surnames when necessary.
“When they say, ‘Use the pronouns,’ I can talk to you for three hours and never use a pronoun,” he said. “If they’re insisting on using the first name, then I insist on using their last name.”
He emphasized that, in his view, asking thoughtful questions can be more compassionate than affirming identity claims.
“The most caring, most wonderful thing you can do is get them to start having self-reflection,” he said.
Concerns about schools and culture
The conversation also touched on concerns many Christian parents face as discussions surrounding gender identity increasingly appear in schools and childhood environments in ways that previous generations did not experience.
Heyer expressed alarm about what children encounter in educational settings and said many parents feel they have little influence over those environments.
“Parents can’t control what goes on in school,” he said. “That’s the part that’s scary.”
He argued that schools often shape children more powerfully than family conversations once students enter those environments daily, and trans activists have been planting seeds in children’s minds.
“When they get to school, it’s their environment that they’re in that’s going to have bigger influence over their life,” he said.
Although he pointed to homeschooling or attending Christian schools as possible responses, he also acknowledged that many families around the world do not have that option.
The evidence has been there for decades
While the broader cultural debate surrounding gender identity has been developing for decades, Heyer emphasized that it has also been scientifically known for a long time that affirming someone’s gender identity and letting them transition is not a solution.
He referenced Dr. Charles Ihlenfeld, an endocrinologist and homosexual activist who, according to Heyer, administered hormone treatments to hundreds of men before later opposing gender transition procedures.
“He came out against it in 1979!” Heyer said. “He said, ‘I’ve worked with 500 of them, I’ve talked to them and I found too much unhappiness and too many have committed suicide.’”
Heyer also pointed to earlier media reporting questioning the effectiveness of sex-change surgeries. “We have all these data points,” he said. “It’s like the guy driving through a stop sign and finally he hits another car and crashes.”
Heyer argues it is important for churches to be informed in order not to be misled by mainstream narratives and trends that ignore the science and facts that have existed for a long time.
‘They never changed their gender’
Despite the emotional complexity surrounding gender identity, Heyer said he believes churches should approach the issue with hope rather than fear. Instead of viewing transgender-identifying individuals primarily through political or cultural conflict, churches should recognize pain, trauma and spiritual struggle.
For Heyer, the church’s task is not to treat gender identity struggles as uniquely strange or untouchable, but as part of the broader brokenness people experience in life.
“We work with people whose parents have died, people who’ve lost limbs, people who have cancer,” he said. “This is just something tragic that’s happened.”
“The most critical view of hope is that they never actually changed their gender,” he said. “We need to bring them back to how God created them.”
He emphasized that it is a scientific fact that men cannot become women and women cannot become men. Therefore, a person who underwent surgery has not in actuality changed their gender.
“No, they didn’t change them at the clinic,” Heyer said. “They don’t know how to do it. They’re not God.”
That perspective, he said, changes how congregations respond.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Australian Christian survey finds strong support for climate action]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/australian-christian-survey-finds-strong-support-for-climate-action</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/australian-christian-survey-finds-strong-support-for-climate-action</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Australian Christians who participated in a new climate survey by NCLS Research and Common Grace reported taking practical steps such as reducing energy use and installing rooftop solar panels as part of efforts to address climate change.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Unsplash / David Clode ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Australian Christians who participated in a new climate survey by NCLS Research and Common Grace reported taking practical steps such as reducing energy use and installing rooftop solar panels as part of efforts to address climate change. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2026 06:30:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A new survey released by Australian research organization NCLS Research and Christian advocacy movement Common Grace found that many Australian Christians who participated expressed concern about climate change and reported already taking practical steps to address it, including reducing household energy use, installing solar panels and engaging in civic advocacy.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A new survey released by Australian research organization NCLS Research and Christian advocacy movement Common Grace found that many Australian Christians who participated expressed concern about climate change and reported already taking practical steps to address it, including reducing household energy use, installing solar panels and engaging in civic advocacy.
The Climate Action Survey of Australian Christians, based on responses from more than 1,100 participants in late 2025, examined attitudes toward climate change, support for various climate-related policies and technologies, and the kinds of actions Christians say they are taking individually and through churches.
The findings offer a snapshot of climate engagement among a segment of Australian Christians at a time when environmental issues continue to shape political, economic and theological debates across many churches globally.
Researchers cautioned that the survey was not representative of the broader Australian church population. According to the report, participants disproportionately consisted of highly educated Christians and were largely from Protestant backgrounds.
Even so, the report said the data provides insight into what encourages or discourages climate-related engagement among churchgoers already interested in the issue.
According to the survey, nearly all respondents reported taking some form of consumer action connected to climate concerns. About nine in 10 said they had reduced energy use or undertaken measures such as installing solar power. Around seven in 10 reported participating in civic actions including voting, advocacy or discussing climate issues with family and friends.
The study also explored support for climate-related policy approaches and what respondents viewed as barriers to further action.
In comments released alongside the report, Common Grace National Director Gershon Nimbalker said many Christians involved in climate discussions are looking for practical ways to respond.
“This research confirms what we’re seeing across the Church and in our movement as well — many Christians care deeply about God’s creation and want to live out Jesus’ love in ways that ensure that their children, their communities and our global neighbours flourish,” Nimbalker said.
He added that many Christians are asking whether their actions can make a difference and whether others in the church share similar concerns.
Common Grace, which describes itself as a Christian movement focused on social justice issues, used the release of the report to renew its support for a proposed 25% levy on Australian gas exports. The organization said such a policy could help address cost-of-living pressures and fund public services, though the survey itself focused more broadly on attitudes and participation related to climate action.
The approximately 40-question survey covered demographics, beliefs about climate change, support for climate solutions, personal and church-based actions, and perceived barriers preventing greater involvement.
The report forms part of broader discussions within Australian churches over environmental stewardship, fossil fuels and renewable energy. Christian groups in Australia, as in other countries, remain divided on how climate policy should intersect with theology, economics and public policy.
NCLS Research, known for its long-running National Church Life Survey, describes itself as a research organization focused on church life, spirituality and community wellbeing. The organization said the climate survey was commissioned to help build a research base for understanding Christian engagement with climate-related issues in Australia.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[AI analysis ranks Christianity as most rational worldview, apologist says]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/ai-analysis-ranks-christianity-as-most-rational-worldview-apologist-says</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/ai-analysis-ranks-christianity-as-most-rational-worldview-apologist-says</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[ A third of Christian adults believe Artificial Intelligence is better or equal to humans at developing Bible-based sermons ]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Amrulqays Maarof from Pixabay ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:29:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A recent opinion column published in The Christian Post argues that an artificial intelligence analysis of major world religions identified Christianity as the most rational belief system, a claim the author says supports longstanding Christian apologetic arguments.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A recent opinion column published in The Christian Post argues that an artificial intelligence analysis of major world religions identified Christianity as the most rational belief system, a claim the author says supports longstanding Christian apologetic arguments.
In the piece, Jay Atkins, a government affairs attorney and Christian apologist, writes that he asked an unnamed AI engine to evaluate five major worldviews — atheism, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity — based on their ability to explain reality and the number of assumptions required. According to Atkins, the AI concluded that Christianity “offers the most reasonable overall explanation of reality with the fewest leaps of faith.”
Atkins said he framed the inquiry around six core questions, including the origin of the universe, the nature of consciousness, the existence of moral truth and whether life has meaning or purpose. He also asked the AI to assess the historical reliability of each belief system’s claims.
Summarizing the reported findings, Atkins wrote that atheism ranked highly for simplicity but struggled to account for questions such as why the universe exists or how consciousness and moral obligation arise. He said Buddhism and Hinduism offered practical or expansive frameworks but relied on metaphysical claims that are difficult to verify, while Islam, in his account, faced challenges related to historical assertions about revelation.
By contrast, Atkins argued that Christianity provides a comprehensive explanation of reality while concentrating its evidentiary claims, particularly on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He wrote that this combination of explanatory scope and limited assumptions made it, in the AI’s assessment, the most rational worldview among those evaluated.
In his column, he also addresses the relationship between Christianity and science, arguing that Christian belief is compatible with scientific discoveries such as the Big Bang and the assumption of an ordered, intelligible universe. Atkins wrote that these ideas align with the biblical claim that God created the universe and with the historical development of scientific inquiry in a Christian intellectual context.
Atkins emphasized that the AI exercise does not prove the truth of Christianity, describing faith as requiring personal reflection rather than algorithmic validation. However, he argued that the outcome demonstrates Christianity is not inherently opposed to reason and may be supported by logical analysis.
The article also reflects on the role of artificial intelligence in religious discussion, suggesting that AI can serve as a tool for evaluating competing claims without replacing personal belief or spiritual conviction. Atkins wrote that such technology may help individuals consider which worldviews are most coherent, while acknowledging that faith ultimately extend beyond data-driven conclusions.
“AI is not going to answer the big questions for us, but it might help us see which answers make the most sense. For some skeptics, that might be a lifeline. And for that, we should be thankful,” he says.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Korea bioethics forum warns abortion becoming profit-driven industry]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/korea-bioethics-forum-warns-abortion-becoming-profit-driven-industry</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/korea-bioethics-forum-warns-abortion-becoming-profit-driven-industry</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Dr. Jang Ji-young, secretary general of the Seongsan Institute for Bioethics, presents on the commercialization of abortion during the institute’s April colloquium in Seoul on April 11, outlining concerns over the growing role of pharmaceutical and distri]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Dr. Jang Ji-young, secretary general of the Seongsan Institute for Bioethics, presents on the commercialization of abortion during the institute’s April colloquium in Seoul on April 11, outlining concerns over the growing role of pharmaceutical and distribution networks in medication abortion. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 11:27:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Abortion in South Korea is increasingly being shaped by commercial forces and global pharmaceutical interests, according to a presentation at an April colloquium hosted by a Seoul-based bioethics institute, which warned that the growing use of medication abortion reflects a broader shift from a medical and ethical issue to a profit-driven industry.]]></description>
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Abortion in South Korea is increasingly being shaped by commercial forces and global pharmaceutical interests, according to a presentation at an April colloquium hosted by a Seoul-based bioethics institute, which warned that the growing use of medication abortion reflects a broader shift from a medical and ethical issue to a profit-driven industry.
The April colloquium of the Seongsan Institute for Bioethics, held April 11 at Yongsan Station in Seoul, featured Dr. Jang Ji-young, the institute’s secretary general and a physician at Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital. Speaking on “How does abortion become an industry? The U.S. case and legislative tasks for Korea,” Jang argued that abortion—particularly medication abortion—has evolved into a complex economic system involving pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and policy advocates.
“Abortion was once a matter of personal belief, choice and bioethics,” Jang said. “Now it has become a composite economic structure combining public funding and commercial profit.”
Jang described a multi-layered industry in which large abortion service providers expand nationwide through chain models to achieve economies of scale, while pharmaceutical companies and distributors maximize profits through telemedicine and mail-order systems. She added that policy lobbying groups promote deregulation under a “rights framework,” further enabling the expansion of the sector.
The shift toward medication abortion, she said, has been central to this transformation. In the United States, 63% of abortions are now carried out using medication rather than surgery, a change that reduces fixed costs and allows for broader distribution through remote prescriptions and postal delivery.
“This bypasses time and space constraints and minimizes labor costs, leading to maximized corporate profits,” Jang said. “It is not simply about increasing patient convenience, but a deliberate industrial choice to establish a business model capable of unlimited expansion.”
Jang pointed to regulatory changes in the United States—such as expanded eligibility for abortion drugs in 2016, the approval of telemedicine prescriptions and mail delivery in 2021, and the inclusion of large pharmacy chains in 2023—as key drivers of rapid market growth. The global medication abortion market, she said, is estimated at $4.4 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $8 billion by 2035.
She argued that the industry’s profitability is driven by significant disparities between production costs and consumer prices. While manufacturing costs for abortion drugs are estimated at $1 to $4, supply prices to medical providers range from $75 to $100, and patients may be charged more than $500.
“Medication abortion has become a stable pharmaceutical market that realizes a massive margin structure,” Jang said, adding that companies benefit financially while avoiding responsibility for post-treatment outcomes.
“Although it is justified through the public discourse of ‘women’s rights,’ in reality it disperses medical responsibility and shifts risk onto women,” she said. “Complications such as incomplete abortion or hemorrhage are borne entirely by the individual, while the public health system absorbs the social costs.”
Jang challenged widely cited claims that medication abortion is significantly safer than childbirth, arguing that such conclusions rely on flawed comparisons and incomplete data. She said that complication rates reported by U.S. regulators—often cited as below 0.5%—are based on voluntary reporting, while analyses of insurance claims data show rates as high as 10.9%.
“In the United Kingdom, official figures reported only a few hundred complications, but freedom of information requests revealed more than 11,000 cases,” she said. “The claim that medication abortion is safer than full-term childbirth is only possible due to systematic omissions in data.”
Turning to South Korea, Jang said the country remains in a prolonged legislative vacuum following the Constitutional Court’s 2019 ruling that found the country’s abortion law unconstitutional. In the absence of updated legislation, she said, abortion services have become increasingly commercialized, with clinics openly advertising procedures and pricing.
She cited examples of advertisements promoting same-day abortion procedures up to six weeks of pregnancy for about 500,000 won ($370), as well as claims that even late-term abortions cannot be prosecuted under current legal conditions.
Jang also highlighted the role of pharmaceutical companies preparing to enter the Korean market. She said Hyundai Pharmaceutical secured exclusive domestic rights in 2020 to distribute the abortion drug Mifegymiso through an agreement with U.K.-based Linepharma International. The company already holds a dominant share of the emergency contraceptive market in South Korea and has built extensive distribution networks.
“If legalized, an immediate monopoly market entry structure will be completed,” she said, adding that companies have already identified abortion drugs as a “new core growth driver” and are building infrastructure ahead of regulatory approval.
Jang warned that introducing medication abortion without clear legal and ethical frameworks could accelerate the commercialization of medicine, weaken professional standards and shift risks onto individuals.
“The pharmaceutical market is moving preemptively without waiting for policy,” she said. “If introduced under these conditions, public health safeguards could be dismantled, with costs ultimately borne by women and the public healthcare system.”
She described developments in the United States as a cautionary example for South Korea, urging lawmakers to establish what she called “three principles of respect for life”: legal protection of life, safeguards against medical commercialization and protection of professional ethics and conscience.
Jang also addressed ongoing legislative discussions, saying “abortion policy must not become a growth strategy for a specific industry. The most urgent national task is to establish firm legislation that ensures clear accountability, data transparency, and prioritizes both life and women’s safety.”
She further called for revisions to South Korea’s Maternal and Child Health Act to explicitly include the fetus as a protected subject, remove provisions permitting abortion and strengthen support systems such as delivery infrastructure and intensive care for high-risk pregnancies.
“No legislation that harms life, including the introduction of medication abortion, should be included in the Maternal and Child Health Act,” she said.
This report is based on original reporting by Christian Today Korea.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Finnish study adds to growing scrutiny of ‘gender affirming care’ treatments, echoing Cass Review concerns]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/finnish-study-adds-to-growing-scrutiny-of-gender-affirming-care-treatments-echoing-cass-review-concerns</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/finnish-study-adds-to-growing-scrutiny-of-gender-affirming-care-treatments-echoing-cass-review-concerns</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[A large-scale Finnish study tracking adolescents referred for gender identity services found persistently high rates of mental health challenges, underscoring the need for comprehensive psychological care alongside any clinical interventions.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Unsplash / Priscilla Du Preez ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ A large-scale Finnish study tracking adolescents referred for gender identity services found persistently high rates of mental health challenges, underscoring the need for comprehensive psychological care alongside any clinical interventions. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 14 Apr 2026 02:35:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A major new study from Finland has found that adolescents referred for gender identity treatment continue to experience significantly elevated mental health challenges over time, adding to a growing body of research and clinical concern about current approaches to treating gender dysphoria in minors.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A major new study from Finland has found that adolescents referred for gender identity treatment continue to experience significantly elevated mental health challenges over time, adding to a growing body of research and clinical concern about current approaches to treating gender dysphoria in minors.
The study, published in Acta Paediatrica, analyzed national registry data spanning 1996 to 2019 and tracked approximately 2,100 young people referred to specialized gender identity services. Researchers found that nearly half—about 46%—had already received psychiatric care before referral, rising to nearly 62% within two years afterward.
Compared to their peers, adolescents in the study showed markedly higher levels of psychiatric need both before and after referral. After adjusting for prior treatment, girls were about three times more likely to require additional psychiatric care, while boys were about five times more likely.
The findings reinforce concerns raised in earlier reporting by Christian Daily International on international reviews and medical debates surrounding youth gender treatment, including the landmark Cass Review in the United Kingdom.
That review, commissioned by the National Health Service, concluded that the evidence base supporting medical interventions such as puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors remains limited and uncertain. It also raised concerns about clinical pathways that move too quickly toward medicalization without sufficiently addressing underlying psychological factors.
The Finnish study similarly found that adolescents referred for gender identity services had “significantly higher psychiatric morbidity” prior to treatment—suggesting that gender-related distress often coexists with other mental health conditions. Researchers emphasized the need for thorough psychological assessment and ongoing mental health care, noting that “psychiatric needs must be adequately met.”
Christian Daily International previously reported that pediatricians and medical experts in several countries have warned against what they describe as a “rushed” approach to medical transition for minors. Some clinicians have called for stricter safeguards or a pause on certain interventions, particularly irreversible procedures, citing concerns about long-term outcomes and the quality of supporting evidence.
The Finnish data provides rare long-term insight due to the country’s comprehensive national health system, which allows researchers to track outcomes over decades. It found that psychiatric care needs increased during follow-up even among those who underwent medical interventions, with rates rising sharply in both male-to-female and female-to-male treatment groups.
These findings align with broader international discussions about the natural course of gender dysphoria in youth. Some longitudinal studies have suggested that a significant proportion of children experiencing gender-related distress do not continue to identify as transgender into adulthood, particularly when symptoms emerge before adolescence.
At the same time, recent developments in the United Kingdom—including a closely watched clinical trial involving puberty blockers—have drawn criticism from both evangelical groups and some LGBT advocates who highlighted the long-term harm of medical interventions.
While the Finnish researchers did not advocate for specific policy changes, their study adds weight to calls for a more cautious and holistic approach. By highlighting persistent mental health challenges and the complexity of underlying conditions, the findings contribute to a growing reassessment of the assumption that so-called “gender-affirming care” leads to improved psychological outcomes.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Jordanian animation video brings practical help to families facing war anxiety]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/jordanian-animation-video-brings-practical-help-to-families-facing-war-anxiety</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/jordanian-animation-video-brings-practical-help-to-families-facing-war-anxiety</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Daoud Kuttab]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[A scene from an animated video by Jordan’s Digitales Media shows a family using breathing exercises to manage stress during a missile alert.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Courtesy of Digitales Media ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ A scene from an animated video by Jordan’s Digitales Media shows a family using breathing exercises to manage stress during a missile alert. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 03:09:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[As sirens warning of possible missile strikes echo across parts of the Middle East, a Jordanian animation company has released a short video aimed at helping families cope with the emotional strain of the ongoing conflict involving Iran.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
As sirens warning of possible missile strikes echo across parts of the Middle East, a Jordanian animation company has released a short video aimed at helping families cope with the emotional strain of the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
Digitales Media, based in Amman, developed the five-minute animated episode to offer practical ways—especially for children—to deal with tension and anxiety linked to war conditions. The initiative comes as the conflict’s impact extends beyond physical destruction and travel disruptions, affecting daily life and mental well-being across the region.
The episode opens with the now-familiar sound of the siren blasting through an apartment neighborhood in Amman while the streets are deserted. The production is part of a long-running YouTube series, Our Family Life, that has captured the imagination of families around the region.
Cynthia Madanat-Sharaiha, creative director and co-owner of Digitales Media, explains that her team was looking for ways to help families during the war. “We wanted to find a practical way for people in general, and children in particular, to deal with tensions emanating from the war,” she told Christian Daily International.
Shadi Sharaiha, the program’s executive producer, told CDI that this particular episode of “Our Family Life” was a deliberate attempt to translate evidence-based coping techniques into something families can actually use at home—in moments of tension and after the sirens fade.
“The entire Middle East region has been overwhelmed with flying missiles and 24-hour war news that has engulfed everyone. Our creative team worked around the clock to find practical solutions that can help families deal with trauma, not only during war but at any other time,” he said.
In the YouTube video, after hearing the siren, Abu Sanad’s family meets and reflects on their concerns. The mother presents breathing exercises and encourages her family to follow them. The company says they were careful to present evidence-based treatments in a visually attractive manner, with additional downloadable exercises provided at the end.
Issam Smeir, a Chicago-based trauma counselor and advisor to the content of the Digitales products, told CDI that the “Our Family Life” series is not merely entertaining but a creative show that helps parents teach their children how to engage with life’s challenges.
He said that “the dealing-with-stress episode” aims to help families regulate their nervous systems when war anxiety spills into daily life. “The wisdom comes from the mother, whose on-screen breathing exercises are not gimmicks but a gateway to resilience that can be learned without prior therapy and without leaving the living room,” he explained.
Smeir said that stress is a natural response to an unnatural situation. According to the mental health specialist, the breathing exercise helps “reset the nervous system back to normal.”
Digitales Media adopted a real-time approach, pairing a short film with downloadable exercises and a digital toolkit offering science-based methods to manage stress and trauma. The approach combines accessibility with methods commonly used in clinical trauma care, including breathing exercises and routines designed to create a sense of safety.
Yet in many Arab countries, where access to mental health services can be uneven, stigmatized, or disrupted by displacement—these tools risk remaining abstract unless they are rendered tangible and culturally resonant.
Digitales, the producer of the award-winning feature film “Saleem,” is a leading media organization that creates content addressing emotional issues. It tells the story of a curious and adventurous nine-year-old who moves to a new town with his family after losing his father.
The company’s co-directors, Shadi and Cynthia Sharaiha, received the King Abdullah II Award of Excellence for the film and the production team was also visited by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Princess Rajwa during production.
Digitales also produces a creative digital mental health and psychosocial support tool, “Amal for Children,” that combines animation and storytelling with evidence-based therapy modalities to help reduce the intensity and frequency of PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms in children navigating trauma. Their video content has been used by refugee groups in Egypt and has been translated for use in other regions of the world.Church leaders have said the production enables them to better support children in difficult situations as they cope with stress and trauma.
When content is crafted in local dialects and framed within familiar family dynamics, it becomes less intimidating and more credible, producers say. The Jordanian film’s setting in Amman, its emphasis on family participation and its clear, actionable guidance exemplify how healing tools can be culturally anchored and practically useful.
With the conflict reaching countries unaccustomed to such threats, the sound of sirens and the need to seek shelter have contributed to rising stress levels among families.
The video presents a practical sequence from awareness to action, equipping families with tools they can use in daily life, whether at home, in school or during emergencies.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[AI’s Scripture problem: misquotes range from 15% to 60%, says YouVersion CEO]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/ais-scripture-problem-misquotes-range-from-15-to-60-says-youversion-ceo</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/ais-scripture-problem-misquotes-range-from-15-to-60-says-youversion-ceo</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Vincent Matinde]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[YouVersion founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ YouVersion founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald said while some errors may involve commas or minor wording shifts, in Bible translation every word and punctuation is meaningful to Scripture translation ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2026 07:05:00 -0400</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[YouVersion founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald says artificial intelligence holds enormous promise. But when it comes to answering questions about God and Scripture, he believes the technology is not yet ready.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
YouVersion founder and CEO Bobby Gruenewald says artificial intelligence holds enormous promise. But when it comes to answering questions about God and Scripture, he believes the technology is not yet ready.
As the head of the digital Bible platform that now reports more than 1 billion downloads across its family of apps worldwide, Gruenewald has a vantage point as churches, pastors and believers increasingly turn to AI chatbots for spiritual answers. 
“If we ever do (fully adapt AI), it will be because we feel very confident that it can be done safely and be done with a level of accuracy and integrity,” Gruenewald said in an interview with Christian Daily International when asked whether YouVersion would step into open-ended AI question-and-answer chat features.
YouVersion offers Scripture in hundreds of languages and has become one of the most widely used Bible tools globally. 
Gruenewald, who was in Nairobi to open YouVersion regional hub that will facilitate localized digital content, described himself as an early AI adopter. YouVersion already uses AI internally to accelerate coding and improve workflow behind the scenes. But the organization has chosen not to launch a public-facing chatbot that answers theological questions. The reason, he said, is accuracy.
“The best model with the best performance, with the most popular versions of the Bible that are most indexed, misquotes Scripture at least 15% of the time,” Gruenewald said. “Some of them as much as 60% of the time.”
While some errors may involve commas or minor wording shifts, he said even small changes matter. “For Bible translation, every word and punctuation is meaningful to Scripture translation,” he said.
Large language models train on vast portions of the internet. That breadth makes them powerful but also unpredictable. Gruenewald said open-ended chat systems can generate responses that organizations would not “be proud of” because users may not have memorized Scripture, they might not recognize when a verse is misquoted or subtly altered.
His caution reflects a broader debate unfolding across the Christian world.
Some Christian leaders and scholars have warned that AI tools can present flawed or biased interpretations of Scripture. In a 2023 analysis, Christianity Today explored how AI systems can produce confident yet inaccurate theological explanations and urged discernment when using such tools for Bible study. The publication noted that chatbots can blend correct citations with subtle interpretive errors, creating an illusion of authority.
At the same time, churches are experimenting. Axios reported in 2025 that congregations in the United States have begun using AI to help draft sermons, create devotional materials and power prayer apps. Some platforms allow users to “chat” with biblical characters or ask questions about faith. While some pastors see these tools as innovative outreach methods, others question whether they risk trivializing sacred texts or outsourcing spiritual formation to algorithms.
Improving models
Gruenewald’s position sits between rejection and embrace. He said YouVersion wants to be “a part of the solution and a part of the help.” He added that the organization has privately challenged AI developers to improve how models handle Scripture. If models could consistently quote the Bible accurately, he said, YouVersion would work to help them gain access to reliable biblical texts.
Faith-based technology firms are also exploring guardrails. Reuters reported in 2025 that Gloo, a faith-oriented technology company, launched efforts to evaluate AI systems based on values important to Christian communities. The goal is to create standards that measure how AI tools align with principles such as human flourishing and theological integrity. Supporters argue that such initiatives could help shape safer faith-based AI applications rather than leaving development entirely to general-purpose models.
For many ministry leaders, AI already serves practical roles. It can analyze data, draft communications and assist with administrative work. Those use cases free pastors to spend more time in direct ministry. AI can also help scholars search biblical texts quickly, compare translations and identify linguistic patterns.
But Gruenewald draws a line at spiritual authority.
“When it comes to answering life’s most important questions and trying to give direction from God’s Word, we need it to be better in order to rely on it,” he said.
His warning comes as younger generations increasingly turn to chatbots before they turn to clergy. Surveys show that many users treat AI tools as neutral sources of information. Yet models generate responses based on probabilities, not doctrine or spiritual discernment.
The question facing ministries is not whether AI will influence faith engagement. It already does. The question is how.
For YouVersion, scale increases responsibility. With more than 1 billion downloads worldwide, the app reaches believers in nearly every region. Its features include reading plans, audio Bibles and verse-sharing tools. Many churches integrate the app into discipleship programs.
That global footprint means any AI-driven Scripture feature would affect millions of users. Gruenewald’s caution reflects the weight of that reality.
He encouraged individuals to know the Bible themselves and to seek guidance from trained pastors and leaders. Technology, he suggested, can assist but should not replace human discipleship or careful study.
The debate is unlikely to fade. As AI models improve, pressure will grow for faith platforms to integrate conversational features. Some Christian technologists believe specialized, Scripture-trained systems could eventually reach the accuracy standards Gruenewald describes.
The tension between innovation and integrity now defines the AI-and-faith conversation. Churches see the potential: wider reach, faster research, personalized engagement. They also see the risk: misquoted verses, theological drift and misplaced trust.
For Gruenewald, the calculus is simple. Speed and popularity do not outweigh fidelity. AI may shape the future of ministry. But when it comes to sacred text, he argues, precision must come first.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA['AI can generate sermons but cannot convey a life,' Korean pastors say at AI-era preaching conference]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/ai-can-generate-sermons-but-cannot-convey-a-life-korean-pastors-say-at-ai-era-preaching-conference</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/ai-can-generate-sermons-but-cannot-convey-a-life-korean-pastors-say-at-ai-era-preaching-conference</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Rev. Kim Da-wi delivers his presentation at the 2026 Pathway Preaching Conference.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Good Shepherd Church ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Rev. Kim Da-wi delivers his presentation at the 2026 Pathway Preaching Conference. ]]>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[The 2026 Pathway Preaching Conference was held at Good Shepherd Church south of Seoul, Korea.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Good Shepherd Church ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ The 2026 Pathway Preaching Conference was held at Good Shepherd Church south of Seoul, Korea. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sat, 28 Feb 2026 20:13:00 -0500</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Artificial intelligence may be able to generate polished sermons, complete with structure, illustrations and theological analysis, but it cannot embody lived faith, suffering or spiritual encounter, speakers said at a Korean church conference examining the future of preaching in the AI era.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
Artificial intelligence may be able to generate polished sermons, complete with structure, illustrations and theological analysis, but it cannot embody lived faith, suffering or spiritual encounter, speakers said at a Korean church conference examining the future of preaching in the AI era.
The “Pathway Preaching Conference,” held Feb. 26 at Good Shepherd Church in Seongnam, south of Seoul, brought together pastors, associate ministers and seminary students under the theme, “In the Age of AI, How Can Preaching Survive? (Is AI a Friend or a Foe?),” according to reporting by Christian Daily Korea.
Hosted by Good Shepherd Church, the event featured four sessions combining academic analysis and pastoral reflection. Participants said the debate over AI in ministry ultimately raises a deeper question: What is the essence of preaching?
Speakers acknowledged that AI tools are already capable of drafting sermons, generating illustrations, conducting biblical exegesis and even mimicking a preacher’s tone and style. But they cautioned against allowing technology to replace what they described as the incarnational and communal dimensions of Christian proclamation.
Rev. Kim Da-wi, senior pastor of Good Shepherd Church, framed the discussion around what he called “incarnational preaching,” arguing that the heart of Christian faith lies not in information transfer but in embodiment.
“If AI is used as a supplementary tool — such as for image generation or infographic production — it can become a helpful ally,” Kim said. “But when it attempts to replace the spiritual encounter, embodiment and resonance that lie at the heart of preaching, it becomes a threat.”

Kim referenced theologian Michael Frost’s concept of the “age of excarnation,” describing a cultural shift in which people retreat behind screens and avoid physical presence. He likened this to a digital echo of early Christian Docetism, a belief rejected by the early church that denied the full humanity of Christ.
An AI-generated sermon, Kim said, may be grammatically precise and theologically coherent, but it lacks lived experience. “Unless it contains real suffering, wounds and tears, it has an inherent limitation,” he said.
He proposed what he termed a “3E holistic cyclical preaching model”: Encounter with God, Embodiment of the Word in the preacher’s life, and Echo — resonance in the congregation through the work of the Holy Spirit. In the AI era, he added, preaching may require a recovery of what he described as “slow spirituality” and “analog spirituality.”
At the same time, Kim suggested that AI could serve as a memory aid rather than a replacement for the preacher. By compiling devotional journals, testimonies and past sermons into a digital database, ministers could use AI as a “second brain” to revisit and reflect on their spiritual journeys. “The preacher is one who embraces souls beyond data,” he said.
Rev. Lee Jung-gyu of Sigwang Church focused on the communal role of the preacher. While acknowledging that AI can now construct doctrinal sermons and detailed exegesis, he argued that preaching is more than message production.
“If we define the preacher as one who leads the story at the center of the community, there is clearly a realm AI cannot replace,” Lee said. “AI can generate a message, but it cannot say it has actually experienced that message.”
Lee emphasized the importance of ethos — the preacher’s history and character — in shaping how sermons are received. Congregants, he said, experience not only the content of a sermon but also the life of the preacher who proclaims it.
“AI can provide information,” he said, “but it cannot share with the community an experience it has lived.”
Other speakers addressed the theological and practical boundaries of AI use in preaching. Prof. Shin Sung-wook of Asia United Theological University examined the issue from a homiletical perspective, outlining both the possibilities and responsibilities involved in adopting AI tools. Rev. Choi Byung-rak of Gangnam Central Baptist Church highlighted the power of testimony and human stories rooted in personal experience — elements he said cannot be replicated by machines.
Throughout the conference, participants described AI as neither inherently friend nor foe, but as a tool requiring discernment. The central concern, speakers agreed, is preserving preaching as an event grounded in lived faith, communal formation and spiritual encounter — dimensions they said no algorithm can fully reproduce.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Yale academics explore link between faith and psychiatry]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/yale-academics-explore-link-between-faith-and-psychiatry</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/yale-academics-explore-link-between-faith-and-psychiatry</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[prayer]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Photo by Ben White / Unsplash ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Feb 2026 08:05:00 -0500</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[A working group established by Yale Divinity School for an 18-month project examined how to bridge the gap between faith and psychiatry. Bruce Gordon, the Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the university, has led the group, fostering collaboration between theologians and medical professionals.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
A working group established by Yale Divinity School for an 18-month project examined how to bridge the gap between faith and psychiatry.
Bruce Gordon, the Titus Street Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the university, has led the group, fostering collaboration between theologians and medical professionals.
The initiative seeks to address the “longstanding mistrust” between the two fields, particularly within Christian communities.
In a press release for Yale Divinity School on Feb. 11, correspondent Kim Lawton recalled how the idea came from a faculty meeting two years ago when representatives from the Yale medical school’s Department of Psychiatry gave a presentation about their field’s growing interest in spirituality.
“They were increasingly seeing patients who were speaking about spiritual experiences or religious convictions and commitments, and to put a fine point on it, they didn’t know what to do with this,” Gordon told Lawton. “They were realizing that spirituality, however you want to define it, is something that exists and has to be taken seriously.”
Topics explored by the working group include brain function, medication, psychedelics, end-of-life issues, and the nature of religious experiences. Discussions have addressed questions such as the difference between visions and hallucinations, the meaning of spiritual experience, and the role of transcendence in psychological health. The group has also examined the boundaries between medicine and religion, including how depression and other conditions are defined.
Key goals for the group, co-led by psychiatry professors Christopher Pittenger and Anna Yusim, with a focus on “person-centered medicine,” include developing shared language. This means helping psychiatrists understand spiritual experiences not as symptoms of illness but as core aspects of a patient’s identity.
Another goal is equipping ministry leaders by addressing the reality that many clergy feel ill-equipped to handle mental health crises such as depression, burnout, or suicidal ideation within their congregations.
The final goal is to destigmatize mental health in the church, challenging the misconception that spiritual faith exempts a person from clinical depression or bipolar disorder.
Gordon said he has personal experience of the longstanding mistrust between religion and psychiatry.
“There have been negative perceptions on both sides,” he said, citing a widespread “general hostility within psychiatry” toward many organized forms of religion.
“And equally within many churches, certainly in my own upbringing, psychiatry was seen as something that was for seriously damaged people,” he added.
Looking ahead, the group’s leaders want to “widen the conversation” by including more students, faculty members, and the general public. A public forum, conferences, and possibly a podcast are also planned.
The purpose is not primarily academic research but rather people from their respective fields describing what they do and finding how best to talk together, Gordon said.
“People just do not get a lot of exposure to these kinds of conversations,” he added.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Christian counselors say churches must address anxiety and trauma: ‘Silence has deepened the crisis’]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/christian-counselors-say-churches-must-address-anxiety-and-trauma</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/christian-counselors-say-churches-must-address-anxiety-and-trauma</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
                                                                                                                            <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/41/4174.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Panelists discuss the church’s role in addressing anxiety, trauma and rising suicide rates during a forum on biblical responses to the mental health crisis and human flourishing in the digital age.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Christian Daily International ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ From left to right: Dr. Pamela Pyle, Dr. Tim Clinton, Reina Olmeda, Carrie Sheffield and Billy Hallowell participate in a forum at the NRB Convention on the church’s response to the mental health crisis, addressing trauma-informed care, digital culture and the integration of spiritual and clinical support. ]]>
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                                                                                                <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/41/4176.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Carrie Sheffield, founder of Healthy Faith, speaks about trauma-informed ministry and the role of faith communities in addressing rising suicide rates and stigma surrounding mental health.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Christian Daily International ]]>
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                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Carrie Sheffield, founder of Healthy Faith, speaks about trauma-informed ministry and the role of faith communities in addressing rising suicide rates and stigma surrounding mental health. ]]>
                                </media:description>
                                                    </media:content>
                                                                                                <media:content  url="https://www.christiandaily.com/media/original/img/0/41/4177.jpg">
                            <media:title><![CDATA[Dr. Pamela Pyle, an internal medicine physician, speaks about the integration of spiritual and clinical care and the importance of hope in addressing suicidal ideation and emotional suffering.]]></media:title>
                                                            <media:credit role="author" scheme="urn:ebu">
                                    <![CDATA[ Christian Daily International ]]>
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                                                                                        <media:description type="plain">
                                    <![CDATA[ Dr. Pamela Pyle, an internal medicine physician, speaks about the integration of spiritual and clinical care and the importance of hope in addressing suicidal ideation and emotional suffering. ]]>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Dr. Tim Clinton, president of the American Association of Christian Counselors, calls on churches to confront stigma, expand trauma-informed training and anchor mental health care in biblical discipleship.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Christian Daily International ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Dr. Tim Clinton, president of the American Association of Christian Counselors, calls on churches to confront stigma, expand trauma-informed training and anchor mental health care in biblical discipleship. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Tue, 24 Feb 2026 06:25:00 -0500</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[Christian leaders, physicians and licensed counselors called on churches to confront what they described as a deepening mental health crisis with theological clarity, practical training and renewed compassion during a panel discussion at the recent National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention.]]></description>
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Christian leaders, physicians and licensed counselors called on churches to confront what they described as a deepening mental health crisis with theological clarity, practical training and renewed compassion during a panel discussion at the recent National Religious Broadcasters International Christian Media Convention.
The forum, titled “A Bible Response to the Mental Health Crisis: Human Flourishing and Better Wellbeing in the Digital Age,” examined record suicide rates, the psychological effects of social media, trauma-informed ministry, pastoral burnout and the integration of spiritual and clinical care. Panelists argued that churches must reject both stigma and simplistic solutions, instead offering a biblically grounded, whole-person response to anxiety, depression and despair.
“The church without the broken is a broken church,” said Dr. Tim Clinton, president of the American Association of Christian Counselors. “God loves to move into those places and bring light into the darkness.”
Moderated by Billy Hallowell, digital TV host and producer at CBN News, the discussion reflected growing concern among Christian communicators and ministry leaders that mental health challenges are reshaping congregational life across the United States.
Record levels of suicide and despair
Panelists cited recent federal data showing nearly 50,000 suicide deaths in 2024 — the highest annual number ever recorded in the United States. Suicide remains among the leading causes of death for teenagers and young adults, with rising rates among middle-aged and elderly populations as well.
Carrie Sheffield, founder and program manager of Healthy Faith, described the numbers as a national emergency.
“We have the highest suicide rate ever recorded,” she said. “We are in a crisis.”

Sheffield said research consistently shows that religious participation and strong faith communities correlate with lower suicide rates, reduced substance abuse and increased resilience. Yet many congregations remain uncertain how to address mental illness theologically.
Clinton said the crisis is compounded by a shortage of Christ-centered providers.
“There’s a big gap between those who need help and those who provide help,” he said. “We need an army of people trained to understand trauma and mental health.”
Fear, uncertainty and cultural pressure
Clinton traced part of the current emotional strain to the long shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic and broader cultural instability.
“The world changed,” he said. “Everything was turned upside down and people began to get afraid.”
He pointed to geopolitical tensions, school shootings, economic uncertainty and nonstop exposure to alarming headlines through smartphones.
“You get overloaded,” Clinton said. “That toxic insanity coming at you every day — it’s overwhelming.”
He added that loneliness has become pervasive despite unprecedented digital connectivity.
“We’re so disconnected anymore,” he said. “I don’t care how wired we are — we’re isolated and alone.”
Reina Olmeda, director of the Mental Health Initiative at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said Scripture shows that emotional anguish is not new. She referenced King David’s lament, Elijah’s despair and Hannah’s sorrow as biblical examples of deep emotional suffering.
“What is not new is anxiety, depression, burnout,” Olmeda said. “What is new is the climate has changed.”
She described a “speed of saturation” in modern culture — the rapid intake of news, opinions and images — that leaves little room for reflection or emotional processing.
“The speed at which we are acquiring information has rocked our faith,” she said.
Olmeda recounted speaking with more than 100 pastors who privately admitted to anger, fear and grief amid political and social turmoil.
“They were saying, ‘If we can just change our environment, these emotions will go away,’” she said. “But sometimes we have to sit in those moments. Rather than just prayer, there is presence — being present with each other.”
Social media and identity formation
Several panelists warned that digital culture is reshaping how young people experience and interpret emotional pain.
Sheffield referenced research linking heavy social media use to anxiety, eating disorders and depression, particularly among teenage girls.
“If we’re constantly barraging our eyes and neural systems with comparison, it creates neural pathways that are life-draining,” she said. “The human brain — God did not design us this way.”
She cited growing concern among scholars that platforms reward emotional exhibitionism, encouraging users to publicly frame pain as identity.
Olmeda agreed, warning that when churches fail to articulate clear, biblically grounded narratives about suffering, online culture quickly fills the void.
“If the church has a void, there is a world out there that’s going to fill that,” she said. “Social media is speaking when the church does not speak.”
Dr. Pamela Pyle, an internal medicine physician with decades of experience treating patients experiencing suicidal ideation, said modern culture often promotes external solutions to internal struggles.
“We have become a society that looks for external sources of hope,” Pyle said. “But faith is an internal, outward experience.”

She described visiting post-genocide communities in Rwanda where families living in modest conditions nevertheless reported joy rooted in faith and community bonds.
“The common denominator was hope,” she said.
Pyle warned that the spread of digital comparison culture even into remote communities could undermine that resilience.
“They will begin comparing their lives to something that looks glamorous but is often more painful,” she said.
Trauma, stigma and shame
A significant portion of the discussion focused on trauma-informed ministry — understanding how adverse experiences shape long-term emotional patterns.
Clinton said churches have historically struggled to integrate psychological insight with theology, sometimes viewing counseling as inherently secular.
“There’s been a lot of silence around mental health issues, a lot of stigmatizing and shaming,” he said. “If you’re depressed, you don’t have faith — you know that.”
He argued that counseling should be understood as a form of discipleship, helping believers grow toward maturity and freedom in Christ.
“I don’t see counseling separate from the church,” Clinton said. “I see it as part of the church.”
Sheffield shared her own experience of childhood trauma and adult hospitalization, referencing the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) score — a framework used to assess exposure to traumatic events before age 18.
“Being in religious settings where we ignore trauma — this is where people die,” she said.
Olmeda distinguished between guilt and shame in congregational life.
“Guilt says, ‘I did something wrong.’ Shame says, ‘I am wrong,’” she said. “When you name what happened, shame begins to lose its power.”
Clinton described trauma’s neurological imprint, noting how veterans often re-experience combat memories through sensory flashbacks.
“Trauma isolates. Trauma destroys your sense of safety,” he said. “It’s not about what’s wrong with you — it’s about what happened to you.”
Pastoral health and training
The panel also addressed the emotional burden carried by pastors.
Hallowell noted that congregations often elevate church leaders to unrealistic standards, leaving little room for vulnerability.
“Mental and spiritual health is ignored because people elevate pastors as though they’re superhuman,” he said.
Clinton urged churches to develop structured responses, including training lay leaders, forming mental health teams and addressing emotional struggles from the pulpit.
“My people perish because of a lack of knowledge,” he said. “There are so many incredible resources available now.”
He pointed to expanding research on human flourishing that links religious engagement with improved mental health outcomes.
“All the research — you can’t deny it anymore — faith is central to mental health,” Clinton said.
He added that pastors themselves need safe spaces for counseling and accountability.
“If you have any value to God, all hell’s going to be against you,” he said, urging leaders not to isolate themselves.
Spiritual and clinical integration
A central theme of the forum was how to avoid false dichotomies between spiritual and clinical care.
“There’s a big debate about the spiritual versus the mental,” Hallowell said. “How do we find the balance?”
Pyle said medicine increasingly acknowledges spirituality as a factor in healing, though often in generalized terms.
“Doctors will ask, ‘Are you a spiritual person?’ but they don’t go deeper,” she said.
Olmeda pointed to the biblical account of Elijah, who collapsed in exhaustion and despair after intense ministry.
“What does God do?” she asked. “He feeds him. He lets him sleep. And then He gently restores him. That is biology and theology in one.”
Sheffield said her own recovery involved both medication and spiritual renewal.
“I needed medication at certain points,” she said. “It was all integrated. We cannot separate the flesh and the spirit.”
Clinton closed with a theological reflection on hope and spiritual warfare.

“Light dispels darkness,” he said. “If we are to bring light into darkness, we must be anchored in the Spirit of God and the Word of God as we bring hope.”
As the session concluded, panelists urged Christian communicators and church leaders not to retreat from difficult conversations.
The mental health crisis, they said, demands humility, evidence-based training and unwavering theological conviction.
“We don’t need to panic,” Olmeda said. “The church is not dead. There is still hope. God is still on the throne.”
The forum ended with a challenge to congregations nationwide: move from silence to engagement, from stigma to compassion, and from fragmented responses to integrated care rooted in Scripture and community.
In an era marked by isolation, digital saturation and rising despair, panelists said the church’s calling remains unchanged — to bring light into darkness and hope into suffering, addressing the whole person in mind, body and spirit.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Christian scholars call for moral framework as AI reshapes relationships and community]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/christian-scholars-call-for-moral-framework-as-ai-reshapes-relationships-and-community</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/christian-scholars-call-for-moral-framework-as-ai-reshapes-relationships-and-community</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Panelists discuss the ethical and theological implications of artificial intelligence during a forum on human flourishing and ministry innovation at the NRB 2026 International Christian Media Convention in Nashville.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Christian Daily International ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Panelists discuss the ethical and theological implications of artificial intelligence during a forum on human flourishing and ministry innovation at the NRB 2026 International Christian Media Convention in Nashville. ]]>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Dr. Byron Johnson of Baylor University speaks during a panel on human flourishing and artificial intelligence, highlighting global research linking close relationships and religious practice to higher well-being outcomes.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Christian Daily International ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Dr. Byron Johnson of Baylor University speaks during a panel on human flourishing and artificial intelligence, highlighting global research linking close relationships and religious practice to higher well-being outcomes. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 23 Feb 2026 05:52:00 -0500</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[As artificial intelligence continues to reshape media, ministry and daily life, Christian leaders recently gathered at the NRB 2026 International Christian Media Convention in Nashville to wrestle with a defining question: Can AI accelerate ministry innovation without undermining the human person it seeks to serve?]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape media, ministry and daily life, Christian leaders recently gathered at the NRB 2026 International Christian Media Convention in Nashville to wrestle with a defining question: Can AI accelerate ministry innovation without undermining the human person it seeks to serve?
During a panel titled “Human Flourishing & AI — A New Standard for Ministry Innovation,” held Feb. 18, scholars and technology executives urged Christian communicators to adopt a rigorous theological and empirical framework for evaluating emerging AI tools — one rooted not in speed or scale, but in measurable human flourishing.
Moderated by Steele Billings, president of Gloo AI at Gloo, the discussion featured Dr. Byron Johnson of Baylor University, Jonathan Teubner of Harvard University’s Human Flourishing Program, Nick Skytland, vice president of AI at Gloo, and John Anderson, senior director of the Bible Technology Team at Biblica.
From prison reform research to Bible translation algorithms, the conversation moved between global data and deeply personal questions about intimacy, suffering and spiritual formation.
“What do we mean when we say human flourishing?”
Before turning to AI, Billings pressed the panel to define their terms.
“We’re going to talk about human flourishing and AI,” he said. “We should probably level set with our audience. What do we mean when we say human flourishing? What are we actually measuring?” 
Johnson, a distinguished professor of the social sciences at Baylor and co-director of the Global Flourishing Study, acknowledged the complexity of the task.
“Let me just say that we haven’t figured it out,” Johnson said. “We entered this as a dialogue. We want to talk about what flourishing looks like, what we’re finding in the data, but also we want to approach it with a bit of humility.”
The Global Flourishing Study is following more than 200,000 individuals across 23 countries over five years, making it one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies ever undertaken on well-being. The project has already produced more than 100 studies in a single year, examining loneliness, anxiety, suffering and the role of faith in shaping outcomes.

Johnson outlined a multidimensional framework for flourishing, describing it as “a state in which you’re doing well in all the domains of life.” Those domains include physical health, mental health, close personal relationships, financial and material stability, and character and virtue.
The framework moves beyond simplistic happiness rankings, Johnson said, referencing global reports that measure national satisfaction levels with a single scale.
“We ask about 109 questions beyond that to get a much more holistic view of what it means to flourish,” he explained.
Teubner, a research associate at Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program and leader of its AI initiative, added that flourishing cannot be reduced to individual metrics.
“Flourishing is highly dependent upon the context in which we live,” he said. “How are other people doing? How is our community more generally doing?” 
He noted that AI intersects with flourishing not only through personal productivity but through its effects on social relationships, workplaces, churches and families.
Suffering, prisons and resilience
Both scholars challenged the assumption that flourishing means the absence of hardship.
Johnson described research conducted in maximum-security prisons, including work with inmates serving life sentences and those on death row.
“Flourishing is not the absence of suffering — quite the opposite,” Johnson said. “It’s suffering that actually could be the gateway.”
He recounted walking alongside an inmate facing execution who, by study metrics, demonstrated signs of flourishing through faith and relational depth.
Such findings complicate simplistic narratives about well-being, panelists said, and raise important questions about how AI systems — particularly those used in therapy-like contexts — should engage human pain.
Teubner echoed that concern, noting that adversity and suffering are often integral to growth and meaning. Designing AI systems that prioritize frictionless happiness, he suggested, may inadvertently strip away formative experiences.
Johnson highlighted what he described as one of the most concerning findings of the Global Flourishing Study: declining well-being among young adults worldwide.
“Young people are struggling all over the world,” he said, noting rising anxiety, isolation and lower flourishing scores among those ages 18 to 24.
In that context, the panel turned to AI-driven companionship tools, including chatbots marketed as virtual friends or romantic partners.
Nick Skytland described a shift from the “attention economy” of social media to what some observers are calling the “intimacy economy,” in which AI systems mediate or simulate close relationships.
“It’s a lot easier to talk to my AI girlfriend than it is to argue with my wife,” Skytland said, describing the subtle but significant risks of outsourcing emotional labor to machines.
Teubner cautioned that data on the prevalence of AI “relationships” remains limited and sometimes flawed. Still, he warned that replacing human-to-human intimacy with AI interaction could have long-term consequences for relational health.
Johnson reiterated that close personal relationships are among the strongest predictors of flourishing in global data.
“If I’m not flourishing, I’m not flourishing if my neighbor’s not flourishing,” he said, emphasizing the communal dimension of well-being.
“A moral imperative” to shape AI
The conversation also explored the responsibility of Christians to influence AI development.
“At Gloo, we often say that God is not surprised by AI,” Billings said. “It is a moral imperative that we have. It is a mandate that we have to steward well these technologies.”
Skytland agreed, arguing that AI models inevitably reflect the values embedded in their training data.
“When we use AI, we are adopting values whether we recognize it or not,” he said.
He illustrated the point with a hypothetical scenario involving financial advice. An AI trained primarily on secular internet data may prioritize personal gain, he suggested, whereas a biblically informed system would frame money in terms of stewardship and generosity.
“I think we have a moral, ethical, theological responsibility as Christians to shape technology for good,” Skytland said.
Anderson described Biblica’s efforts to apply AI responsibly in Bible translation initiatives, particularly for difficult-to-reach language communities.
He emphasized that AI must remain a tool, not a substitute for discernment.
“There is an important distinction that has to be drawn when we’re considering a tool that has been created by man that’s trying to shepherd a man who was created in the image of God,” Anderson said.
AI systems, he argued, should be designed to point users toward real community when facing complex spiritual or relational questions.
“For someone to be able to walk with you,” he said, describing the role of pastors and faith leaders. “The tool … can never actually bring relationship, can it?” 
Speed versus trust
As the panel progressed, discussion shifted to broader tensions between rapid AI development and safety concerns.
Skytland acknowledged that AI advancement is unlikely to slow, particularly amid geopolitical competition.
“We are not slowing down,” he said, adding that the church must avoid retreating into fear.
Teubner reflected on the growing influence of technology companies in shaping policy debates, noting that corporate decisions now carry global consequences.
“There’s a part of me that thinks this is a really good act,” he said of efforts by some companies to slow certain deployments, adding that value-driven decision-making within industry could serve as a hopeful sign.
Still, panelists agreed that Christian leaders must adopt their own evaluative standards rather than relying solely on industry assurances.
Measuring what matters
Teubner encouraged ministries to move beyond marketing narratives and ask concrete questions.
“Are my social relations improving?” he said. “Can I see that?” 
Johnson pointed to research showing that regular religious practice strongly correlates with higher flourishing outcomes, suggesting that faith communities remain central to human well-being in an age of technological change.
“The world is more religious today than it has ever been in its history,” Johnson said, pushing back against narratives of inevitable secularization.
In closing, Billings summarized what he described as three criteria for AI aligned with flourishing: safety, accuracy and theological coherence.
“All use and advancement of AI should be looked at through the lens of human flourishing,” he said.
As Christian communicators navigate a rapidly evolving technological landscape, panelists said, the ultimate measure will not be efficiency or scale but whether AI strengthens relationships, deepens character and supports communities rooted in truth.
In that sense, they suggested, the future of AI in ministry will be determined less by algorithms and more by anthropology — by what Christians believe about what it means to be human.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[New digital platform expands access to ancient New Testament manuscripts]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/new-digital-platform-expands-access-to-ancient-new-testament-manuscripts</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/new-digital-platform-expands-access-to-ancient-new-testament-manuscripts</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[CDI Staff]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[A New Testament manuscript page displayed on the newly launched Digital Manuscript Collection platform, which provides high-resolution images and expanded access to Greek and other early Christian texts.]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Screenshot of CSNTM website ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ A New Testament manuscript page displayed on the newly launched Digital Manuscript Collection platform, which provides high-resolution images and expanded access to Greek and other early Christian texts. ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Mon, 16 Feb 2026 17:01:00 -0500</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts on Monday announced the launch of a new online Digital Manuscript Collection interface, expanding public access to ancient New Testament manuscripts and related scholarly materials beyond the scope of its previous database.]]></description>
                <content:encoded><![CDATA[
The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts on Monday announced the launch of a new online Digital Manuscript Collection interface, expanding public access to ancient New Testament manuscripts and related scholarly materials beyond the scope of its previous database.
The Plano-based nonprofit said the new platform replaces its original digital archive, which for more than two decades has provided high-resolution images of Greek New Testament manuscripts cataloged with Gregory-Aland numbers. The updated interface is designed to host a broader range of materials in multiple ancient languages and formats, including non-Greek manuscripts, early printed editions and unpublished scholarly works.
According to CSNTM, the earlier database was limited to Greek manuscripts with assigned Gregory-Aland numbers, leaving out other textual witnesses and research resources. The new system allows the inclusion of manuscripts in languages such as Coptic, Syriac, Arabic and Latin, as well as printed New Testament editions and selected archival materials connected to past scholars.
The organization said the redesigned platform was developed over several years in consultation with researchers and reflects two decades of experience in digitizing and cataloging manuscripts. It is intended to function as a searchable repository bringing together manuscripts and related documents that have previously been dispersed across institutions or inaccessible online.
CSNTM stated that the new interface retains core features of the legacy database while adding expanded search and cataloging capabilities. Additional tools and content are expected to be introduced in the coming months.
Founded in 2002, CSNTM is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and digital documentation of New Testament manuscripts. The group conducts digitization expeditions, produces high-resolution images for research and preservation purposes, and collaborates with libraries and archives around the world.
The new Digital Manuscript Collection interface is accessible at collections.csntm.org.]]></content:encoded>
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                <title><![CDATA[Scientific evidence for a ‘clockmaker’ explored in book for an anxious generation]]></title>
                <link>https://www.christiandaily.com/news/scientific-evidence-for-a-clockmaker-explored-in-book-for-an-anxious-generation</link>
                <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.christiandaily.com/news/scientific-evidence-for-a-clockmaker-explored-in-book-for-an-anxious-generation</guid>
                                                            <dc:creator><![CDATA[Chris Eyte]]></dc:creator>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[God, the Science, the Evidence]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Book cover ]]>
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                                    <![CDATA[ God, the Science, the Evidence ]]>
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                            <media:title><![CDATA[Michel Yves Bolloré]]></media:title>
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                                    <![CDATA[ Michel Yves Bolloré ]]>
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                                                                            <pubDate>Sun, 15 Feb 2026 20:01:00 -0500</pubDate>
                <description><![CDATA[The international bestseller God, The Science, The Evidence argues that scientific evidence for the existence of God complements faith and provides reassurance in an age of uncertainty. Christian Daily International interviewed Bolloré, 80, a computer engineer from Brittany currently living in London, about the science-faith debate presented in the book.]]></description>
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The international bestseller "God, The Science, The Evidence" argues that scientific evidence for the existence of God complements faith and provides reassurance in an age marked by uncertainty. Featuring insights from 63 Nobel Prize winners, authors Michel-Yves Bolloré and Olivier Bonnassies are promoting the English translation of their French work, originally titled Dieu, la science, les preuves and published in France by Guy Trédaniel publishing house in October 2021. The English edition was released in October 2025 for the 2025-2026 holiday season.
Christian Daily International interviewed Bolloré, 80, a computer engineer from Brittany currently living in London, about the science-faith debate presented in the book. Bolloré says studying science has always been vital to ensuring his Christian faith is informed by evidence.
"If science had concluded that God does not exist or was a different religion, I would have followed science," Bolloré said. "So science has always been very important to me, and I was happy that science and faith were coherent together."
The book’s origins began 20 years ago when Bolloré embarked on a study of how science aligns with Christianity. During this time, he met Bonnassies, a mathematician and former atheist who converted to Christianity in his 20s based on scientific evidence.
"He was convinced that God existed and he became a Christian and converted his family," Bolloré recalled. "It's a clear example that reason, philosophy, and science can lead to the certainty of God’s existence."
Recognizing a need for a book accessible to the general public, the duo spent four years researching and consulted 25 experts. The work was a collective effort, including contributions from respected scientists such as Robert Wilson, the agnostic cosmologist who discovered the "echo" of the Big Bang in 1963. Wilson edited the cosmology section and wrote the preface.
"He wrote something which, for an agnostic, is important," Bolloré said. "He noted that if the Big Bang and related discoveries are true, we cannot avoid the question of creation."
Bolloré says the book is aimed at the roughly half of the population who no longer believe in God and often feel anxious. “People are searching for answers,” he said. “We wanted to write a book for the general public—accessible to young readers and grandparents alike—while remaining accurate and rigorous.”
Sales have reached 450,000 copies, and the authors have participated in conferences at universities such as Princeton and Oxford. Bolloré noted that many young students are eager to understand how science informs faith.
"Our book is not about religion or faith," Bolloré said. "It asks whether the universe is like a wonderful clock. Philosophers of the 18th century used this analogy: is there a clockmaker behind the clock? Materialists say there is a clock but no clockmaker. We—Christians, Jews, Muslims—say there is a clockmaker."

Bolloré uses an illustration of a 10-floor superstore with an underground car park to explain the book’s progression. The book acts as an elevator, moving readers from the "underground" of atheism to the "ground floor" of deism, showing that science points to a creator God.
"We don’t go further," he said. "After that, the question is: Who is He? What is His name? We just show that science indicates, beyond doubt, that there is a creator God. That is the alpha and omega of our book."
Bolloré described reports of a "Quiet Revival" among Gen Z as encouraging, but emphasized a long-term historical view. From 1500 to 1900, discoveries seemed to suggest God was unnecessary to explain the universe, citing Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and Darwin. Philosophers and later figures such as Marx and Freud argued that faith caused unhappiness and that removing God would bring freedom.
"Of course, that was not true," Bolloré said. He argued that 20th-century scientific discoveries caused the "pendulum" to swing back, making it "impossible to explain the world without a creator God."
He highlights several scientific discoveries as evidence: the universe’s beginning and eventual thermal death, its ongoing expansion, the precise fine-tuning of physical constants, and the complexity of life, which cannot emerge from inert matter alone.
Bolloré suggests that materialism has become an irrational belief. Some scientists reject God because His existence challenges their personal freedom.
"They say, 'No master, no God,' because they don’t want limits on their freedom," he said. "If they have an abortion or euthanasia, they don’t want critics. God could be a limitation. So many scientists continue to deny God to avoid constraints."
He blames the "cult of reason" and de-Christianization following the French Revolution for current secular perceptions of science. Political movements, he argues, rewrote history to suggest Christians opposed science, when in fact modern science developed largely in Christian countries.
"It is Christianity that allowed science to develop," Bolloré said. "Copernicus was a church canon, Galileo a scientist for the Pope."
He also discusses historical consequences. In Stalin’s Russia and Hitler’s Germany, scientists who pointed to a beginning of the universe—regardless of personal belief—were persecuted.
"There was fantastic persecution of scientists simply for showing the universe had a beginning," he said. "This chapter is original in our book; few have written about it."
Bolloré emphasized that one does not need to be a top scientist to understand the evidence. If the universe has an absolute beginning, there must be a cause outside it, which can only be God. The fine-tuning of the universe is also accessible for general understanding.
"All the evidence in our book can be understood by anyone over 17," he said. "It is written to be read by everyone."
He believes the question of God’s existence is the most important inquiry in life. "If God does not exist, we enjoy the days we have," Bolloré said. "If God exists, everything changes."]]></content:encoded>
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