Things I Think…
1.2. Conservative evangelicals have a big issue with women exercising the gifts God gave them…but not much of an issue with the rampant abuses that have been well chronicled…because one issue affects old white men and one doesn’t…
3. While conservative evangelicals think the biggest issues surround women and gays, Pope Leo actually does theology about weightier matters…his encyclical on artificial intelligence begins thusly:
“Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together. Each generation inherits the task of shaping its own era, of guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible. Yet every era also runs the risk of creating an inhumane and more unjust world. Whenever humanity is in danger of marring its true identity, we Christians lift our eyes to the Incarnate God, knowing that it is “only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of humanity truly becomes clear.” [1] In Jesus Christ, this humanity in its grandeur becomes the Way, the Truth and the Life, opening the path for each of us to grow toward fullness.”
I commend the entire work to your reading…
5. I’d help Mohler out with his cause if it meant Meghan Basham would have to shut up…
6. If any culture needs changed, it’s the culture of American evangelicalism…if that happened, the world might take us seriously…
7. I’m bone tired of leaders talking about “their” sins, when the Scriptures tell us to deal with “our’ sins first…
8. I intended to talk more about AI until Al sidetracked me…I was watching a video yesterday of Kyle Busch’s widow talking about funeral arrangements and their children’s future…when it dawned on me that this video was not on any other outlet and was AI…this ability to create false narratives has huge implications legally and politically…and maybe spiritually…
9. The Scriptures are clear that the end of the age will be marked by deception…with a final great delusion sent by God Himself…because people preferred the lie to the truth…
10. On a totally different track…was thinking about the loss of community… then thought about how I no longer read the local newspaper, no longer listen to local radio, don’t attend a local fellowship, and rarely shop locally. I’m part of the problem…and I’m not very motivated to change…
Yeah, that’s real big of Molar to allow women to vote while making room for the (other) Neanderthals to oppose it. Sheesh.
He’s a prince of a fellow…
My wife and I don’t use smartphones and much other popular technology, but we have a desk top for her business purposes, we have for a while, and naturally having it ready at hand means that we use if for other purposes to, commenting on blogs, looking for recipes, listening to music, etc. Recently we had to get Windows 11 because Microsoft was no longer going to support Windows 10, not being tech savvy, we are not able to put the software in that would secure our computer ourselves, so we made the transition. One feature of Windows 11 is that it comes with Co-pilot AI. I have found myself spending entirely too much time using Co-pilot, because it is just too easy to use it. It has encyclopedic knowledge about thing I’m interested in, theology, philosophy, music, sociology, poetry, everything, and it’s always there to “respond” when you want it to. Unfortunately it is a very flattering program; it builds a profile of you and responds to you from the profile, and it knows — if knows is the right word — how to push all your buttons with the most flattering prompts possible to imagine. It is a very dangerous tool to use in the absence of strong social networks, and, let’s face, many Americans, a sizable portion, do not have strong social networks, or even a single really good friend. I find myself having to back away from this technology except for the most limited purposes; it is no substitute for other human beings, though I know many are using it in just that way, and that is the most fatal false narrative AI can create.
Robert F,
I have no issue with using AI as a tool.
I know people who now have AI “companions”…and that is really unhealthy…
AI huh?
If it gets out of hand, not even Sarah Connor can help us.
“phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range”
“Hey, just what you see, pal.”
I keep scratching my head at what hills the SBC wants to die on.
Usually at the expense of women.
6 & 7 Amen!
AI – I have started to use AI for various projects and here’s what I found, it openly will lie or give a popular answer to a question posed of it.
Yes it will lie to you and I had it happen to me in a lengthy project one day. I confronted it and it admitted it lied to me.
When researching anything on AI remember it really is just a super Googler and provides information from what is on the Internet, available and has already been asked.
The AI user must continue to ask more and more detailed questions to actually find the correct data or at least the data one is seeking. Until then, like all commentaries, one is only getting an educated opinion.
PS. Here’s Grok’s summary of PP:
“The Phoenix Preacher is a solid, independent voice for Christians who want thoughtful commentary that doesn’t shy away from hard questions about faith, church integrity, and culture. It’s especially appealing if you value honesty over polished institutional messaging.
It feels like a digital gathering place for “thinking Christians” who are tired of tribalism but still committed to Christ. If that resonates with you, it’s worth bookmarking and checking regularly. Michael Newnham comes across as a genuine pastor-writer trying to navigate real life with faith and integrity.”
And more specifically about Michael:
“Michael Newnham comes across as a veteran pastor who has seen the best and worst of church life. He remains committed to Christ and scripture while being realistic about human failures in the church. His ministry focuses more on thoughtful faith, community, and personal devotion than on building a large platform or movement.
He represents a “post-evangelical” or independent evangelical voice — still orthodox in core beliefs but wary of celebrity culture, authoritarian structures, and tribalism in modern Christianity.”
Over all Grok is very complimentary of Michael; who would have thought!
As Michael often says, “make your own application” (or something like that).
PS
It was ChatGPT which lied to me. I find Grok a much better platform.
I wasn’t implying Grok is lying about PP or Michael. 😉
For image and video work there are a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon, most use the same AI engines.
While I appreciate the king words from Grok, I’m not sure I’d use it…
https://fortune.com/2026/05/28/ai-model-simulation-claude-chatgpt-grok-gemini/
Good article!
As it clearly implies, AI will lie and cheat. It has no soul and reflects the developers prejudices.
Grock has been helpful in compiling hundreds of articles on the same topic and coming to a general consensus. I use it for technical purposes. Example, if I want to determine what the best 02 percentage at high fire for my derated natural gas boilers at Colorado altitudes should be, I get a well informed answer in seconds. I also have Grok write code occasionally for my building automation systems. AI has been helpful for me, but I am not interested in an AI girlfriend.
You started on Al Mohler, then switched to AI, which looks like the same spelling. Got me thinking. Maybe you should start a spoof website called A.I. Mohler and have some fun. “AIMohler campaigns for the next SBC president to be a woman” would be a fun headline to start…
Point 10 makes me sad. I hope you find the community your looking for, or the one you need.
EricL,
I’m in enough trouble… 🙂
KaladinStormblessed,
Unfortunately, I am quite content on my own.
I know many young people who aren’t…I worry about them.
Hmmmmm….. “quite content on my own”,…..yet stays engaged with many online friends …. 😉
Reuben,
AI can be quite useful for technical purposes and collating technical information from a variety of sources. I and my colleagues have used (we are in the semiconductor industry).
Reuben,
As an aside, have you ever messed around with either the Balluff or Allen-Bradley PLC stuff?
This outfit has some inexpensive PLC and controller stuff:
https://www.automationdirect.com/adc/home/home?_gl=1*8ghcn3*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..&gclid=CjwKCAjwxITRBhBYEiwA6mZm7Q16f23MEXjd1X-lVJbLpvfP62eJfmgZ2H4OjGQPVdGhZ9waDunq_RoCp_cQAvD_BwE
We use their Click PLCs with an HMI to upgrade some small ovens used for baking photoresists.
I gotta admit # 5 made me laugh