Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Denison Forum

Home
Evangelical
Religion News
This AI-powered necklace will be your friend for $99

This AI-powered necklace will be your friend for $99

Last updated on: August 8, 2024 at 6:27 am by Jim Denison

This AI-powered necklace will be your friend for $99 2024-08-08T06:27:41-05:00 Jim Denison

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The news of the week has been monumental, to say the least, from unprecedented political developments to weather-related disasters to the specter of an escalating war in the Middle East. So, for a day, let’s take a break from all of that to consider a whimsical headline that may be a sign of our times: “AI-Powered Necklace Will Be Your Friend for $99.”

“Friend” is a pendant about the size of an Apple AirTag. Avi Schiffman, the twenty-one-year-old Harvard dropout who invented it, told Wired that he created the device at a time when he had “never felt more lonely in my entire life.”

The onboard microphone listens to everything happening around you. Powered by AI, it will answer questions but also send unprompted messages to engage in conversation and offer encouragement.

In other words, it’s a technological companion to make up for the real thing.

It should not surprise us that Schiffman is in search of friends: his Gen Z cohort reports the poorest mental health of any generation in America as they struggle with alarming rates of loneliness, depression, and suicidal thoughts. They are also our nation’s least religious generation.

Perhaps there is correlation, if not causation, here?

By contrast, actively religious people are:

More likely to describe themselves as “very happy.”
Healthier, with greater longevity, better coping skills, and less anxiety, depression, and suicide.
More psychologically resilient with a higher quality of life.
Better able to handle economic uncertainty and downturns.

Why, then, aren’t more Americans more religious?

When I tried to defy the law of gravity

When I was a small boy, I wanted to fly more than anything. I used to lay in the grass, look up into the clouds, and imagine soaring among them like Superman. So, one day I took some bedsheets and used them to make myself wings. I then climbed up on the roof of our house and jumped off.

My childhood mind truly believed that I would be able to fly when I did so, that the reality of gravity would submit to the reality of my newfound ability. But I was wrong (and lucky I didn’t break a leg).

Now consider the One who truly can supersede the laws of the world he created: “God is the King of all the earth . . . God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Psalm 47:7–8). This is a present-tense fact, no matter what circumstances might seem to say.

Our problem is that we judge objective reality by our subjective experience rather than the other way around. As a result, we are “breaking bones” right and left.

According to recent Gallup polling:

54 percent of Americans consider abortion to be morally acceptable.
53 percent support doctor-assisted suicide, a higher number than those who agree with medical testing on animals, at 48 percent.
69 percent find sex between an unmarried man and woman to be morally acceptable.
64 percent support gay or lesbian relations.
23 percent support polygamy (up from 7 percent twenty years ago).

Are we surprised that only 5 percent of us are “very satisfied” with the moral climate of our nation?

“When your child swallows poison”

How does our weeklong focus on God’s transforming love relate to today’s conversation? In a way we might not expect.

In Smoke on the Mountain: An Interpretation of the Ten Commandments, Joy Davidman (the wife of C. S. Lewis) asked: “Mustn’t the churches adapt Christianity to suit the ideas of our time?” Then she answered her question:

No, they must not. Our ideas are killing us spiritually. When your child swallows poison, you don’t sit around thinking of ways to adapt his constitution to a poisonous diet. You give him an emetic [medicine that induces vomiting].

God wants to do the same for us.

It is because our Father loves his children so fervently that he hates everything that is not best for us. When our oldest son and our youngest grandson were diagnosed with cancer, I hated the disease with a passion beyond words. This is how our Lord feels about the sins that tempt us.

Of course, our spiritual enemy feels just the opposite. According to Jesus, Satan “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10). So the next time temptation arises, ask yourself:

What will this steal?
Whom will it kill?
How will it destroy?

If the answers are not apparent, ask the Spirit to reveal them to you. And remember that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). If his word forbids something, it must be because it is harmful for you. If he commands something, it must be because it is best for you. His unchanging character requires it.

Now ask his Spirit to empower you to think, speak, and act biblically in response to your temptations and all through your day. When you do, you will experience the transforming love and abiding presence of your Lord in ways no technology (or human) could ever match.

How Michelangelo sculpted David

I will always remember seeing Michelangelo’s massive statue of David for the first time. Standing seventeen feet tall in the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy, it towers over those who come to view it. It took the famed Renaissance artist nearly three years to complete it, chipping away at a large block of marble until the masterpiece was completed.

When the pope asked the sculptor the secret of his genius, Michelangelo responded: “It’s simple. I just removed everything that was not David.”

If you were to resemble Jesus, the “son of David” (Matthew 1:1), more fully than ever before, what would your divine sculptor change today?

NOTE: “Meditating on God’s wisdom can transform our nights and ultimately, our lives,” says Janet Denison, author of the new 365-evening devotional, Wisdom Matters. We want to send you this powerful new resource to thank you for your donation to support the Christ-centered, culture-changing content at Denison Forum. Get your copy of Wisdom Matters today.

Thursday news to know:

*Denison Forum does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in these stories.

Quote for the day:

“Be killing sin or it will be killing you.” —John Owen

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 7, 2024

Kamala Harris chooses Tim Walz as her running mate

Next Post

August 9, 2024 Will Governor Tim Walz win over undecided voters?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category america biblical-living Uncategorized

Select a Month March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I am a large sheet that came down from heaven, filled with animals both clean and unclean. I changed Peter's understanding forever. What am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Peter's vision A heavenly message A sign from God A dream