Who Will Be God?

One of the 10 Commandments is that we should have no other gods before the One True God.  With so many false "gods" - idols - vying for our attention and our allegiance, we must recognize that we must surrender to the principles of Scripture and submit our decisions and our associations to our Creator, who sent His Son to save us.  The Bible says in Exodus 20, in a passage containing the first two of the Ten Commandments (ESV):
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

No other gods.  No idols.  And, you can make the case that one of the preemminent false "gods" has to do with the technology sector and most notably, the development of artificial intelligence.  Even among the tech titans of Silicon Valley, at the heart of the advancement of these manufactured idols, there is something spiritual that could possibly be bubbling up.

The Times of London, on its website, reported within the last month:

Existential questions arising from the race to develop “God-like” artificial intelligence are driving a revival of interest in Christianity in Silicon Valley.

Churches in San Francisco are reporting swelling congregations and collectives have started in the past year to connect tech workers committed to or curious about Christian faith.

Denise Lee Yohn, co-founder of the Bay Area Center for Faith, Work & Tech, which was founded about a year ago and has about 2,000 people on its mailing list, said the increased interest in Christianity had been prompted “in large part” by the questions raised by the development and use of AI.

There is certainly a search that is taking place, albeit from an unlikely source - the co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel.  Thiel has been known for speaking out for Christianity - and about his own homosexuality.  That practice would place him outside what would be considered to be Biblical Christianity.  At Religion Unplugged, Terry Mattingly quoted from author and commentator, Rod Dreher, who said:

Thiel is by his own admission a heterodox Protestant. He is married to a man, but I learned (not from him) that he attends a conservative Protestant church, one whose doctrine considers homosexuality sinful. In listening to Thiel talk, and in personal conversation with him, I didn’t learn much at all about the nature of his Christian profession, but I came away convinced that however misguided he is from an orthodox Christian perspective, he is utterly sincere.

Referring to a New York Times piece from earlier this year, Mattingly muses: "I kept waiting for the Times team to offer some information and insights from some logical Christian voices that probably know a thing or two about outreach programs in Silicon Valley," and states, " if the Times folks were convinced that the Silicon Valley seekers are evangelicals or evangelical-adjacent, maybe it would have been logical to talk to thinkers at Gateway Seminary, the multi-campus Southern Baptist institution formerly known as Golden Gate Theological Seminary."

The Acton Institute stated on its website: "one could construe Silicon Valley’s 'Christian' turn as at least headed in the right direction. The religious conversations happening in the valley can provide opportunities for serious theological reflection, something meatier than vague, amorphous 'spirituality' and the attendant cliches."  But is there a cult of personality at play here?  The article mentions Thiel, as well as Garry Tan, but offers a word of caution:

In an industry prone to fads and hype, the power of influencers should not be overlooked. Are people really interested in the power and work of Jesus Christ, who was not merely a great teacher but the Son of God who atoned for our sins and now sits at the right hand of God the Father, interceding on our behalf? Or is this about getting close to the people who, if you adopt their philosophy of life, might get you another round of funding?

As Acton notes, a rise in Christian awareness and practice can counter the idolatry of technology and the embrace, and even worship of, artificial intelligence.  But, just because a gay tech titan is spouting off Christian truth does not necessarily lend legitimacy to a move of God.  So, one could ask the question - in Silicon Valley or whatever circles we run in - where is God?  That's why the Scriptures encourage us in the book of 1st John to "test the spirits."

But, we recognize that even though technological advances might reside in the world of the physical or the tangible, there are spiritual implications.  When tech becomes an idol, then our devotion to and awareness of God diminishes.  When we seek answers through "artificial" means, we have to make sure that our foundation remains rooted in Scripture.

As Denise Lee Yohn notes in the London Times article: “...to have some very prominent, influential, very well-respected people identify as Christians and explain why they take seriously the claims of Jesus, and why they want to follow him, I think it kind of prompts them to wonder, well, maybe this is something that I should look into also.”

The media might be fascinated with the spiritual counterbalance in Silicon Valley, but I would submit that there may be - may be - legitimate searching underway - not for the idolatry of technological advance, but the purity of the truth of Scripture and the presence of God.  But, high-profile people talking about God, while it could drive people to the true Jesus, doesn't present the gospel of salvation, which produces real change and lasting fruit.