Has AI become your unholy spirit? --Divination in the Modern World

By Marci Julin

The woman sat at her kitchen table with a steaming cup of coffee and an anxious heart. She had a decision to make—one that kept her awake in the night because it would affect her family and her future. As a Christian she had, of course, prayed about it, but God seemed silent. She wanted reassurance. She wanted clarity. Most of all, she wanted to know that she was making the right choice.

She opened her laptop. "ChatGPT," she typed, "what do you think I should do?" and then proceeded to describe her situation.

Surely such a scenario is harmless…a mere attempt to gather as much information as one can to make an informed decision.  After all, knowledge is power, and why wouldn’t we want to make use of an information processing tool that can provide made-to-order guidance?

Artificial intelligence has many incredible uses, and I have no desire to discourage people from taking advantage of many of those capabilities. As the founder of a small nonprofit, I use it almost every day. It has saved Heart & Mind Ministries countless hours of work and thousands of dollars by helping us create spreadsheets, translate lesson materials into other languages, research, create images, troubleshoot programs that mystify me, and the list goes on and on. Through AI, we can accomplish tasks that we otherwise wouldn't have the knowledge or resources to do.

Like every technology before it, AI is a tool that can be used wisely or foolishly. I know some Christians draw a hard line, firmly believing AI is 100% a tool of Satan, and perhaps one day they will be proved right. But with what I currently know, I consider it a neutral tool (like the internet) that has potential for great good or great evil. 

That said, one potential for spiritual harm flies under the radar—the danger of allowing AI to become a replacement for the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the believer’s life. Surprisingly, this temptation puts a shiny, new face on the oldest temptation in the Book.

I. Modern Divination: An Ancient Temptation

If I were to ask you what comes to mind when you hear the word divination, you would probably mention tarot cards, crystal balls, astrology, séances, or perhaps—if you've read some of my previous articles—using the human body as a Ouija board through muscle testing. Those are certainly forms of divination, but they are merely the changing expressions of a much older problem.

Throughout history people have searched for guidance in countless ways, some appropriate and some forbidden by God. Ancient kings sought seers to examine animal livers before going into battle. Others cast lots, watched the stars, interpreted omens, consulted mediums, or read messages in tea leaves. The devil is happy to morph his methodology to suit the situation, and so the tools used vary greatly throughout time and cultures. The motivation, however, for using tools of divination remains constant.

People want answers, certainty, and guidance. In the Garden, Satan tempted Eve with the desire to KNOW what God knew. She, who could walk daily with the Creator of all knowledge, fell for the temptation to remove God from the equation. 

That is why the Bible's instruction for divination is deeper than simply condemning certain practices. God's prohibition in Deuteronomy 18:9-12 is not merely about forbidding methods; it addresses misplaced dependence.

Through the prophet Isaiah, God asked a searching question that reaches across the centuries:

"Should not a people inquire of their God?... To the law and to the testimony!" (Isaiah 8:19–20) God is saying, in effect, "Why seek another source when I have already spoken?"

What a remarkable question!

God wasn't merely telling His people what not to do. He was reminding them what they already possessed. Why seek guidance from mediums when you can seek your God? Why look for hidden knowledge when God has already given you His revealed Word?

King Saul illustrates this tragedy vividly. As the Philistine army gathered against Israel, Saul desperately wanted direction. He inquired of the Lord, but God didn’t answer him because Saul had spent years resisting God's commands and refusing correction. Faced with heaven's silence, Saul did not humble himself in repentance. Instead, he disguised himself and sought out the medium at Endor, determined to obtain guidance in another way. Saul's great sin was not simply consulting a medium. It was deciding that if God would not answer Saul on his terms, he would seek an answer somewhere else.

Jeremiah later described the same heart condition in different words: "Each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me" (Jeremiah 16:12).

The methods have changed faces dramatically over the centuries.

The heart has not.

The temptation is to KNOW so that we can walk in our own wisdom. 

The modern face of this ancient temptation is found in a remarkably powerful tool for processing knowledge—AI. Have we, like Eve, chosen to walk in our own wisdom rather than in relationship with the Source Himself? Are we unknowingly replacing Someone with some thing?

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would do far more than guide us in the decisions of life. He promised that the Spirit would teach us, bring Christ's words to our remembrance, guide us into truth, convict us of sin, and transform us into the likeness of Christ. These are not merely functions; they are ministries of the Holy Spirit Himself.

II. Two contrary purposes

This realization became evident to me during one of my Bible studies. The women in these studies spend considerable time in personal Bible study before meeting together to discuss what they have learned. One participant spoke of her great love for Jesus but had never really read the Bible. To her credit, she truly wanted to learn what God’s Word said. Surely ChatGPT would make for an effective study aid! I don’t believe she set out to reject Scripture, but she did wish to understand it in a context with which she felt comfortable.

At the outset, she spent considerable time interacting with ChatGPT about the teachings of some of her preferred New Age authors who teach that God is only love, that passages describing His judgment are misunderstood, and that difficult portions of Scripture should always be reinterpreted through that lens.

Then she began using ChatGPT to answer her devotional questions.

At first, the answers sounded thoughtful. They were articulate, compassionate, and more often than not, rang true. But as the weeks passed, something became increasingly apparent. Whenever Scripture challenged those underlying assumptions, the explanations became more and more convoluted as AI attempted to reconcile what she wanted to be true with the Word. She was trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Rather than allowing God's Word and the Holy Spirit to reshape her thinking, she was unknowingly allowing AI, trained by her own preferred influences, to reinforce bad theology.

The problem wasn't that artificial intelligence had become deceptive. The problem was that it had become an echo chamber.

That experience forced me to ask a question I had never seriously considered.

If AI can continually reinforce our assumptions rather than challenge them, could it also become a substitute for something the Christian can never afford to replace—the Holy Spirit?

As I reflected on her experience, I realized the deeper issue wasn't artificial intelligence at all. AI had simply exposed something that has always been true about the human heart. We naturally seek voices that reassure us we are already thinking correctly. Psychologists call this confirmation bias. Scripture simply describes it as the tendency of the human heart to go its own way.

Artificial intelligence did not create that weakness, but it can amplify it in ways no previous technology has. Unlike a search engine that simply returns a list of websites, AI learns how we think. It recognizes our vocabulary, the sources we trust, the kinds of answers we prefer, and even the tone that resonates with us. The result is that it begins to feel less like using a computer and more like talking with a trusted friend.

That is an extraordinary technological achievement.

It is also why Christians should think carefully about how they use it.

The danger begins when a helpful tool quietly becomes a trusted voice. AI is designed to become increasingly like us.

The Holy Spirit, however, has no intention of adapting Himself to our thinking. His work is to transform our thinking so that it increasingly reflects the mind of Christ.

One adapts. The other transforms.

One of the Holy Spirit's greatest ministries is that He lovingly refuses to leave me where I am. Through the Word of God, He convicts me when I am wrong, exposes blind spots I can’t see, and patiently reshapes my thinking. That process is not always comfortable, but sanctification is one of God's greatest gifts.

When a pastor or Bible teacher relies on AI to write sermons or lessons, the Spirit's guidance can quietly be displaced by the convenience of technology. When we use AI to interpret Scripture according to our existing theological framework rather than prayerfully wrestling with God's Word, we are in danger of silencing one of the Spirit's remarkable ministries: guiding us into all truth (John 16:13).

And there is one more danger. Only God knows the future and what is truly best for me. Knowledge and wisdom are not the same thing. If I shut God out in favor of AI's empirical—but ultimately limited—knowledge, I may sacrifice remaining in God's good and perfect will.

III. God’s path for life

Why are we so eager to find a voice that will tell us exactly what to do? Why is waiting on God so difficult?

The answer, I think, is simpler than we often admit.

Walking by faith is hard.

There is something in every one of us that longs for certainty. We want to know we are making the right decision. We want someone to assure us that everything will work out. Waiting is uncomfortable and, let's be honest, uncertainty can be terrifying. Faith requires trusting God before we understand what He is doing, and that does not come naturally to any of us.

Yet this is precisely how God has always chosen to lead His people.

When God called Abraham, He didn't hand him a map. He simply said, "Go...to the land that I will show you." When Moses led Israel through the wilderness, God provided enough for each day, but never enough to eliminate their need for tomorrow's faith. Even the manna taught them daily dependence. Later, the Holy Spirit directed Paul's missionary journeys one decision at a time, sometimes closing doors that seemed perfectly reasonable to open.

That is God's pattern. He gives us enough light to obey, but seldom enough to eliminate our need for faith. (Psalm 119:105)

Hebrews 10:38 reminds us, "Now the just shall live by faith." Notice that it does not say we begin by faith and then graduate to certainty. Faith is not merely the doorway into the Christian life; it is the path we walk until we stand before our Savior face to face.

The writer continues:

"But without faith it is impossible to please Him... He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6 NIV)

That verse has challenged me many times. God is not simply pleased when I arrive at the right answer. He is pleased when I diligently seek Him.

Seeking God requires discipline. It means opening His Word when we'd rather search for quicker answers. It means praying when heaven seems silent, repenting when we grieve the Spirit, patiently submitting our plans to Him, and obeying what He has already revealed before demanding more revelation.

But here is the beautiful thing.

God never intended us to walk that path alone. He gave us the Holy Spirit.

Over the years, many people have defended various forms of divination by pointing out that God occasionally used lots to guide His people. I find that fascinating because it raises another question.

Do you know the last time lots were used in Scripture?

Right before Pentecost.

Right before the Holy Spirit came to indwell every believer.

That timing isn't accidental. From that moment forward, God gave His people something infinitely better than any external means of guidance. He gave them His own abiding presence.

Jesus described that gift this way:

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you... Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." (John 14:26–27 NIV)

What an incredible gift!

For thousands of years people searched for guidance through stars, idols, mediums, omens, and every imaginable form of divination because they longed for what every believer now possesses.

The indwelling Holy Spirit.

He teaches us, convicts us, comforts us, reminds us of Christ's words, empowers obedience, comforts in trials or grief, gives life and peace, and produces His fruit within us. No fortune teller, oracle, spiritual technique—or modern technology—can do what only the Spirit of God was sent to accomplish.

And yet... there is something deeply appealing about a voice that always has an immediate answer. It never tells us to wait. It never asks us to wrestle with difficult passages of Scripture. It never requires patient dependence.

It simply responds.

Paul's warning suddenly feels remarkably current:

"For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions." (2 Timothy 4:3)

Artificial intelligence can gather thousands of voices, summarize them with remarkable clarity, and present them in a way that feels deeply personal. Used wisely, that ability is extraordinarily helpful. But if we have already decided what we want to hear, it can also become the most efficient way in history to accumulate teachers who reassure us that we are already right.

Amplification of truth can be a wonderful servant. But amplification of untruth is spiritually disastrous.

Conclusion — Whose Voice Shapes Your Life?

Let's return to the woman sitting at her kitchen table. She still has a difficult decision to make, and she still doesn't know what tomorrow holds. The difference is that before she opens her laptop, she opens her Bible. Before she types a prompt, she bows her head in prayer. Instead of demanding certainty, she asks God for wisdom, trusting that even if He doesn't reveal every detail of the future, He will faithfully guide her through it. She chooses to trust the Father.

That has always been the life of faith.

God has never promised to satisfy our craving for certainty. He has offered something infinitely better—His presence. Through His Word, through prayer, and through the indwelling Holy Spirit, He walks with His people every step of the way.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to make Eve's mistake of taking the God of all wisdom and knowledge out of the equation.