3 Minute Theologian

S3E12 Humans Are Not Artificial

S3:E12 - Humans are not Artificial (David Tank & Greg Strand) Welcome to the 3-Minute Theologian. A theology podcast about what we believe, produced by the family of Waukee Community Church. I’m your host, David Tank, and today, in this final episode of season 3, we’re talking about how humans are not artificial. Greg Strand is the Executive Director of Theology & Credentialling for the National Office of (our denomination) the Evangelical Free Church of America [https://www.efca.org/].  0:54 - Introductions 4:00 - Should Christians be excited or fearful about the development of AI? * It is a category mistake to imprint human behavior on AI. * God has uniquely given His Image to humans, not machines. (Genesis 1:26-28 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%201%3A26-28&version=ESV]) * We do not need to fear AI. We should fear and reverence of God. 8:51 - How are humans different than intelligent machines? * Generative AI can only ‘generate’ summaries of publicized information or make calculations of values, but it cannot designate value to anything. * AI is not conscious, creative, or perceptive. * AI can never mimic, replace, or surpass humans, made in the image of God. 14:40 - How should believers use AI? * Recognize that it is fallible. It could be inaccurate. It must be fact-checked.  * Use it as a tool, but do not let it replace our thinking. * Quote by Phil Gons [https://commongoodmag.com/ai-within-your-theological-library/], Logos Bible Software chief product officer. 19:26 - Is AI a neutral tool? Why we need to have relationships with people, not AI. * AI reflects the intentions and worldview of its programmer/creator.  * We need wisdom from above (James 1:5, 3:17) [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%201%3A5%2C%203%3A17&version=ESV] * Machines cannot replace human relationships. 22:51 - AI and Truth 24:22 - Ethical and Practical Concerns for using AI * Claiming AI-generated material as our own is plagiarism. (As a matter of authority and trust, people should know if the source is a person or ChatGPT.) * Believers can and should use AI, but appropriately. (It can even be helpful in ministry.) * We don’t need AI to teach us Scripture. The Holy Spirit promises to illuminate it for us. 27:02 - Concluding comments * Quote by Joanna Ng: “Divine wisdom is greater than artificial intelligence, because divine is greater than artificial, and wisdom is greater than intelligence.”   You can learn more about the Evangelical Free Church of A [https://www.efca.org/]merica, and hear great messages from biblical pastors and theologians on the EFCA Theology Podcast [https://open.spotify.com/show/0lwPErpDJ1cLqmAjXYWKqy]. You can also learn more about the subject of Artificial Intelligence and the Human Condition: *  2025 EFCA Theology Conference [https://helps.efca.org/bundles/2025-efca-theology-conference-resources] (theme: Theological Anthropology) See Plenary session #5, Jason Thacker: “A.I. Transhumanism, and Posthumanism.” * The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, “Artificial Intelligence: An Evangelical Statement of Principles” [https://erlc.com/policy-content/artificial-intelligence-an-evangelical-statement-of-principles/] (April 11, 2019).  * John Piper, “Should I use AI to help me write sermons?” [https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/should-i-use-ai-to-help-me-write-sermons] Ask Pastor John (podcast), Desiring God. February 24, 2025.

S3E11 Humans Will be Changed

S3:E11 - Humans will be Changed (David & Sarah Tank) Welcome to the 3-Minute Theologian. A theology podcast about what we believe, produced by the family of Waukee Community Church. I’m your host, Sarah Tank, and today we’re thinking about, how in the future, humans will be changed. Right after seminary, we purchased a used car, and we were excited dive it in the Chicago suburbs. However, within a week of getting it, on a late night drive home from seeing family, David hit a deer, and our vehicle was totally ruined! We couldn’t afford to repair or replace the car. We were stuck! But then, a family member saved us from this crisis. They paid for the repairs, and helped restore the car. Like this story, humans were ruined by the fall. And on our own, we would have remained dead in our sin and under God’s wrath: We were helpless, and a Savior is our only hope! Thankfully, we do have such a Savior, and only Jesus can rescue, reconcile, and renew us! And one day all Christians will experience these changes personally: Here’s what that means: 1. Humanity will be rescued from the power of sin and death: For believers, death does not have the last word in our lives, for Jesus has turned death into the door that leads to eternal life. Paul says in Romans 6:7-8 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%206%3A5-11&version=ESV], The one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  When we die ––though the body is buried ––our souls immediately go to be with our Lord and Savior in heaven. There, we will be released from the temptations of our current sinful nature, and there, we will experience the freedom of having fullness of life with Christ.  2. Humanity will be reconciled with the world, and freed from the curse: After Adam sinned, all of creation was put under a curse, and Romas 8 explains that the curse has subjected the world to futility. But because Jesus is making all things right, one day “creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and experience the freedom and glory of God’s children.” (Romans 8:20-21 ESV, NIV, CSB) [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208%3A20-21&version=ESV,NIV,CSB] In the future, we will no longer be at odds with creation, or with other people. There will be no more disasters, diseases, disabilities, dangers, or demons to worry about. There will only be, complete and perfect peace, always! 3. Humanity we will be renewed in the image of Christ.  Different theories try to envision the destiny of humanity: Some anticipate that we will ascend into an ideal race: A perfect society without spot or flaw. Others say that we will merge with technology, becoming like the borg in Star Trek. And then there are those who say that we will simply, cease to be human entirely. We will no longer be homo sapiens, but something else. However, none of these theories reflect the true future which God has in store for His people: In 1 Corinthians 15:49 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015%3A42-57&version=ESV], Paul says that “As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” And Paul goes on to explain that this change will happen instantaneously: In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye… the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. (1Corinthians 15:52) [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2015%3A42-57&version=ESV] When Jesus returns, our bodies will be resurrected.  Jeff Erickson, a member of our church family, has helpfully explained this change-in-reality, saying, “What we are now will not be replaced but added to. God will give us a new spiritual outer garment.” In the future, humans will not evolve into something different. We will reflect the image of Christ, the second Adam.  Right now, you and I cannot change our condition or make ourselves perfect. But when God makes us like His Son, you will be immortal, imperishable, and incorruptible, because of Jesus! In the future, believers will be human beings, free from sin, fully at peace, and truly alive. And so, Come Lord Jesus!

S3E10 - Humans Are Sinners

S3:E10 - Humans are Sinners (Mike Wagner, David Tank) Welcome to the 3-Minute Theologian. A theology podcast about what we believe, produced by the family of Waukee Community Church. This episode was a recorded conversation between Mike Wagner and David Tank about Total Depravity.  Opening Story: Driving in Nebraska with a broken speedometer. There are 4 big problems in the Human Condition: 1. We have a Moral Problem (Mechanical Failure) ·       Depravity doesn’t mean people don’t have value. ·       “Total Depravity” refers to how sin has “radically corrupted” our human nature. ·       God’s common grace keeps us from being as bad as we could be,  but we are not ‘as we ought to be.’ ·       Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 8:7-8 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2017%3A9%3B%20Romans%208%3A7-8&version=ESV] 2. We have a Legal Problem ·       Sin is “Cosmic Treason” ·       We are not just guilty because of our own sin.  ·       Adam sinned on our behalf. ·       All humans are sinners because of Adam, with Adam, and have been ever since Adam. ·       While all our sins don’t all have the same impact on others, we’re all still guilty. ·       Romans 3:9-12, 23 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%203%3A9-12%2C%2023&version=ESV] 3. We have a Will Problem  ·       We are all willful sinners, and so none of us can keep the Law. ·       We can’t pass on the blame to our condition, or to other people. We’re responsible. ·       Sin is foolish. ·       Titus 3:3 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Titus%203%3A3-7&version=ESV] 4. We have a Repair Problem ·       Tank couldn’t fix his speedometer on his own.  ·       We can’t fix our sin nature. ·       We need a new heart, to be born again. ·       Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 3:5-8; Ephesians 2:1-3 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2031%3A31-34%3B%20Ezekiel%203%3A5-8%3B%20Ephesians%202%3A1-3&version=ESV] Conclusion: ·       If we have been saved, we have a new identity. ·       We’re no longer “dirty-rotten sinners.” ·       God’s forgiveness is guaranteed. ·       1 John 2:1-2; Romans 8:1-2 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%202%3A1-2%3B%20Romans%208%3A1-2&version=ESV]

S3E9 - Humans Are Alienated

S3:E9 - Humans are Alienated (Jennifer Crow, Clorrisa Brooks) Welcome to the 3-Minute Theologian. A theology podcast about what we believe, produced by the family of Waukee Community Church. I’m your host Clorrisa Brooks, this episode was written by Jennifer Crow, and today we will be talking about humanity’s alienation from God. There was a time when Jennifer felt like she was the black sheep of her family ––when every mistake or sin she made was worse than anyone else’s. Jennifers dad used to always tell people about the time she dated a guy with a pink mohawk, and she believes this was the start of her estranged relationship with her family. What made her feel like she was a black sheep? Her relationship with her dad was strained, and in a similar way: all of us have been estranged from our heavenly Father. In the Bible, the word ‘alienation’ means, “to be separated or estranged from God, others, or one’s intended purpose.” Let’s think how we are alienated from God. 1. Our access to god was broken. With one single bite of fruit, access to God was denied. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve could not stay in the garden. They had to leave. Then, God sent an angel prohibiting them from re-entering the garden. (Genesis 3:22-24) [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203&version=ESV] Can you imagine what they were thinking? They had lost everything. Their sin had cost them their intimate relationship with God. Personally, I have never thought about my sin like that, have you? Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. 2. Our access to God has been restored: Though we all fall short of the glory of God and need salvation, God drew near to us so that we can draw near to Him. Colossians 1:21-22 states: “And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [Jesus] has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.” Through the death of Jesus everything changed, our sins were forgiven, and our access to God has been restored: ·       Once you were hostile to God, but now you have peace. ·       Once you were alienated from God, but now you’re an heir to the throne.  ·       And once, you did not care what God thought, but now you know the Father.  When we repent and turn to Jesus, as stated in Acts 3:19 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%203%3A19%3B%20Acts%203%3A11-26&version=ESV], our sins are blotted out. That my friends, is good news! God is holy, so there is no way He can accept sin, but because of Jesus death upon the cross, God sees you as blameless and spotless. Instead of continuing to live in sin and do our own thing, we need to draw near to God. An invitation He extends to both you and me.  You and I are not to think of ourselves as “black sheep.” We are God’s children ––His beloved sons and daughters. And through prayer, worship and obedience, we can draw near to Him, rather than be estranged from Him. We are sojourners here, on our way, back not to a garden, but to an eternal place with God: There, there is no one who does not belong. Believers will be with God, our Father, the Creator who awaits our arrival home.

S3E8 - Humans Are Fallen

S3:E8 - Humans are Fallen (Aaron Savage, Jeff Johannesen) In the beginning, it was an idyllic world: Everything was perfect: Creation, marriage, work, even Adam and Eve were perfect. They were in a perfect relationship with God. There was no sin or death. It was only complete and perfect peace. Then, everything changed. What happened, can be summed up in 4 points: 1. Humanity was tempted and failed. In Genesis 3, Satan comes to disrupt God’s perfect world, and he casts doubt on God’s Word when he says to Eve, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” The woman replied, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For…you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:2-5) [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203%3A1-7&version=ESV] This was a lie.  2. Sin led to death. Once Adam and Eve took the fruit and ate, humanity was never the same. This moment is what theologians call, Original Sin. It was humanity’s first sin, all other sins stem from this act of rebellion, and the consequences of their sin have been devastating: “Immediately after eating, the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” (Gen3:7) While Adam & Eve would eventually die physically, they instantly experienced a spiritual death. How did they die when sin entered the world? Because of Original Sin: ·       Humanity’s innocence died. They were naked and ashamed in their guilt.  ·       Humanity’s integrity died. Their relationships with God and each other became fractured. ·       Humanity’s immunity died. They were now under judgment and a curse.  And their sin has been passed down to us. Which is why Eph 2:1-3 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202%3A1-3&version=ESV] says, “You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air… and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.” 3. Because of Original Sin, all have sinned. Without Original Sin, our stories would be very different. We would be sinless and successful against temptation, rather than depraved in our failure. Like a tiny drop of food coloring in a cup of water, one sin has permeated every aspect of God’s good creation.  The Bible says that sin entered the world through one man, and ever since, all humans have been sinners by nature and by choice. We’re all born with a sin-nature from Adam, and we all choose to sin by our own volition. We all are guilty of rebelling against God, and we all are spiritually dead. Yet, God did not give up on humanity. Genesis 3 has an unexpected plot twist: 4. God has promised to crush evil and save people. God sent Adam and Eve out of the Garden and away from the Tree of Life so that humanity would not be stuck living forever in spiritual death. And in Gen 3:14-15 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203%3A14-15&version=ESV], we have the first promise of the gospel. God tells the serpent that an offspring of Eve will one day defeat him completely! A new Adam will emerge, and this new Adam is Jesus. Jesus did not give into Satan’s temptation, and Jesus has restored our relationship with God. Paul adds in Rom 5:17 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205%3A17&version=ESV], “Because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” The good news in this story starts and ends with God’s grace. He has compassion and mercy on Adam and Eve: God makes them clothes to cover their nakedness, He limits their lifespan, and He promises to send a savior to crush the Serpent. God will provide salvation for His people and for His creation, and He has! Jesus’ victory over sin and the grave is the climax of the greatest story ever told, and one day that idyllic world from Genesis will be restored for eternity. When Jesus returns, He will undo the curse of Original Sin, and from that day forward, we will sin no more.