God speaks through machines too

By Rev’d Fiifi Afenyi-Donkor

The phrase Deus ex machina, Latin for “God from the machine,” once described a stage trick in ancient theatre, when a god was lowered onto the stage to resolve a story’s conflict. But what if, in a deeper and truer sense, God has always spoken through human inventions?

From the printing press to the telescope, from radio to artificial intelligence, every generation has feared that new technologies might threaten faith. Yet history shows that human creativity can also become a vessel of divine revelation. Machines do not silence God; they often amplify His voice in surprising new ways.

When the Telescope Changed the Heavens

In 1609, Galileo Galilei, a devout Catholic, turned his telescope toward the skies. What he saw transformed human understanding: moons circling Jupiter, mountains on the moon, and evidence that the earth was not the centre of the universe.

For centuries, many in the Church had held to an earth-centred universe, leaning on verses such as Joshua 10:12–13, where Joshua commands the sun to “stand still.” To them, this proved that the sun revolved around the earth. Galileo’s discoveries shook that worldview. To Church authorities, this was not merely a scientific argument, it was a theological crisis.

Over time, believers came to see that Scripture speaks in the language of human observation. Even today, we say “the sun sets” though we know it is the earth that moves. The Bible was never giving astronomy lessons but proclaiming divine majesty: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1).

Through Galileo’s lens, Christians discovered that the heavens were vaster and more wondrous than they had ever imagined. Isaiah 40:26 took on new meaning: “Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these?” The telescope did not diminish faith; it deepened it.

Just as the telescope expanded humanity’s view of the heavens, later inventions expanded humanity’s ability to share God’s Word.

When the Word Found Its Voice in Machines

That same pattern repeated with every communication breakthrough that followed. Each new medium, printing, radio, television, and now social media, was first viewed with suspicion.

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 15^th century, some feared it would undermine the Church’s control over Scripture. Yet it became the very tool that spread the Bible in local languages, fuelling the Reformation and democratizing knowledge.

Centuries later, radio and television were dismissed as worldly distractions. But radio carried sermons into prisons and war zones. Television brought global evangelists like Billy Graham into living rooms across continents. And when the COVID-19 pandemic closed church doors, social media became a new sanctuary, connecting believers through livestream worship and online prayer.

Even the early Church relied on the technology of its time. The Apostle Paul wrote letters when he could not travel, and those letters became the Scriptures we now read. “How can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14).

The Great Commission remains the same, but the tools have changed: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Today, “all the world” includes both the marketplace and the digital screen.

God in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Now we face another turning point, artificial intelligence (AI). To some, AI feels threatening: too mechanical, too impersonal, perhaps even ungodly. But history reminds us that whenever the Church feared new tools, it risked muting its own voice.

God has always spoken through unexpected means. He used Balaam’s donkey to warn a prophet (Numbers 22:28), a pagan king like Cyrus to free His people (Isaiah 45:1) and even handwriting on a wall to deliver judgment (Daniel 5:5). If God could speak through animals, rulers, and writing on a wall, surely, He can use machines shaped by human hands.

Already, AI is serving the Church’s mission. It is translating Scripture into hundreds of languages, echoing the miracle of Pentecost when “each one heard them speaking in his own language” (Acts 2:6). It assists pastors in preparing sermons, offers pastoral care remotely, and supports humanitarian work through data analysis and advocacy.

Faith, Technology, and the Danger of Misuse

Discernment is crucial. Discernment means asking: Does this tool help us love our neighbour better? Does it preserve human dignity? Does it empower the marginalized, or just the powerful? Technology is never neutral; it reflects the values of its makers. While AI’s ability to generate content is new, the fundamental question of whether we use a tool faithfully or idolatrously is as old as the Garden of Eden. Just as the Israelites used the same gold to create both the sacred Ark of the Covenant, as God commanded, and the idolatrous golden calf, as they desired, AI can be shaped for divine purposes or for human pride (Exodus 32). It carries moral risks: bias, surveillance, misinformation, and the temptation to replace prayerful discernment with algorithmic decision-making.

The Church’s calling is not merely to adopt AI but to shape it, to ensure that compassion, justice, and truth guide its use. The question is not “Will we use AI?” but “Will we use it faithfully?”

Of course, technology can also amplify our flaws. Social media spreads false gospels as easily as true ones; online platforms can turn worship into spectacle, and convenience can erode contemplation. The same digital tools that carry sermons also carry scams and spiritual sensationalism.

The Church’s witness must therefore be both creative and cautious. Faithful innovation requires humility, to ask not only what technology can do, but what it should do. Every machine, no matter how advanced, must remain a servant of love, not its substitute.

Implications for the Ghanaian Church

For Ghana, these lessons are not distant. Our churches are vibrant, our faith deep, and our worship passionate. Yet even here, the Church has sometimes hesitated before embracing new tools. We recall when radio ministry was dismissed as “worldly,” only for it to become a vital instrument of evangelism. Television, once viewed with suspicion, now carries messages of hope into millions of homes. Even social media, often blamed for moral decline, has birthed online prayer fellowships and digital revival meetings, especially during the pandemic.

Artificial intelligence presents a similar moment of decision. Will the Ghanaian Church retreat in fear, or discern how God might use this tool for mission and service? Imagine AI translating the Bible into every Ghanaian language, helping pastors prepare Scripture-rich sermons, creating devotionals for rural congregations, and supporting advocacy for justice and peace.

At the same time, the Church must address the ethical and social challenges that come with technology. In a society where internet access remains unequal, AI could widen the gap between the connected and the excluded. The Church has a prophetic role to ensure that technology serves humanity rather than deepening inequality.

Jesus’ words remain urgent: “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14–16). If the Church withdraws from the digital world, others will shape it according to the values of profit and power, not compassion and truth.

Conclusion

From Galileo’s telescope to the printing press, from radio waves to artificial intelligence, the Church has often feared human invention, only to later discover God’s hand at work through it. If “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1) through a telescope, if the printing press carried His Word to the nations, and if social media sustained His people through a pandemic, then surely AI, too, can become a channel of divine communication and service. The question is not whether God can speak through machines. The real question is: are we listening

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