Sharing Scripture — May 13, 2023

Texts: Revelation 1:9; 4:11; Isaiah 40:26; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 1:17; John 19:16-30

Sometimes creators regret creating their creations. Take the case of Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI.” Hinton recently stepped down from his role as the architect of artificial intelligence at Google to speak more freely about the dangers of the technology.

Hinton’s concern is that AI will eventually overtake humanity and gain control of society, even to the point of discarding humans as unnecessary for its continued survival—somewhat akin to the premise of the “Terminator” movie franchise. Other AI innovators believe that it will never come to that point, since computers will always need humans to program them to fulfill their tasks, never becoming fully sensate.

Another question to consider is the uncertainty regarding the ultimate fulfillment of Moore’s Law. Gordon Moore, co-founder and former CEO of Intel, proposed in 1965 that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubles every two years—meaning that computer processing ability also doubles. That thesis is still holding true today. Is it possible that computing power will eventually overtake humanity’s ability to hold it in check? Though AI creators disagree on that possibility, no one really knows. Could this creation eventually dispense with its need of its creator?

As Christians, we know that humans will never outgrow our need for our Creator. God not only created us, God also sustains us. In case we ever begin to think that we can do anything of our own power and strength, Deuteronomy 8:17-18 reminds us that it’s God who gives us the ability to produce what we need for our daily survival.

The beauty of the first angels’ message in Revelation 14:7 is that it not only compels us to worship God, it gives us the compelling reason for that worship. God is our Creator, and God will always be in that role. We will never supplant God. We may mold the materials of the universe to our liking and call that our “creation,” but we will never actually create those materials ex nihilo—from nothing. Only God can do that.

Even though at times God, dare we say, had second thoughts about creating us obstinate humans (see the Flood, and the time God wanted to wipe out Israel in the wilderness), our Creator’s loving mercy continues to sustain us. Though we don’t deserve them, God’s blessings are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), and that’s plenty of reason to worship our Creator.

Sharing: Read Revelation 14:7. Where does the concept of judgment come into the picture when it comes to worshiping our Creator?

1. We’d better worship God, or else
2. Since the judgment scene in Daniel 7:22 is tilted in our favor, we can give God thanks, even for the hour of judgment
3. Even though we don’t fully understand the biblical concept of judgment, we can still worship God because someday our understanding will be complete
4. John only added the phrase about the judgment into this passage because he looked forward to the day that his Roman captors would pay for their abuses—that will be a great reason to worship God
5. The Creator can perform and pronounce judgment in any way that God sees fit
6. Other:

Applying: Do you feel that you and your congregation adequately worship the Creator every Sabbath? What could enhance that worship experience for you? How can you help to create a worshipful atmosphere for your fellowship group? Discuss it together.

 

~ Chuck Burkeen