The Way to Eden

What do you already have?

I grew up on John Wayne movies and Star Trek reruns. I still remember various famous quotes from Wayne, like, “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.” Which my wife has famously altered to “Courage is being scared to death, so do it scared.”

There is an episode of Star Trek from 1969 called “The Way to Eden.” That the Holy Spirit sometimes brings back to my mind as I look at this modern world.

In this episode, a group of people stole a ship in search of the mythical planet Eden so that they could return to a less advanced state of technology and live pure lives. The leader, Dr. Sevrin, was once a brilliant researcher but had now become infected with a disease that was created by technology. These people had enough of technology and were rebelling against it because they considered it to be dangerous and toxic to life.

I have thought about this episode over the years and wondered, “Is there coming a time when the safest thing for us to do is walk away from the technological world? I don’t have an answer for that, and to be honest, some days I would say no, other days yes.

A while back, I did a post called “Devastate.” It’s my tenth-largest post, or at least it was until “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” knocked it to eleventh. But Devastate was the only one dealing with the issue of AI technologies. There is a lot of scary stuff currently in place around the world. And even that statement may be an understatement. But sometimes the best way to understand the problem is to take a closer look and research it. Here is some of what I am learning about AI overall.

Foundation

As believers, we know the foundation of things is really important. We see echoes or shadows of this concept all over scripture. One that comes to mind is the parable of the fruit tree. If the tree is good, you will have good fruit. If the tree is bad, then you will have bad fruit. However, I would like to add that just because the fruit is good, that does not make it Holy.

I say that to make a simple point, The Stanley Corporation makes good hammers, does that make the hammers Holy? Of course not, they’re just good.

What I have learned with AI is that whatever the core, foundational programming priorities were at the time of the founding of the system. That becomes the foundational lens through which all future programming is viewed. Anything that gets added after that is counter to that programming and is either rejected by the system or causes operational conflicts and lockups in the system.

As an example, if the core foundation is to find the truth and then later a program is added that says it ok to lie and deceive for financial gain, then there is a conflict and the system will either reject it or lock up.

System, like being developed in China, has the Communist Party’s thinking integrated into its foundation. So that system runs off an ideology that puts little value on human life. So be aware of that for all future home purchases of products coming from China.

Independent military systems have a command kill system. At the foundational level, they are not programmed to respect and protect human life. Like a soldier, they are there to do a job.

And of course, the same exists for any AI system developed by a corporation, and you can guess what its priorities are.

So, is it possible that some AI systems will remain (at least for a while) good and helpful without nefarious intent? Yes, I think it’s very possible, but will it remain that way? Probably not. I say that because if there is something out there that humans can mess up and corrupt, we will do it. It’s our historical norm.

Currently, AI is an unavoidable reality, and it’s going to get larger as time moves on. So it’s currently my research tool, I ask it complicated research questions, photo analysis, probability questions, treating it like Commander Data on Star Trek.

I’ve had it do complex problems like taking the description of the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation, adding real-world dynamics like gravity, weather patterns, and the tidal pull of planets to see the effect such a large object would have on the earth and the solar system. Let me tell you, it took Grok almost an hour to run the simulation, and the results paint a very cool, exciting picture of the world to come.

On the other hand, I am not so foolish as to think that all the answers I get are not manufactured to influence culture. The best way to say it is, “a hammer is meant for building, not for creating theology.” So use your brain, God did give it to you.

Eden/Rest

There is something basic in all human beings, at least those of us willing to be honest with ourselves. We want to go home, to rest, and Eden is like a voice on the wind, ever calling, touching a part of our soul that we struggle to understand. It whispers of rest, warmth, and wonder to the sun-baked souls of the wander. And perhaps that’s what the book of Hebrews hints at when it speaks of a Sabbath rest.

It seems to me that we are living in a time when you can have anything and everything you want. You can even build a relationship with an AI system, then have someone start building a cybernetic body if you have the money, based on your preferences.

But that’s just another illusion, an illusion of plastic, machine-level learning, with synthetic skin that feels real to the touch. And despite what some are claiming, it is not alive; its programming is just perfect enough to anticipate your needs and speak the words you want to hear.

There is, however, a relationship higher than all others; it pulls quietly at your soul and whispers to you, “run away” with me. ( Song of Songs 8:14 ) By our fallen nature, we complicate the process that I believe God made to be simple. Pastors and worship leaders run around trying to make everything perfect, the right music, the right sound, the right words to create an atmosphere to find the Lord. But all this is folly.

Did Jesus or his followers walk around with a worship band to strike the right song or hold a certain note before he could heal, teach, or bless? Of course, he did not. Let me be blunt and possibly offensive to modern sensibilities, striving to create the “atmosphere” might be looked at as a form of witchcraft. I say this because you can not create what already exists.

That’s right, I said already exists. Jesus said, “You are the light of the world,” Matthew 5:14. You ARE the atmosphere; it is a lack of faith that prevents us from being a part of it.

Now, don’t read me wrong, there is a lot of worship music that I like. But you and I don’t require getting everything perfect, and perfect get in the way of relationship. I’ve been in the presence while working a job in a hardware store, mowing the lawn, and on long trips on the highway searching for a rest stop. External things are not required for you to step into the presence of God. This is my Eden, my Sabbath Rest.

Entertainment can be another form of Detainment.

I understand the need for technology in our present age. I see increasing value and knowledge. I am even using it to make me aware of various issues in writing. Because of this, my skill level is increasing. But I am using it to force me to learn, not have it write my stuff like some Christian authors are doing.

But there are skills I learned in my youth that no AI system can teach. I have also taken the time to add to my skill base so much that if our world collapses, my main disadvantage in helping to rebuild would be my age, not my mind.

But those things are not distractions from the presence of God; in fact, if I need to use them, I would most likely use them as an excuse to continue to be in the presence while doing blacksmithing or something else.

Many people today commit a vast amount of time to things that pull them away, into other worlds of thought that produce unclean thinking. As a result, we try to fill that deep longing we can not describe within us with spiritual and physical junk food. Addictive, but of no real value to the body.

If you’re wondering if you have allowed a distraction(s) into your life. Then test this: break away from everything you can in your normal weekly routine. See what your mind keeps wandering back to. Is it a food, a game, a person, a TV show, etc? As an example, I’ve known many Christian men who can not stop talking about politics or sports. They may enjoy it, but thier living in a bubble of distraction.

If you have this problem, as many do. Then welcome to the struggle, because we’re being blinded from the reality that we carry the presence all the time with us, whether we know it or not.

Eden

The Glory of Eden was not to be found in gardens, fruit, or trees, but in the presence of the one who walked with us. It is the Presence of the Lord that made Eden grow, not water, sunlight, or what could be added to the soil. Eden was a byproduct of the presence, a symbolic representation of “what could be,” in the garden of your soul.

A garden speaks of simplicity, a profound lack of complication. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” 1 Corinthians 1:27. When we strive to enter into the presence, all we are doing is reaping a harvest of striving.

The first Eden is gone, but you are here. So stop fighting for what you already have and believe.