How was the vibe check at the Last Supper? Was the crucifixion pretty mid? Did Jesus eat up the Sermon on the Mount? Have we completely lost you?
If so, you might not be spending much time on TikTok, where these kinds of reimaginings of Bible stories are all the rage. What started as niche memes and slang-filled rewrites of scripture has evolved into something much bigger: a flood of AI-generated Bible content made for Gen Z and by Gen Z (or, at least, by their algorithms).
Gone, apparently, are the days of Charlton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments. The new way to spread scripture is meeting young people where they already are: online, scrolling. And right now, that means TikTok, where biblical characters are being reimagined as influencers, livestreamers, and walking, talking slang machines, using phrases that would have been downright alien thousands of years ago (at least, we don’t think Jesus ever called Judas "totally cringe" in the gospel).
With scores of videos racking up millions of views, they’re definitely bringing the Bible to the internet generation. But at what cost?
Gen Z Jesus
Think of these new TikTok videos as the AI-driven evolution of past accounts which retold the Bible in Gen Z slang. They’re humorously bringing the Bible to life for a new generation, as AI-generated versions of Jesus, Moses, and nearly every other biblical character you can think of talk directly into the camera straight from classic Bible tales.
One video, which has been viewed more than a million times, has a smiling Jesus doing a vibe check at the last supper as if he were a livestreaming influencer. “Judas said he’s got a big opportunity coming up,” a smirking Jesus says into the camera. “Love that for him.”
Another depicts Jesus right after the resurrection. “Just woke up from a three day nap,” Jesus says. “Y’all still doubted me!”
The Future of Faith?
Many may balk at the idea that the Bible needs to be repackaged into humorous bite-size TikToks to appeal to Gen Z. After all, can a smirking, AI-generated Jesus really convey the depth and gravity of sacred scripture? But many reported in the comments that the videos actually inspired them to look deeper into the biblical tales, and AI advocates in the faith realm say that if that is what is needed to get the youth interested in Jesus, so be it.
Critics, however, wonder about the environmental cost of cranking out scores of resource-heavy AI-generated videos for likes on TikTok.
As Guardian contributor Betsy Reed pondered, “how many litres of water did it take for me to witness Mary dabbing? How many finite resources were burned so an AI Jesus could make a joke about dropping the water to wine tutorial?”
Perhaps the most potent criticism is a moral one: What happens when a faith tradition built on genuine reflection is flattened into a punchline? These videos reduce sacred narratives to trendy soundbites, seeking virality over meaning. They’re making scripture accessible, but also disposable, critics say.
Whatever your thoughts on the impact of AI, the intermingling of the seemingly disparate worlds of faith and artificial intelligence will only continue to grow. From these videos, to AI-generated sermons, to AI Jesus taking very real confession… the world of religion – like most other things – is being forced to contend with an artificial intelligence revolution.
The question is, when religion is filtered through AI, are we bringing it a new life… or just feeding it to the algorithm?
46 comments
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Alejandro Medina de Wit
Well, aren´t the gosspels kinda made up, and aren´t they kinda absurd?
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Rev.Dr.Dennis Chevalier, Ph.D
NO!
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Henry Buehler
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Joseph Grieco
Here are my quesitons: 1 - do they accurately represent the tenor of the Bible stories? I've seen some fairly horrid representations especially during my time teaching Sunday School, which I did for levels from Kindergarten through High School. If these Reels provide doctrinal correctness, then they are good. 2 - do they serve to draw people to the Bible who may not be predisposed to do so? Again, if so - great. That makes them a double win for me.
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Cindi
To me, it's all in the eye of the beholder. We are all spiritual beings, having a human experience. What matters is not how a young person is reached, as long as they believe in Christ.
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Ari Joseph Bertine
I fail to see the difference between this and what King James and countless other sponsors of new versions of the Bible have done. It's been rewritten so many times so so many different audiences that it's a wonder any of the original information survives. I just found out the other day that a mistranslation in medieval times caused the omission of a third great creature that completes a trio along with Leviathan and Behemoth: the Ziz. And this was just because someone wasn't sure what they were reading and used the wrong form of Hebrew to change this creature's name into "the beasts of the field". What does it matter what new generations do to the text if no one cares about how it has already been mangled over millenia?
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Patricia Ann Gross
"The question is, when religion is filtered through AI, are we bringing it a new life… or just feeding it to the algorithm?"
In my humble opinion, it's just feeding it to the algorithm. Like all learning, AI "learns" what it is taught, and with the same biases and misinformation, (hence Grok spewing Nazi nonsence). The musical version of part of the Gospels, Jesus Christ Superstar, was also considered a travesty by theologians in its time, and does contain some things that are not particularly supported by scripture (except in a wink/wink, nudge/nudge, kind of way), but it did cause some people to dig deeper into the scriptures to see what the story was all about. I'm not a fan of the "end justifying the means" and I find this no more or less problematic than JC Superstar. The only problem I see that surpasses the "hippie" version is that too many people view AI as absolute truth, when in fact the algorithms have not replaced critical thought or instigated new research, only made finding the resources for them easier. People need to remember that before they jump on the AI bandwagon.
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Walter J. Holbrook
Is it hope or a false way to spread lies
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Walter J. Holbrook
Is it hope or a false way to spread lies
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Walter J. Holbrook
Is it hope or a false way to spread lies
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Walter J. Holbrook
Is it hope or a false way to spread lies
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Patricia Sydney Solis
The blind will always lead the blind. The kingdom of heaven lies within. Narrow is the gate. Few can find it. Good luck. Meditation in silence will calm the outer noise and the stillness within will become known. Be still and know that I am God. I wonder if TikTok ever gets anybody to actually pick up and read the Bible? People always acting like chicken little instead of going directly to the source.
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Rev.Dr.Dennis Chevalier, Ph.D
not likely....
Dr. D.
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Tjaye Miller
"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely ... But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." Philippians 1:15-18
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Shango MasterExorcist, D.D.
It's God speaking, direct through TikTok. God speaks where the audience is, no longer on mountain tops. Next time your phone vibrates ♫, it might be God.
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ServantOfJudgement
Dummy talk of 2025. Soon these will be the experts of the day, no doubt even more intelligent than our current experts.
You know the experts are idiots when they don't know if eggs are good for you and can't tell a man from a woman.
Can't wait to see how the dumb dongs run things.
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Colleen McAllister
I believe that this way to evangelize simply cheapens the Gospel. Faith, any faith, should be taken seriously or not at all. Your very soul depends on it.
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Sir Lionheart
Thank you for telling us what you like to believe. 🤷
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Dr Dennis Chevalier, MDiv, PhD, DDvin, ULC honorary DD
lol
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Nicholas J Page
I don't do tic toc so I can't comment
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Bishop William Dusenberry, DD
In our SHP denomination of the ULC (in which I’m the titular-leader of the ULC, as their minister (by default) in Tulsa County) we tend towards still using the original name of the Holy Ghost, when discussing how the 12-year old, then still a Virgin Mary became pregnant— which wasn’t a miracle; but wasn’t child abuse either, because back then, 12 year old virgins were still fair game.
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Paladin Trevor
That's kind of gross pastor.
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Jimmy Moon
Fake news.
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Dr Dennis Chevalier, MDiv, PhD, DDvin, ULC honorary DD
Bishop do you ever READ/BELIEVE what you write?
That was Blasphemous.
Dr. D
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Jimmy Moon
Just another attempt by Satan to woo weak minds into believing anything contrary to the Gospel. 1 John 4:1 - Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Matthew 7:15-20 - Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
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Sir Lionheart
Is Satan real then? 🤷
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Colleen McAllister
Yes, Satan is very real. I have seen him.
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Elizabeth Jane Erbe Wilcox
Would you please elaborate? What does satan look like? Tall? Horned? Dressed in red? Thank you!
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Sir Lionheart
If he's real you possibly have, Colleen, bless your heart.
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Sir Lionheart
I think I should further qualify my statement because I wouldn’t want you to think I was being flippant in any way.
The power of auto suggestion is very real. I know of people that have convinced themselves of the reality of fairies, etc., and dignitaries of other faiths that have long since passed away, and even gods of other faiths, and say they have seen them. In their minds they have, and there is nothing that will shake them from what they are convinced they have seen. That is basically what I was alluding to.
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Jimmy Moon
Read the Bible. He is in there.Revelation-12-9 to name one scripture.
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Sir Lionheart
Yes I've read it, but I'm not in the habit of believing everything I read unless it's based on good scientific demonstrable evidence. Otherwise, I'd be believing in the Qu'Ran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Vedas, and even possibly Harry Potter which is another very incredible book of fiction, but thank you for your suggestion, Mr Moon.
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Jimmy Moon
It’s your future. Hell is right in front of you and Satan is well pleased.
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Sir Lionheart
Thank you for your opinion of what you like to think is true.
Would the Hell that you are referring to be the Christian Hell, the Mormon Hell, the Islamic Hell, or the Egyptian Hell etc,? Mankind seems to have created so many throughout the eons of time.
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Tjaye Miller
Hell is hell. While each group provides its own images of what it is and how you get there, the situation is very real. Whether it occurs in this lifetime or the next.
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Sir Lionheart
Until you can demonstrably prove otherwise, hell is just another man-made construct.
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Dr Dennis Chevalier, MDiv, PhD, DDvin, ULC honorary DD
So are you saying? you are willing to not do anything to prevent From going to hell.?
The demonstratable, provable evidence that hell is real is achieved when you die and by then, its too late for you...right? At least for us Catholics anyway....
Dr. D.
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Sir Lionheart
You’re asking me to accept a claim that, by your own admission, can’t be demonstrated until after I’m dead. But a claim that can only be ‘verified’ when no one can report back isn’t demonstrable evidence—it’s an unfalsifiable belief. That’s perfectly valid as a matter of faith, but it’s not the same thing as evidence.
You’re essentially arguing, ‘What if you’re wrong?’ But that question cuts both ways. What if the Muslims are right? Or the Hindus? Or one of the thousands of other religions throughout history? Since they all make incompatible claims about the afterlife, simply choosing one out of fear isn’t a reliable path to truth.
I don’t decide what’s true based on what might happen if I’m wrong. I try to believe things because there’s good evidence they’re true. If a loving and just God exists, I’d hope honesty, love, and intellectual integrity would count for more than believing something out of fear.
Am I willing to do nothing to prevent going to hell? No—I’m willing to follow the evidence wherever it leads. If convincing evidence for hell were presented, I’d change my mind. But believing something solely because I’m threatened with punishment after death isn’t evidence-based reasoning; it’s fear-based reasoning.
I appreciate your well meaning reply Dr. D.
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Dr Dennis Chevalier, MDiv, PhD, DDvin, ULC honorary DD
Sir Lionheart,
This is one of the oldest and most profound questions people have asked.
The short answer is …a mortal man cannot prove the existence of hell in the same way he can prove gravity or the existence of a mountain. Hell, if it exists, is a spiritual reality rather than a physical one. Whether one believes in it depends on the kind of evidence one accepts.
Different approaches include:
Divine Revelation (the Christian approach): For Christians, hell is known because God has revealed it. Jesus spoke about judgment, eternal separation from God, and "Gehenna" more than anyone else in the New Testament. A Christian's confidence in hell rests primarily on trusting Christ's teachings rather than on scientific proof.
Philosophical Reasoning: Some philosophers argue that if God is perfectly just, there must ultimately be a final accounting for good and evil. If some people freely reject God and goodness throughout their lives, a final state of separation from God is philosophically coherent. This is not proof, but an argument from justice and free will.
Human Experience: People sometimes describe profound evil, cruelty, or spiritual emptiness as "hellish." While these experiences do not prove an afterlife, they can serve as analogies for what many religious traditions describe as separation from God.
Testimonies and Near-Death Experiences: Some people report near-death experiences in which they claim to have encountered a place resembling hell. These accounts are intriguing to many believers, but they are anecdotal and cannot establish proof. They should be approached with discernment.
From a Catholic perspective
As a Catholic, you could say that hell is a dogma of the faith. The Church teaches that hell exists because Christ revealed it.
The Church does not claim to know that any particular person is in hell, but it does teach that hell is the definitive state of those who freely and definitively reject God's grace.
The Catechism summarizes it this way: hell is the state of eternal self-exclusion from communion with God. If someone asks, "Can you prove hell exist?" A thoughtful reply might be:
"I cannot prove hell with a laboratory experiment because it is not a physical object. My belief rests on the historical credibility of Jesus Christ, His Resurrection, and His teachings. If I conclude that Jesus is who He claimed to be, then I have good reason to trust what He taught about heaven, hell, and eternal life."
This shifts the discussion to the central question of Christianity: Who is Jesus? If His resurrection and identity are true, then His teaching about eternal destiny carries unique authority.
N.D.E.
There are lots of reports of people who have come back in a near death experience. Reporting about the existence of hell, of judgment, of purgatory and of those? It is very difficult to make a valued and trusted judgment on their reporting. Everyone claiming lack of oxygen dream state; Deep entrenchment in religion as indicators of what made them in that condition think of it or see it. So truly, the only way you know is if you go and not come back.
Your point too is very well made. But from my perspective it is also to try to follow Occam’s razor.
In this, that being the simplest explanation, is the most correct but what is that? Even considering my experience in my faith? Too much for me. It is to make sure I have done everything I can to educate others, to help others, to teach others to protect others so they make the best decisions humanly possible with the key phrase here being human which can be and often is flawed.
May the Lord grant you wisdom as you teach others, always holding together both the reality of God's justice and the greatness of His mercy. Peace be with you.
Dr. D
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Sir Lionheart
I appreciate the thoughtful response, and I agree with you on one important point: you acknowledge that Hell can’t be demonstrated scientifically and that NDEs aren’t proof.
Where we differ is on what follows from that. You say your belief rests on trusting Jesus’ teachings. My difficulty is that we don’t actually possess recordings or writings from Jesus himself. What we have are anonymous Gospel accounts written decades later by people who were not contemporary eyewitnesses in the modern historical sense. Historians therefore distinguish between what the Gospels attribute to Jesus and what we can confidently know the historical Jesus actually said.
Even then, the passages referring to Gehenna are interpreted in different ways by biblical scholars, and the modern concept of an eternal place of fiery torment developed over centuries rather than appearing fully formed from the beginning.
As for NDEs, I agree they’re fascinating, but because people from different religions report contradictory experiences relative to their particular faith and beliefs, I don’t think they can serve as reliable evidence for any particular view of the afterlife.
So, from my perspective, belief in hell remains an act of faith rather than a conclusion compelled by historical or empirical evidence. I completely respect your right to hold that faith; I simply don’t think it has been demonstrated in a way that would justify believing it myself.
Peace and love to you, Sir.
🦁❤️
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Dr Dennis Chevalier, MDiv, PhD, DDvin, ULC honorary DD
I understand. Thank you for the respectful dialog!
Dr. D
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Minister-LaPrie Tuck Scott
Revelation 12:9 This great dragon - the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world - was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
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Sir Lionheart
Yes, I’m well aware of what’s it says in that book, which was written by historians decades later, similar to those other stories in the New Testament that were written by historians about people they never actually met.
Interestingly, the book of Revelations was supposedly written on the Isle of Patmos, which was, and still is, well know for its marketing if psychedelic mushrooms, which possibly explains a lot when it comes to trying to understand that book. 🤭
Thank you for your comment though.
🦁❤️
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Dr Dennis Chevalier, MDiv, PhD, DDvin, ULC honorary DD
Jimmy, Amen
Dr. D.
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Robert Gagnon
Every ridiculous thing you can imagine is on tic tok, why even bring this up. Look at how stupid the questions and comments are.
While a mortal man cannot prove the existence of hell in the same way he can prove gravity or the existence of a mountain.
Hell is a spiritual reality rather than a physical one. Whether one believes in it depends on the kind of evidence one accepts. Different approaches include:
Divine Revelation (the Christian approach): For Christians, hell is known because God has revealed it. Jesus spoke about judgment, eternal separation from God, and "Gehenna" more than anyone else in the New Testament. A Christian's confidence in hell rests primarily on trusting Christ's teachings rather than on scientific proof.
Philosophical Reasoning: Some philosophers argue that if God is perfectly just, there must ultimately be a final accounting for good and evil. If some people freely reject God and goodness throughout their lives, a final state of separation from God is philosophically coherent. This is not a proof, but an argument from justice and free will.
Human Experience: People sometimes describe profound evil, cruelty, or spiritual emptiness as "hellish." While these experiences do not prove an afterlife, they can serve as analogies for what many religious traditions describe as separation from God.
Testimonies and Near-Death Experiences: Some people report near-death experiences in which they claim to have encountered a place resembling hell. These accounts are intriguing to many believers, but they are anecdotal and cannot establish proof. They should be approached with discernment.
From a Catholic perspective
As a Catholic, I would say that hell is a dogma of the faith. The Church teaches that hell exists because Christ revealed it. The Church does not claim to know that any particular person is in hell, but it does teach that hell is the definitive state of those who freely and definitively reject God's grace.
The Catechism summarizes it this way: hell is the state of eternal self-exclusion from communion with God.
I'd add one pastoral thought. When speaking about hell, Jesus' purpose was not to satisfy curiosity or to frighten people unnecessarily.
Rather, He spoke of it as a loving warning—much like a physician warns a patient about the consequences of refusing life-saving treatment.
His consistent invitation was always to repentance, forgiveness, and the abundant mercy of God.
Dr. D.