The Word of the Week
This is a Weekly podcast, inspired by THE WORD of GOD. This 5-minute podcast, will acquaint you with the WORD of GOD by focusing your bible study on how everyday words are used in scripture.
The personal thoughts I share are based on my spiritual journey and life lessons. Subscribe to become a member of the "Word of the Week-Newton" Group which will make you eligible to receive the Word of the Week by email each week, and give you access to our study journal and other subscriber benefits.
Please feel free to email me personally at candonewton@gmail.com
God Bless You!!
ORINE OUT!
The Word of the Week
WORD OF THE WEEK - HUBRIS - 9/29/24
Definition: Hubris is an exaggerated pride or self-confidence, often leading to dangerous overconfidence and arrogance.
Scriptures:Psalm 10:4In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
Jeremiah 49:16The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
Romans 12:3For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.
Welcome to the Word of the Week. Weekly podcast to enhance your study of the Word of God.
I am your host Orine Newton.
Subscribe and support our show. Email me at candonewton@gmail.com. God Bless You!!
Definition: Hubris is an exaggerated pride or self-confidence, often leading to dangerous overconfidence and arrogance.
Scriptures:Psalm 10:4In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
Jeremiah 49:16The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rocks, who occupy the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle’s, from there I will bring you down,” declares the Lord.
Romans 12:3For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to each man a measure of faith.
THOUGHT
God has endowed many people with gifts. Those gifts have perpetuated the forward progression of humanity from the stone age to the marvels we experience today. Man has created tools from the creation of the first stone wheel to make flour to the explosive technology that resulted in the first atomic bomb.
These tools, whether considered beneficial for or destructive to humanity, have remained under the governance of humanity. We have been challenged with how to control misuse of those tools by people with selfish or evil intentions.
Hubris is a term originating from ancient Greek, referring to excessive pride or self-confidence that often leads to a downfall. It is a characteristic that was used to describe the nature of Achilles, the Greek hero of the Iliad. Achilles was a great warrior in Greek mythology whose flaws included a lack of humility and a vulnerable spot on his heel that led to his death and destruction. Achilles lacked humility; a characteristic that is the opposite of hubris.
The hubris of humanity has recently led to the creation of the world’s most collective and impressive integration of information that has resulted in the development of artificial intelligence or AI. This man-created technology can process information at rates faster than the human brain. AI can learn, create and advance itself.Currently, there are no rules to control AI, nor any regulations on how best to use it. Short of returning to calculating on the abacus and writing on paper, there is no way of containing its power. To globally regulate the use of artificial intelligence would require the governments of the world to agree on how best to use it for the benefit of humanity. This would require nations to “work together” in a spirit of humility.
In Genesis 11: 1-9 of the Bible, is a story about people who worked together to build a tower up to heaven to pridefully make a name for themselves and to keep from being scattered throughout the world. God saw their efforts and said, “If, as one people speaking the same language, they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” Consequently, God confused their language and scattered them throughout the world. The destroyed tower became known as the “Tower of Babel”.
Could the building of artificial intelligence be this age’s “Tower of Babel”? Will God reward mankind’s hubris by returning it to a more simplistic existence or will God allow the world to integrate with this man-created intelligence to create a “new creature”. If integrated, will man’s enhanced understanding and abilities finally bring him into alignment with the ultimate will and purpose of God?
I have no answers, but I have hope. God has promised humanity that He would never leave nor forsake us. God has a divine plan for the preservation and renewal of humankind. Will artificial intelligence be a part of that plan?
Until the ultimate answer is revealed, what do we as Christians do?
Continue to follow the instructions of Jesus in a spirit of humility and faith as given to his disciples in Matthew 28:19:
“Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe whatsoever I have commanded you. And persevere with the assurance given when Jesus said, “lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the world.”
