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The other day a parishioner whom I will not name (but they clearly have too much time on their hands) asked ChapGPT to write an ‘Epistle from St Paul to the United States’.

Seriously! This really happened! That good parishioner sent me A.I.’s reply. Here it is, unedited. I’m not posting it because I believe every word is from God - it is NOT Holy Scripture, but a guess at what Scripture might say if it were written now. Rather I’m publishing it because it is a fascinating insight into A.I. and it will spark thoughts and conversations among the good people of the parish, which is always a good thing.

The Epistle of Paul to the People of America

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, to the people of the United States of America—rich in resources, powerful among nations, yet restless in spirit—grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Thanksgiving and Lament
I give thanks to God for the measure of grace shown to you: for your compassion in times of disaster, for your generosity to the poor of other lands, for your enduring zeal for liberty and justice. Yet I lament that the gifts once meant to bless have become tools of division. You have turned freedom into license, truth into opinion, and faith into a banner for your own tribes. You boast of being "one nation under God," yet you worship wealth, power, and self-expression more than the living Lord. Do you not know that a house divided cannot stand? You have divided yourselves by race, by class, by party, by creed—for in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female, Republican nor Democrat, for all are one in Him who was crucified and raised.

II. Concerning the Church
To those who call themselves by the name of Christ, I urge you: return to the simplicity of the gospel. Your churches overflow with words, yet are lean in compassion. You adorn your sanctuaries but neglect the hungry at your gates. Some of you have mingled the cross with the flag, as though the kingdom of God were of this world. Others have replaced the gospel with slogans of tolerance, forgetting that grace without truth is sentiment, and truth without grace is cruelty. Beloved, let your faith not be a weapon, but a bridge; not a brand, but a balm. The world does not need louder preachers—it needs truer disciples.

III. Concerning the Nation
I see your marketplaces filled with abundance, yet your hearts crave more. You have more knowledge than any people before you, yet wisdom eludes you. You have conquered distance through technology, yet you dwell in loneliness. Children grow up rich in possessions but poor in peace. Leaders seek office not to serve but to be seen. You debate who is greatest while the planet groans beneath your greed. Do you not remember that to whom much is given, much will be required? You were blessed to be a blessing—not to hoard, not to dominate, but to heal and reconcile.

IV. A Call to Renewal
Therefore I beseech you, brothers and sisters: wake from your slumber of self- congratulation. Return to the God of mercy, who exalts the humble and brings down the proud. Let your wealth serve the poor. Let your freedom serve the good. Let your speech be seasoned with gentleness and your power with justice. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, forgive your enemies, and seek peace—not as a slogan, but as a way of life. Then, perhaps, the light once kindled in your founding vision will shine again—not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Living God.

V. Benediction
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit restore to you the heart you have lost, the unity you have broken, and the hope you have forgotten. Stand firm, be steadfast, and let everything you do be done in love. Amen. [End]

THIS IS INCREDIBLE! You may not agree with all of it, but you have to admire the way it has captured Paul’s style, and uses the sorts of theological ideas that he held dear. I’m blown away by this. In fact, I’m so overwhelmed that I’m giving up preaching. Bye. (Just kidding. I’ll see you on Sunday as normal.)