The Perennial Challenge: Utility, Beauty, Mercy
What is AI's opinion?
I have just published a post Using AI to Streamline Church Meetings. The conclusion is that it makes sense for AI to improve the efficiency of operations, such as recording meeting minutes, that are not unique to churches,
However, other decisions have a moral component. For example, should a church spend money on fixing a leaking roof or supporting a food bank? This is not a new challenge — the decision as to whether to spend money on the church itself or on helping the poor is one we have always faced. For example, were people in the middle ages justified in spending so much time and money on the magnificent Gothic architecture of their church buildings?
I asked ChatGPT for its opinion on this conundrum. Here is its reply.
This is one of the deepest and most enduring tensions in the history of the Church — and you’re absolutely right: it didn’t start with AI. The question of resource allocation between beauty and mercy, legacy and need, worship and justice has been with us since the earliest Christian communities.
✅ A Healthy Boundary
AI should inform but never decide on matters with moral or spiritual weight. Its role is to clear the table so humans can do the hard, holy work of discernment together. This is not a simple either/or — it’s a spiritual both/and, often misused as an either/or.
Let’s take your example: Gothic cathedrals.
✨ On the one hand:
They lifted eyes and hearts to God in a time when most people couldn’t read Scripture.
The buildings themselves taught theology through stained glass and structure.
They employed and trained thousands of craftspeople and artisans — often over generations.
These churches still inspire and serve as places of pilgrimage, refuge, and worship centuries later.
💸 But on the other hand:
They were built while many were poor, sick, and illiterate.
At times, they were funded through corrupt practices (e.g., indulgences) or feudal exploitation.
The splendor could obscure — not reveal — the servant heart of Christ.
So were people in the Middle Ages justified in doing this? Maybe some were — and some weren’t. It depends on intent, consequence, and integrity, all of which varied across time and place.
🧭 A helpful framing: Beauty is not the enemy of justice — but it must serve it.
When the Church builds beauty:
To glorify God, welcome the stranger, and nourish the soul — it can be a form of love.
To display wealth, power, or superiority — it risks idolatry.
Likewise, when the Church serves the poor:
It shouldn’t do so by neglecting sacred space, if that space helps the community worship and thrive.
Nor should it hoard sacred space, if that space becomes exclusive, expensive, or unused.
