A growing trend among some Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians to use artificial intelligence to interpret the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues is raising questions about the role of technology in spiritual matters.
The so-called “ChatGPT Tongues Challenge” has circulated on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, where users submit recordings of themselves speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in hopes of receiving an interpretation.
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“This week, one of my friends reached out to me who’s also a journalist and a writer, and she said, ‘Have you done the ChatGPT tongues thing yet?’” Christian media figure Shawn Bolz said in a recent video. “She goes, ‘I spoke in my prayer language on ChatGPT and it actually interpreted some of my prayer language in different languages around the world.’”
Bolz said he has seen cases where ChatGPT interpreted someone’s prayer language as “ancient Sumerian,” adding, “I think that’s really wild that there’s languages being spoken by Christians in their prayer language and we’re seeing AI catch up to some of the spiritual fruit that we have as Christians.”
Christian psychology coach Renée M. Simpson, also known as Well Diva, recorded herself praying in tongues and asked ChatGPT to interpret the message. Facing criticism online, she defended her use of the AI tool. “I was just looking for confirmation of what I was feeling in my spirit, and that’s what I got,” she said. “I got confirmation and I felt very, very, very much peace about the message that I got back.”
Simpson argued that “the Holy Spirit can speak through anything,” comparing technology to other vessels God has used in Scripture, such as a burning bush or a donkey. “To call something demonic, first you want to know, does it bring peace, does it bring healing, does it align with God’s character,” she said.
However, the Bible is clear about the origin and purpose of speaking in tongues. The ability to speak in tongues—and to interpret it—comes solely from the Holy Spirit. First introduced on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues as God enabled them.
The apostle Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 12 that speaking in tongues and its interpretation are spiritual gifts given by God “as He wills,” not by human ingenuity or manmade systems. Paul emphasizes that the purpose of tongues is edification, and its interpretation is also a divine act, not subject to algorithmic analysis.
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While technology continues to advance, tools like ChatGPT remain grounded in known language data and programming. As The Christian Post reported, even secular researchers have confirmed, AI “cannot translate glossolalia because it is trained on existing language data, and it lacks the capacity to understand or interpret sounds that are not actual words or languages.”
Believers, we must ensure to test all things and hold fast to what is true (1 Thess. 5:21), remembering that spiritual gifts originate from the Holy Spirit, not from machines.
Prepared by Charisma Media Staff
