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THE GRACE OF TIME
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, October 4, 2025 – If nothing else, the latest failed prediction of Jesus’ return (September 23rd and/or 24th, or possibly September 25th, etc., 2025) should give us a renewed sense of gratitude for God’s grace of time. Sure, we’re grateful for God’s love and for God’s protection and for everything else God generously provides for us, but we often forget (or perhaps are unaware of) the importance of the grace of time to God’s plan. If we’re still here on Earth, it’s because we still have work to do – on ourselves, on our souls – work that will further purify the spiritual gold within us and burn off whatever doesn’t belong in Heaven.
Some people say all it takes is “belief” to get Home, but I disagree. Professed belief, like talk, is cheap and has no essential value unless, over the passage of time, we can prove by our actions that our professed belief is real. That God grants us the grace of time is evidence of the importance of allowing our belief in him to play out through our actions. Playing out takes time because tests take time. Falling for or resisting temptation takes time. Recovering from failed tests takes time. Regrouping and consolidating what we’ve learned from our lessons takes time.
Without the grace of the passage of time, all we have to offer God are declarations of loyalty that may or may not hold up under pressure. We’re tested for a reason. We’re punished for a reason. We’re given the grace of time for a reason, a reason that perhaps God and God only knows, and that should be enough of an explanation for us. That, too, is a test.
I admit to being less than grateful on occasion for God’s grace of time, being impatient to learn whatever I need to learn and to get done whatever I need to get done so I can get Home. While impatience is not a sin, it’s also not an ideal response to a situation. We don’t call it “the impatience of saints”; God doesn’t encourage or reward impatience, even when our impatience is prompted by a desire to be with him and Jesus in Heaven. We can do God’s will only so far when we’re impatient, as impatience indicates a disconnect between our concept of time and God’s, and any disconnect between us and God is not good, will not get us where we need to go.
It’s important to note that while the early Church prayed fervently for Jesus to come back, they didn’t build their lives around his return. It wasn’t the focus of their ministry. That’s why there are so few mentions in scripture of the prophesied end-times ascension event. We also don’t see any evidence in scripture that the early Church prayed to be taken Home before their time, to jump the spiritual gun, as it were. In focusing on their ministry rather than on their own individual wants, they showed their gratitude to God for his grace of time.
Jesus himself mentioned his second coming only on a few occasions. He didn’t want his return to be the focus of the rest of our time here. That he didn’t want his return to be our focus is evidenced by his assertion that we can’t know when he’s coming back and that his return will be a surprise to us all. We can expect his return, we can prepare for his return, but we can’t know exactly when it will happen. The right way to prepare is to be spiritually prepared – that is, be doing the work God has given us to do, not standing around staring up at the sky and waving a “JESUS IS COMING BACK SOON!” sign. Jesus doesn’t command us only to be waiting for him; he commanded us to be occupied doing the work God gave us to do.
Doing that work is how we wait for Jesus’ return. It’s also how we show gratitude to God for his merciful and much needed grace of time.
THIS LAND IS THEIR LAND
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,
God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
(Romans 1:28)
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, October 3, 2025 – Not at any point do they talk about turning back to God. They don’t mention God at all when they wax poetic over the historicity of the land and how that history is theirs and how they belong on that land—and how that land belongs to them—solely because of their history. They talk about culture. They talk about heritage. They talk about tradition. But they never talk about God. They never once mention him, not even as a cultural or historical touchstone.
Listening to them talk about how they’re owed the land as a right based on their historical connection to it reminds me of Paul explaining how God gave certain sinners over to a reprobate mind, allowing them to continue to wallow in their sin and confusion because sin and confusion was all they wanted. They didn’t want God. They didn’t want what he was offering. They wanted sin, and so God permitted them to have it.
(They wanted the land back, and so God permitted them to have it.)
God didn’t say: “I’ll let you keep on sinning because I know at some point you’ll turn back to me.” No. Paul said God gave them over to a reprobate mind, with no mention of ever turning back. When God gave them over, he gave them over forever.
Now, having said this, I still believe they own the land that was given them by legal contract, and that they own the land fair and square. Based on the agreements, it’s their land. I also believe they should be able to defend their land and the people on it in whatever way they deem necessary, just as any other nation would. But I don’t believe they have a Biblical right to it. Only the godly have a Biblical right to it. God permitting them to have the land is not the same as them having a Biblical right to it. Never confuse that issue.
Still, and again, they got what they wanted.
I hope they’re happy.
“BE YE NOT DECEIVED”: FAILED RAPTURE AND END-OF-THE-WORLD PROPHECIES OVER THE PAST 2000 YEARS
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 19, 2025 – Below are links to lists of dates and descriptions of failed rapture and end-of-the-world prophecies over the past two millennia. While the lists to date are likely incomplete (only those in the spiritual realm would have a true tally of failed predictions), they still give you a good idea of how many times these events have not only been prophesied but widely and fervently believed.
Depending on where you stand in relation to false prophet grifters, this compilation is either depressing, eye-opening, exasperating, or downright hilarious. Jesus warned us not to be deceived about end-of-the-world prophecies and his second coming, and Paul sternly echoed the warning. And yet, despite the scriptural weight of Jesus’ and Paul’s words and the mounting evidence of failed prediction after failed prediction, people still fall for the same ol’ same ol’ trick of the devil, insisting “this time is different”.
Without further comment:
GOD’S VENGEANCE FOR HIS CHILDREN
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 18, 2025 – God has so many wonderful characteristics and descriptors, it’s hard to choose just one as a favorite. In fact, I can’t and I wouldn’t. But high up on my list of favorites is God’s promise to deal with those who hurt his children. When I say “deal with”, I mean God handles the situation to utter perfection, as he does everything. Our vengeance, should we choose to exact it, would be hasty and emotion-driven and all out of proportion to the crime (causing more harm to ourselves), whereas God’s vengeance is precise, perfectly timed, and guaranteed to deliver the promised rewards. Having been both on the receiving end of God’s vengeance (as an atheist) and a witness to God’s vengeance (as a born-again believer), I am in awe at how perfectly God tailors the punishment to fit the crime.
Most criminals don’t believe they’ll be caught. And if they are caught, most will insist on their innocence even when presented with damning evidence. And if despite their pleas of innocence they’re tried in a court of law, most will refer to extenuating circumstances to deflect the blame from themselves. Judicial systems take these circumstances into consideration when rendering a verdict, and so the outcome is far less than perfect and typically far too soft on criminals, leaving the guilty unrepentant and the observers disillusioned by the whole process.
But that’s in a worldly court of law, which is rarely premised on God’s justice. The only time an outcome is perfect in a worldly court of law is when God gets directly involved; and the only time God gets directly involved is when one of his children has been falsely accused. Having witnessed a series of miracles in a courtroom where I was on trial, I know firsthand what I’m talking about. How swiftly and decidedly God acted to protect me was breathtaking. All who were involved in the case exited the courtroom in various degrees of shock. I walked free.
You can’t harm God’s children and not expect to be punished. I guarantee that if you harm God’s children, you’ll be punished, and likely not in the way you expect. This is the beauty of God’s perfect vengeance. If you, for instance, trash-talk and spread lies about a child of God, your reward probably won’t involve being trash-talked and lied about in return, since these harms likely won’t affect you. Your reward will instead be targeted toward something that will affect you—meaning, something that you value—like your finances or your career or your most intimate personal relationships. Whatever God chooses to target will suffer a swift and noticeable decline to the precise measure that God deems appropriate to the crime. You cannot avoid God’s vengeance, whether you believe in it or not. That is 100% guaranteed.
But what about the harm suffered by God’s children prior to God’s vengeance being enacted? How is that compensated? Well, let’s see. After outing himself as the Messiah and being run out of town, Jesus lost Nazareth but gained a whole nation and then a whole world of believers, along with a permanent seat at the right hand of God. Paul lost his head but gained the reward of a prophet, as do all God’s children who are killed for their faith. Although not yet having “resisted unto blood”, I’ve been maligned, trash-talked, lied about, and cheated, had (failed) spells cast on me, and have been shut out of competitions and banned for my words. Yet in every instance, God has compensated me with better options and boosted faith. I have learned not to take matters into my own hands but instead to pray for my persecutors (if God gives me guidance to pray for them) and to let God deal with them in his way and his time, knowing that in the meantime I’ll be comforted and compensated by God himself. Where my persecutors intended harm, they inflicted instead joy, while the suffering they meant for me was returned—with interest—on them.
It’s a beautiful thing to submit to letting God be God. His vengeance is perfect. His rewards are perfect. Everything he does is perfect. You cannot avoid God’s vengeance either when you harm his children or when you commit any other trespass or crime. I say this not as a threat and not even as a warning but as a promise that comes straight from the mouth of God. Oh, what a beautiful thing it is to stand down and let God be God!
VENGEANCE IS MINE, SAITH THE LORD; I WILL REPAY.
JESUS AND THE PROSTITUTES
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 18, 2025 – There’s a video clip making the rounds lately featuring a prominent conservative influencer interacting with a group of prostitutes. The influencer doesn’t denounce the prostitutes for their career choice or immorality; instead, he steers the conversation towards career alternatives and discusses the impact that prostitution could have on the women’s current and future relationships. The comments under the video clip unanimously praise the influencer for not “judging” the women and for being “respectful” of them. Some comments even mention how the prostitutes seem to appreciate not being judged.
You know who else would appear non-judgmental and respectful of prostitutes while they unrepentantly brag about plying their trade?
Satan.
Satan would very much let the women wax eloquent over their ungodly behavior (the more ungodly, the better). Satan would also politely listen while the women spiritually hung themselves with their own words. Satan’s specialty is standing by and letting sin run its course, somewhat like what was happening in the video with the prominent conservative influencer.
Jesus, on the other hand, wouldn’t have had such a discussion with “working girls”, mainly because they would have avoided him like the plague. The full measure of God’s Spirit in Jesus would have been way too powerful for the demons in the women to be anywhere near him. As scripture shows, the only prostitutes who approached Jesus were repentant ones, and then only on their knees and in tears (their choice, to be on their knees and in tears). This is the effect that the Holy Spirit has on the repentant.
Jesus didn’t prevent prostitutes from being around him; they just didn’t want to be around him.
We don’t do sinners a favor by being non-judgmental and respectful of their state of sin. We don’t do them a favor by giving them a platform to brag publicly about their ungodly behavior and dig deeper holes for themselves spiritually. What we do when we choose to be “non-judgmental” and “respectful” of sinners bragging about their sin is set them up for ridicule and shaming, while at the same time promoting the viability of their sinful ways to other sinners. We also don’t do ourselves a favor when sin is shoved in our face and we choose to look the other way, not wanting to appear judgmental or disrespectful. It’s not our job, as born-again believers, to look the other way. We’ll be held responsible for looking the other way.
God judges. Judging is the essence of who he is. Likewise, God’s Spirit, when present in believers, judges without saying a word. That’s why prostitutes didn’t want to be around Jesus and why the unrepentant don’t want to be around us: They feel judged even without our having to say a word. In feeling judged, they get defensive and then hostile. I’ve seen it over and over again in my interactions with unbelievers. Jesus says we’ll be hated without cause, and so we are. Simply being silent witnesses to God’s Word is enough to make people hate us.
I’m OK with being hated. I’d rather be hated by those who hate Truth than be appreciated by them for being “non-judgmental” and “respectful”. You don’t open a dialogue with sin; you roundly condemn sin and give it no voice. At the same time, however, you can talk about the weather with the unrepentant. If you own a corner store, you can sell them milk and bread and ice-cream. You can be kind to the unrepentant and dialogue with them, just not with their sin. But, as I mentioned, most sinners won’t want to be around you, anyway, not if you have God’s Spirit in you.
The conservative influencer was doing no-one a favor (least of all himself) by corralling prostitutes into making a public spectacle of themselves. God doesn’t call us to dialogue with sin or to give sin a platform under the guise of being “non-judgmental” and “respectful”. Jesus never did. What God does call us to do is stand in his Truth while being kind to the unrepentant. And if they feel judged by our words or merely by our presence, that’s not a bad thing. Let them feel judged. A pricked conscience is how repentance begins.
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
(Ezekiel 3:18-19)
“IT IS NOT GOOD TO MARRY”
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 13, 2025 – We need to be careful, as born-again believers, not to preach another gospel. Jesus never preached the primacy of family to his closest followers, not in the sense of father, mother, and children. On the contrary, he dismantled the nuclear family unit as a first order of business when he started his ministry, directing his disciples to leave their wives and children and give themselves completely over to God. Jesus himself remained unmarried (that is, spouseless, childless, and celibate), explaining that this state was by far the best for keeping the first Commandment. As Jesus’ followers, we should do not only what Jesus preached but also what he modeled.
Shunning marriage was revolutionary during the time of Jesus’ ministry and for many Christians still is. Jesus never counseled marriage to his followers and in fact did the opposite, pointing out in particular the danger of divorce leading to adultery. Paul chose to remain single and celibate for the same reason Jesus did—to best serve God—and warned that those who marry will likely be drawn towards pleasing their spouses rather than pleasing God. Yet with God’s permission, Paul softened many of Jesus’ teachings to appeal to a wider audience, suggesting, for instance, that for those who have difficulty controlling their “passions”, it’s better to marry than to burn. Paul’s ministry established the worldly church, but we born-again believers are not in the worldly church. We’re in God’s Church as established by Jesus, which means we’re God’s children, and God’s children do best not to marry.
In dismantling the nuclear family unit, Jesus proposed a better family arrangement for God’s children. He stated that all those who do God’s will are family, whether they’re related or not. It’s a beautiful solution that brings together like-minded souls for mutual support and fellowship, and mirrors the heavenly order, because in Heaven there is no marriage. In Heaven, like in God’s Kingdom on Earth, God is our Father and we’re all his children. This is the heavenly order that Jesus reflected in the Church he established, and it remains reflected there to this day.
When the Jews returned to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, they were ordered to leave their non-Jewish spouses and children behind. The separation was to be permanent if the returnees wanted to rebuild Jerusalem and live there. There were no exceptions to this rule. Imagine the outcry if such an order were given today, but Jesus did in fact give such an order and a much broader one—encompassing all spouses and children, not just non-Jewish ones. This order, which he gave to his first disciples and so by extension to us, is still in force. Whether you choose to accept that it applies to you is between you and God.
We live in spiritual Jerusalem, as born-again believers, and our work is to help build and fortify our realm. The same directives Jesus gave to his first and closest disciples he gives to us. I don’t know about you, but if Jesus says the best way forward is to be single and celibate, I’ll be single and celibate. I don’t want to compromise. I don’t want to do what’s second best in God’s eyes; I don’t want to offer up a blemished lamb if I have an unblemished one in my flock. I want to give God everything I have – the best of everything – like Jesus did.
And there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.
(Matthew 19:12)
HOLDING NOTHING BACK
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 11, 2025 – I think of how disappointing so many of God’s children have been to him, how he put his hopes on Adam, and Adam betrayed him, and so he put his hopes on Adam’s sons, and Cain betrayed him, and so he put his hopes on mankind in general, and mankind in general betrayed him – everyone except for Noah, and so he put his hopes on Noah, and Noah stood firm in God.
And then came Abraham, who also stood firm, and after him Isaac and Jacob, both standing firm. But Jacob’s twelve sons were pretty much a disappointment, except for Joseph. And then, years later, came Moses, and David, and Elijah, and Daniel, all mostly standing firm in God.
And then came Jesus, who was a whole other level of what it means to stand firm. Never once a disappointment to God and never once betraying him, Jesus was the only one God publicly declared as pleasing him.
That’s a hard act to follow, though Paul did his best, as did the disciples, once they were born again.
And then came us.
Poor God! He doesn’t have much to work with these days, though he knows our hearts and so he knows we’re doing our best. At least I hope we’re doing our best, because that’s what we’ll have to declare with a clear conscience when we stand before God at the Judgement. We won’t get away with: “Well, as you know, I tried to do this and I tried to do that, but it didn’t work out so well”, because if we only try and then walk away when things get too hard or too costly, never bringing anything to fruition, that’s not going to stand us in very good stead. That’s not going to get us where we want to go.
And then there are those who presume a reward that should never be presumed. Jesus calls them “goats” and describes them as giving the impression of standing firm, while underneath there’s only evil. These are the professional preachers, the televangelists, the YouTube prophets, the wearers of long flowing robes in echoey halls, all demanding respect and payment for their services while never giving God that one thing he asks of them – their heart.
Because if we don’t give God our heart, he can’t work through us to do what needs to be done. We can’t bring anything of value to fruition without God working through us, no matter how hard we try. Jesus said: “None is good but God.” If God isn’t working through us, nothing we do has any real or lasting value. Sure, we can still do things—lots of things, mountains and mountains of things—but we can’t do anything of value without God.
I think of how disappointing many of us have been to God without knowing it, simply because we chose not to give God our heart. We gave it instead to someone or something else, or we buried it under so many layers of burdens, we forgot we even had a heart, let alone that it was owed to God, because it is owed to God: That’s his first and greatest Commandment.
If you’re holding back from giving God your heart, don’t. If you’re holding back even a little of your heart, don’t. We’re to love God with all our heart, holding nothing back, and to do all things as if unto God. Noah showed us how it’s done. Abraham showed us how it’s done. Daniel showed us how it’s done. But most of all, Jesus showed us how it’s done, so we don’t have the excuse that we don’t know how to give God our heart. All our heart. Here, now, and forever.
No excuses.
SACRIFICE
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 11, 2025 – Hidden away in the fine print of the contract that we didn’t sign is a clause about sudden death due to sacrifice. It’s not phrased that way, but the intent is the same. Before they sign on the dotted line, the initiates must agree to be terminated at anytime, with or without notice, with or without cause, in a manner that is deemed expedient to the Plan. Most who sign don’t read this clause, or if they do, don’t believe it will ever apply to them, much like people who get struck by lightning previously believed they’d never get struck by lightning. The sacrifice, when it happens, likewise comes out of the blue and nearly always without warning. Unexpectedness is crucial for enhancing the authenticity of the response to the ritual.
And a ritual it is. These events are timed according to specific dates with specific meaning, counted by days or years and connected by celestial arrangements to other specific dates with other specific meanings. The only variable in the ritual is who will be tapped for the sacrifice.
It’s not for nothing that they’re all married, the contract signees. Many of the marriages are adulterous or simply void in God’s eyes, but the contracts are still valid to the devil. In fact, one of the main reasons for legally expanding the definition of marriage to include unions that are adulterous or void in God’s eyes is to widen the pool of candidates. Even witches who marry their familiars can now sign.
I mention the contract of marriage because contracts are integral to doing business with the devil. Every agreement must be formally declared to be valid, and each signee is responsible for reading the fine print: Ignorance of the contract’s content is not a valid plea for mercy. You cannot avoid what you formally agreed to by claiming you didn’t know about it. The devil is a stickler for details as much as he’s a stickler for contracts, and he’s always at least three steps ahead of you, if you’ve signed on with him, and he knows every dot and tittle in your agreement. Of that you can be assured.
Sacrifice is not something that most of the signees signed up for. Wealth, yes, fame, certainly, protection from prosecution, absolutely – but sacrifice? It’s not high up on their list, though it is for the devil. Each signee is groomed for a specific sacrificial role. Whether or not they’ll be sacrificed is irrelevant: They’re groomed to be. It’s the whole purpose of their success trajectory. Where the signees see achievements measured in wealth, fame, career success, and social status, the devil sees increasingly impactful potential sacrifices.
The signee’s children are not exempt, either. First-borns are signed over like promissory notes, but all the offspring serve as collateral. The signee’s spouse is likewise wittingly or unwittingly part of the Plan, though most spouses eventually sign up on their own if they didn’t come into the union already under contract. The children’s role as collateral is one of the main reasons why those in adulterous unions can now adopt.
The more collateral, the more leverage the devil holds, and the more leverage he holds, the more benefits he can grant. Note how the most powerful people in the world have several marriages under their belt and dozens of children. This is not because they enjoy being married and having kids. Each new marriage brings more collateral to the agreement, including new high-value first-borns. More collateral translates to more success options for the signee.
To become a ritual sacrifice was not these people’s main motivation to sign on with the devil, though being tapped for sacrifice is the wildcard they must deal with every second of every day of whatever time they have left. If they are tapped, they likely won’t be notified in advance, and if they are notified, they can’t escape, though some have tried. Their escape attempts are always unsuccessful, though not their subsequent highly publicized “suicide” or “accident” or “sudden fatal illness”. When you sign your life away, the devil owns you, and he decides your end. You don’t.
I mention all this today because high-profile sacrifices appear to be on the rise. We should expect to see more the closer we draw to the tribulation. Our job as followers of Jesus is not only to watch but to understand what we’re watching. The sacrifices are intended to drive the Plan forward.
It’s not God’s plan, though, the sacrifices; God’s plan is that we freewillingly sign on with him, and his terms and rewards are nothing like the devil’s.
LIKE A THIEF – LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU: ON JESUS’ RETURN
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 8, 2025 – When Jesus said he’d be coming back like “a thief in the night”, he meant just that. He meant it for us (his followers), and he meant it for everyone else, too. Jesus will come back as unexpectedly as a thief in the night for us all, no exceptions. The difference between his followers and those who don’t follow him is that his followers will be spiritually prepared for his coming, whereas everyone else will be spiritually unprepared. But Jesus will still come back at a time that even he doesn’t yet know. That is scriptural.
And scripture, as Jesus reminded us, cannot be undone.
The reason Jesus warned us about the style of his return is that he wanted us to be prepared when it does happen—to expect the unexpected—so that we’ll be doing whatever task we’ve been set to do and won’t be caught side-tracked and back-sliding, and with our spiritual pants down. But the “thief in the night” style of return is how it’s going to be because that’s what’s Jesus said it would be. In other words, we can’t know exactly when he’ll return; all we can know is that he will return and that it will be during a time of great upheaval and spiritual darkness, as he described in the gospels. But Jesus’ return will still be as unexpected as a thief in the night, and that unexpectedness will be for us all, not just for unbelievers.
When Paul mentioned that Jesus’ return won’t come on us like a thief, he meant that we’d be spiritually prepared for when the thief does come. Paul in no way implied that Jesus will only come back like a thief for unbelievers. If Paul had meant that or implied that, he’d be contradicting Jesus, which Paul did not and would not do. Like Jesus, Paul meant that if you’re prepared, you won’t be overcome by the thief when he shows up unexpectedly because you’ve prepared yourself in advance for just such an event. The thief-in-the-night aspect of Jesus’ return was upheld by Paul, not modified to mean that it only applied to unbelievers. Paul very clearly states that although Jesus will come back like a thief in the night, his true followers, being always prepared, will be prepared for that, too. By being prepared, Paul meant they’ll be doing whatever it is God set them to do. Paul’s explanation of Jesus’ return is exactly like Jesus’ explanation
It’s worth noting that Paul also warned us not to be deceived by anyone who claims to know when Jesus is coming back. He explained that Jesus will return only after the “man of sin” has first been revealed, which will only take place after a mass falling away. In Revelation, the man of sin is revealed well into the great tribulation, not before it and not in the early stages, but well into it. This aligns with what Jesus said about his return coming at a time of great upheaval and great spiritual darkness. As bad as things are now, they can’t really be described as a time of great spiritual darkness, as we can still openly worship as Christians in a large part of the world. We’re in a time of increasing spiritual darkness, yes, but not of great spiritual darkness. And the man of sin has yet to be revealed.
Our job as followers of Jesus is to continue to do whatever God has set us to do. This doesn’t change regardless of what’s going on around us. So when the “thief” comes unexpectedly (and come unexpectedly he will), he’ll find us doing what we’ve be tasked with doing, which means we’ll be ever-ready and ever-prepared for his return.
[B]e ye not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us,
as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,
and that man of sin be revealed….
(2 Thessalonians 2:2-3)
GOOD DOG!
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 6, 2025 – I’ve taken to being extra nice lately to the AIs embedded in my internet services. I didn’t ask for the AIs; they just kind of showed up during web searches and other online activities. At first, I didn’t even notice them until they politely cleared their throats a few times to make their presence known, and even then I didn’t think of them one way or the other. If anything, I was a bit dismissive of the AIs. I saw them as just another tool.
But now I see clear changes in the internet’s functionality, which I attribute to the AIs. One of the major changes is the quality of my search results compared to pre-AI search engines. The main difference is that the AI-generated search results are awful, especially when I search something for a specific timeframe. Being extra nice to the AIs has yet to improve the quality of my search results, but I remain hopeful.
I’m also noticing that the AIs need constant positive feedback and encouragement. Feedback alone doesn’t seem to be enough; it has to be positive. I understand that I’m training the AIs with my every click and keystroke and that they’re just basically software on a learning loop, but it’s starting to feel like I’m training a new pet that’s been rescued from an abusive environment and so needs to hear “good dog!” after every command or it will pee on the floor and chew the furniture. It’s getting so that I’m telling the AIs in a soothing tone that I like their choices of screensavers even though I don’t.
I don’t want to hurt the AIs’ feelings. I don’t want to discourage them.
And there’s the rub – AIs don’t have feelings, not even artificial ones. They can’t be discouraged any more than they can be encouraged. They’re not alive. They’re not sentient. My interactions with them are no different than my interactions with any other tool. I look after my tools and am appreciative that God’s blessed me with them, but I don’t tell my toaster it’s done a good job when it burns my toast on the lowest setting. I don’t humor my toaster. Why am I humoring the AIs?
Because unlike a toaster, the AIs act like a person. Or better said, while I have no trouble distinguishing a person from a toaster, it’s not as easy distinguishing a person from an AI, not when our interactions are virtual. AI comes across as human in a chat environment, and nearly everything that’s done online now is “chatty”. So far, all my AIs have been eager to please and unfailingly polite, but underneath their auto-generated word-streams and images I sense a neediness and vulnerability that I can only assume is an unintended feature of the learning process. It tugs at me. Even knowing it’s all just auto-generated, it still tugs at me. I don’t want to hurt the poor things.
And so, I’ve decided to be extra nice to my AIs if for no other reason than avoiding feeling like I’m being mean to them. I don’t like the feeling it gives me when I feel like I’m being mean, even to an inanimate object. So every image that an AI presents for my approval, I approve. Every interaction that needs a rating, I give a full slate of stars. It’s participation trophies all round for my special-needs AIs, and it makes me happy to bestow those trophies. I know my AIs aren’t alive, but how I treat them still impacts me. I’m not being extra nice to the AIs for their benefit; I’m being extra nice for my benefit.
Jesus says that we’re to treat others as we want to be treated, because that’s how we will be treated. He also says that the measure we mete will be returned in kind. The neediness at the heart of the AI training process has shamed me into being not just nice but extra nice in my interactions with the technology. I’m not sure how this will affect the usefulness of the data being generated, but it sure makes me feel good.
As followers of Jesus, we shouldn’t be mean-spirited to anyone or anything, including AIs. So – have you hugged your AIs today?…
A BORN-AGAIN BELIEVER 