“In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
—John 1:4–5

Artificial Intelligence is one of the most impressive feats of human creativity in the modern world. It can write essays, compose music, solve complex equations, and even simulate human conversation. But behind the code, the algorithms, and the neural networks lies a deeper question: Does AI point us toward God?

Intelligence Comes from Intelligence

AI doesn’t emerge from randomness. It is programmed, trained, and shaped by human minds. Every answer it gives, every pattern it recognizes, is rooted in the knowledge, language, and logic that we provided. AI doesn’t think—it mimics thought. It doesn’t learn like a child; it digests datasets and outputs statistical predictions.

And that leads to a profound insight:

If artificial intelligence requires a mind to create it, then shouldn’t our own natural intelligence also point to a higher Mind?

The philosopher and apologist Stephen C. Meyer has repeatedly emphasized that “intelligence comes from intelligence.”¹ If we wouldn’t say that a chatbot or self-driving car created itself, why would we assume that our own conscious, rational minds emerged from nothing—or from blind, purposeless matter?

The Chinese Room and the Limits of Machines

Philosopher John Searle once proposed a thought experiment known as the Chinese Room.² Imagine someone who doesn’t know Chinese is locked in a room with a detailed rulebook for manipulating Chinese symbols. When Chinese speakers pass in written questions, the person inside can use the rulebook to send back convincing replies. To an outsider, it would seem like the person understands Chinese. But in truth, they’re just following instructions—they have no idea what the words mean.

Searle’s point? That’s exactly what AI does. It follows patterns and rules without true understanding or consciousness. It has syntax, not semantics—structure without meaning. It knows about things, but it doesn’t know.

We, on the other hand, do know. We have consciousness, emotion, moral judgment, and self-awareness. If machines built by minds can’t simulate those things, then maybe the answer isn’t to reduce ourselves to machines, but to recognize that we are something more—perhaps made in the image of a greater Mind.

A Syllogism Worth Considering

Let’s frame this logically:

1. All known instances of intelligence (such as AI) come from a prior intelligent source.
2. Human intelligence and consciousness exist.
3. Therefore, it is reasonable to infer that human intelligence also comes from a prior, greater Intelligence—namely, God.

This is not a “God of the gaps” argument. We’re not saying “we don’t know, so God must have done it.” We do know that intelligence is the only thing we’ve ever observed that produces more intelligence. That pattern—both scientifically and philosophically—points upward, not downward.

Consciousness Comes from Consciousness

Everything AI “knows” comes from a source: us. And everything we are—our awareness, our morality, our longing for meaning—cries out for a source as well.

As John Lennox puts it:

“The capacity to create artificial intelligence is itself evidence of a higher intelligence—that of human beings. But our intelligence, in turn, cries out for an explanation.”³

The great physicist and Nobel laureate Max Planck, the founder of quantum theory, said it even more boldly:

“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”⁴

And elsewhere:

“I can tell you as a physicist: the universe is not made of matter alone. Behind everything we see is the force of a conscious and intelligent Spirit.”⁵

We are not autonomous accidents. We are dependent beings, filled with mystery and purpose, bearing the fingerprints of the One who made us.

As the Gospel of John says, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men.”⁶ The light you carry—your mind, your soul, your capacity for love and reason—is a reflected light. It didn’t begin with you. And it didn’t begin with the universe. It began with God.

The Final Irony

AI will never worship. It will never pray, hope, dream, or love. And yet its very existence—its design, structure, and dependence—points back to the humans who made it. In the same way, our very existence, our design, our longings, and our minds point back to the God who made us.

So yes, AI may not be conscious—but it might just help wake us up.

Footnotes
¹ Stephen C. Meyer, The Return of the God Hypothesis (New York: HarperOne, 2021).
² John R. Searle, “Minds, Brains, and Programs,” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 3, no. 3 (1980).
³ John C. Lennox, 2084: Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020).
⁴ Max Planck, quoted in “The Observer,” January 25, 1931.
⁵ Max Planck, address in Florence, Italy (1944), cited in Norman Cousins, Human Options (New York: Norton, 1981).
⁶ John 1:4–5.