AI Artwork and the Christian Imagination

I’m a Christian, engineer and illustrator who uses AI to generate artwork that brings the Bible to life in a way that I hope helps rekindle the Christian imagination, especially for those who are deconstructing or who have become disenchanted with Christianity.

I have personally benefited from incorporating AI generated artwork into my spiritual practice. In the same way it helps grow and cultivate my own spiritual imagination, I hope that it helps others. While our own imaginations are powerful, they can be limited sources to reconstruct and envision many of the stories we find in scripture.

Popular culture, for example, often pervades our imagination in ways that sometimes gets in the way of historical accuracy.  And sometimes we superimpose parts of our own lives onto the Bible story. Consider how baby cherubs and white robed choirs are about as glorious as we have imagined heaven to be. Or how Moses looks like Charleston Heston and Christmas looks like shepherds in robes made of fabric from a department store.

One way Christians have historically interacted with art is through a spiritual practice called Visio Divina.  This practice is an opportunity to invite God to speak to us by contemplatively listening to what he is saying while looking at an image. In my own experience, I’ve found that looking at AI art in this way is capable of moving me and evoking a response from me in ways that traditional Christian artwork and depictions of the Bible haven’t.

For the remainder of this article, I would like to invite you to experience the practice of Visio Divina, yourself, with AI art. I’ve chosen passages from Genesis chapters 1 and 2 for the AI program MidJourney to render in various art styles. Below are some AI-generated images, along with the scripture that inspired them and some questions for reflection.

To practice Visio Divina, consider playing your favorite worship song or listening to instrumental music while you view the images and read the questions. Consider reading the scripture passage that inspired the image aloud.  It’s ok if it was uncomfortable or unfamiliar at first. Take your time. Let your eyes pull you to where they will, and be open to God speaking to you.

Questions:

• How have you traditionally envisioned the Genesis 1:1 account of God creating the heavens and the Earth? How different or similar are these AI-generated images to what you have imagined?
• What words come to mind, or what emotions do you feel when you look at the images?
• Any words in the passage come alive to you in the images?
• Do you hear God communicating anything new to you about this familiar passage through these images?
• If you could imagine yourself being present in the beginning with God the moment he created the heavens and the earth, in one of these images, how would you describe that experience feeling like? Perhaps you can use your senses as a guide here. What do you imagine hearing? Seeing? Smelling?

• Have you ever imagined what it might’ve looked like when God separated the waters above from the waters below in this passage? If so, what did that look like for you? If not, what barriers did you face in trying to visualize this passage for yourself?
• These images have been generated in an art style called papercut art. How does the art style affect your experience of Visio Divina? Does its lack of realism compared to the previous image detract or add something new to your experience?
• Pick one of the images, scan it closely, and make detailed observations of its intricacy. What textures, colors, shapes and patterns stand out to you and why?
• Any new insights on the passage with help from the images?

• Is the biodiversity of animals captured in the image anything like what you’ve imagined the living creatures in this passage to look like? If so, how? If not, how was what you imagined different?
• Pick an animal in the image that you find striking, perhaps because of its colorful plumage, pensive eyes, or intricate patterns. Make close observations about its physical traits and list them. Does it resemble another organism? If not, what elements of its appearance resemble familiar organisms? Use your creative imagination to consider what its traits might suggest about its behavior or habitat.
• Some of the animals generated by the AI program more closely resemble real ones (consider the lion and eagle), while others do not—they are fictional creatures with an assortment of traits from different animals. Does the combination of real and fictional animals in this image hinder, expand or challenge your understanding of this verse? Why?
• Anything God is communicating to you about his creativity and power or the diversity of life in this verse and image?

• How have you traditionally imagined this verse about God creating humans from dust? How different or similar are these AI-generated images to what you have imagined?
• Imagine yourself standing in one of these scenes watching the verse unfold. God breathing life into his creation. What emotions do you think you’d feel?
• These images are in a different art style than the others—the imagery is darker, haunting or perhaps even solemn. Do you find that this art style helps or hinders your creative imagination about this verse? Is it harder to participate in the Visio Divina experience or just different?
• Anything new God is communicating to you about our human origin story with the help of these images?