Artificial intelligence is a collection of computer systems or technologies requiring human intelligence. These technologies work together to perform activities generally done by humans. They include things like visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation. However, the line drawn between artificial intelligence and humans’ intelligence is the ability for robots think, feel and behave just like us humans. But can robots ever grow, develop, and become completely like us? What role does choice, free will, and love play in artificial intelligence?

Welcome to our new series. In it, we will address an age-old concern that we all have: the concern for sin, evil, death and what happens after we die. Is there hope after death? When God created us humans, he intended for us to live forever in a loving relationship with him. But this relationship has been broken by sin.

Here, we address the origin of sin, and we look more closely at death and dying. But, instead of looking at death in a negative way, we look at it in the context of hope, the promised hope based on what Jesus did for us when he died and came back to life again.

From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 4: Sabbath.School

See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School

Visit SabbathSchoolDaily.com for more videos like this one.

Inviting the Holy Spirit’s Presence

God Most High, help us understand the nature and extent of your love for us and give us a heart to love others and to love you back. In Jesus Name Amen. 

Silk flowers can be beautiful. But they are artificial. They have no fragrance, nor can they grow, blossom, and produce more flowers like the real thing. The same issue exists with robots, they can do many things just like us humans.  Robots can be preprogrammed to talk and to perform many tasks, but they do not have life, nor do they have emotions. They cannot reproduce nor can they love.  Without life or freedom of choice, that is free will, they cannot live, grow, or share love. Life and free will are indispensable when it comes to the ability to receive, develop, and share love.

Different for man who has come up with artificial intelligence. God made angels (including Lucifer) and humans with the freedom to make their own choices.

This freedom to choose includes our being able to make the wrong choice.

In our previous study, we found that God is Love. This is what John is saying in 1 John 4:7–16:

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.

13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:7–16)

Because God is love, He gives us everything we need to grow and develop in love and in wisdom.

God assured us of His love by sending His own Son to die for us.

In return, we show God we are grateful and thankful for His love. No not by celebrating the Holiday Thanksgiving, although, it is a great time to spend time with family and friends, we show our love for God when we love each other 365 days of the year.

The ability to show this kind of Love is of divine origin. Hence, it is the best and strongest evidence that God lives in our hearts and that we live in Him.

Different from robots, God created us with the ability to choose. He gave us free will. We have the choice to develop and express love to one another, or we can choose to live a self-centered life composed of selfish love in which we love based on convenience or even choose not to love at all.

In other words, our freedom of choice can be easily misused. This is demonstrated in the tragic rebellion of Lucifer who lived in heaven.  He chose to war against God in heaven; hence, he was evicted, kicked out!

Thus, we must be careful with our freedom of choice because free choice can produce terrible consequences when we use it for selfish gain.

Some people, even though they agree that freedom of choice or free will is important still wonder, “if God knew that Lucifer was going to sin, why did God make Lucifer?” Is God then responsible for sin. After all, He created Lucifer?

Answering this question is not that simple. Other questions need to be answered first, including, “What does the word

‘responsible’ mean?” Also, “What is sin, and when did it start?” These are mysteries no human can fully explain. Neither has God provided us with an explanation.

Therefore, We must take care and not to try to guess or speculate.

Here is what the Book the Great Controversy says about sin and its origin:

It is impossible to explain the origin of sin so as to give a reason for its existence. Yet enough may be understood concerning both the origin and the final disposition of sin to make fully manifest the justice and benevolence of God in all His dealings with evil. Nothing is more plainly taught in Scripture than that God was in no wise responsible for the entrance of sin. . . . Sin is an intruder, for whose presence no reason can be given. It is mysterious, unaccountable; to excuse it is to defend it. Could excuse for it be found, or cause be shown for its existence, it would cease to be sin. Our only definition of sin is that given in the word of God; it is “the transgression of the law;” [1 John 3:4] it is the outworking of a principle at war with the great law of love which is the foundation of the divine government. —The Great Controversy, pp. 492, 493.

What we do know for sure is that God never wanted sin to be part of our lives.  He did not ordain sin to exist; He only allowed its existence, and then, at the cross, He took upon Himself the ultimate punishment for our sins, thus enabling Him, ultimately, to eradicate it.  He took on the punishment for our sin because He wanted to end sin forever.

When we think about evil, we must always remember that God, who is perfect, He Himself, accepted our punishment for sin and evil. This we see in Mathew 5:43-48 and Romans 5:6–11

Mathew 5:43-48

3 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Mathew 5:43-48)

Romans 5:6-11

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:6-11)

We must therefore always remember, God suffered because of sin and evil more than any of us will ever suffer.

Hence, God gave us the freedom to choose. This freedom of choice, free will, comes with powerful consequences, not just for us but for others as well. Therefore, we must use it wisely.

In your decision-making ask yourself how much will it cost? How much will your choice “cost” you? And how much will your choice “cost” others?

The King of a powerful and rich nation, the King of Tyre bad choices got him in serious trouble. Lucifer’s bad choices caused him be kicked out of heaven, how then can we avoid doing what they did? Find out in Day 4: Mysterious Ingratitude