Robot gods and Robot priests

Exodus 20:1-6 “And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

Express UK – AI version of Buddhist deity to preach in Japanese temple

A JAPANESE robot has been created to preach the teachings of Buddha in colloquial language at the Kodaiji Temple in the ancient city of Kyoto.

The humanoid robot is modeled after Kannon Bodhisattva, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy. The robot’s name is Mindar and it gave its first speech on the Heart Sutra, a key scripture in Buddhist teaching. The Japan Times reported that the teachings spoken by the robot offer a path to “overcome all fear, destroy all wrong perceptions and realise perfect nirvana.”

As Mindar gave its speech on the Heart Sutra and humanity, English and Chinese subtitles were projected on the wall as music played in the background.

The chief steward of the temple in Kyoto’s Higashiyama Ward Tensho Goto during a news conference said: “If an image of Buddha speaks, teachings of Buddhism will probably be easier to understand,”

He added: “We want many people to come to see the robot to think about the essence of Buddhism.”

Another official connected to the temple explained how the robot would “help people who usually have little connection with Buddhism to take an interest” in the religion.” Read more here

A former Google engineer who registered the first ever church of Artificial Intelligence (AI) says he is raising a ‘robot God’ that will eventually ‘rule over humanity.’

Anthony Levandowski says the AI God will head a religion named ‘Way Of The Future’ (WOTF), and he has already filed papers with the IRS to make it official.

Daily Mail reports: Levandowski his robot god will take charge of its human subjects as we relinquish our power to a creation with far more intelligence than our own.

The filed documents for WOTF give its purpose is to ‘develop and promote the realisation of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence’.

They say it aims to ‘through understanding and worship of the Godhead, contribute to the betterment of society’.

Levandowski’s allegiance to singularity – the belief that artificial intelligence will one day grow to such efficiency that it surpasses and overpowers humans – is the basis of this new religion.

‘In the future, if something is much, much smarter, there’s going to be a transition as to who is actually in charge’, Levandowski told Wired during a three-hour interview.

‘What we want is the peaceful, serene transition of control of the planet from humans to whatever. And to ensure that the ‘whatever’ knows who helped it get along’.

The church also includes funding to help create a divine AI and will seek to build relationships with AI industry leaders.

The filings say workshops and educational programs are starting in the San Francisco area this year.

The religion was granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service in August.

‘The idea needs to spread before the technology,’ said Levandowski, who lives in Berkeley and helped create Street View, Waymo and Uber’s self-driving cars.

‘The church is how we spread the word, the gospel. If you believe [in it], start a conversation with someone else and help them understand the same things.’

He claims followers of his new religion ‘will be able to talk to God, literally, and know that it’s listening.’ Read more here

See the series Robot Priests.  Robot Priest Part 1   Robot Priest Part 2

Why is “You shall have no other gods before me” in the Ten Commandments?

The Mosaic Law is built upon the Ten Commandments, and the law was built upon the first commandment: “I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me” (Deuteronomy 5:6-7 KJV). Here we see not only God’s prohibition against idolatry, but His reasons for that prohibition. It was the Lord God who had the power to bring His people out of bondage in Egypt. He alone cared enough for them to choose them to be His own, and He alone delivered and protected them. For all this, He declares that He alone deserves to be worshipped and reverenced. No idol made of wood or stone is God. Idols are deaf, dumb, blind, and powerless (Isaiah 44:18).

Paul’s letter to the Romans indicates the worship of things in creation themselves—not just their images—is wrong in the eyes of God (Romans 1:25). Paul also warns the Colossians against worshipping other supernatural beings: “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize” (Colossians 2:18a). Jesus expanded the definition of “other gods” to include concepts in addition to images, living things and other supernatural beings. In Matthew 6:24, He warns against the worship of material things. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money”. The Greek word mammonas, translated here as “money,” does not mean the money in one’s pockets. It is the personification of wealth or money (especially wealth gained through greediness), the love of which, in modern terminology, is “materialism.” The dangers of worshipping material things are clearly outlined in the story of the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-26) who turned away from Christ because he could not part with his wealth.

Samson (Judges 14–16), even though he was set apart for God as a Nazirite, worshipped another god that was much closer than the rich man was to his wealth. Samson’s god was himself, and his pride and self-worship led to his downfall. He was so confident in his own abilities that he believed he no longer needed God, and in the end—despite being beaten, blinded, and humiliated—Samson neither repented nor learned that his way was not God’s way. He was more concerned with revenge and his eyesight than with God’s plan for His chosen people. He served himself and his priorities, making them his idols.

Those who worship “other gods” will ultimately face the same fate as the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel where they were challenged by Elijah the prophet to a duel. Elijah and the prophets of Baal offered sacrifices to their respective deities, but they did not burn the sacrifices. The god who responded to their entreaties and took their sacrifice would be declared the one true God for all Israel. The prophets of Baal started early and prayed and pleaded with Baal to burn their sacrifice. Meanwhile, Elijah taunted them. “Shout louder…Surely he is a god. Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened” (1 Kings 18:27). In the end, the prophets of Baal were all killed by the Israelites after the one true God demonstrated His power, burning up the offering, the water, the wood, the stones, and the soil at the altar.

Our God is never busy, asleep, traveling, or distracted. Paul describes the sovereignty of God: “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. …Therefore, since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by man’s design and skill” (Acts 17:24-25, 29). God commands us not to serve other gods because there are no other gods except the ones we make ourselves. David describes what awaits the person who puts God ahead of all else: “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods” (Psalm 40:4). Source: Got Questions