Millions are watching AI Bible Stories — should we be worried?
What if Bible characters had smartphones? … and what if they used them to record themselves talking direct to camera?
Before you click away thinking “that’s stupid”, consider that these videos on TikTok are currently receiving millions, even tens of millions of views. By Chris Goswami
Imagine Moses, David, Peter, even Jesus filming themselves on a smartphone. What would they want to post? That’s what this new genre of media explores. None of the characters are real, they are AI-generated — but the videos are immensely popular.
Check-out “Daniel”, reporting from the lions’ den,
“… OK guys its official, I’m being thrown into a den of lions”:
It has 9 million views.
The internet is divided as to whether these 60-sec mockumentaries are brilliant or blasphemous. But before we get into that, here’s my shortlist of AI Bible videos to help you get a sense of what younger Christians –
and non-Christians — on TikTok are watching:
AI Bible hall of fame
Most Viral: If Moses had an iPhone
“Pharaoh, if you’re watching, this is your last chance! Let the people go — or its gonna rain hail, frogs … whatever”, says Moses.
Whereupon Aaron quips: “hashtag LetMyPeopleGo!”.
It’s bizarre – but it has 30 million views!
Best laugh-out-loud line (well, apart from Moses above): If Joseph had an iPhone
Funniest moment is when Potiphar’s wife accuses Joseph of sexual advances exclaiming:
“Joseph totally just tried to Netflix and chill with me!”
The dialogue here is so packed with “Gen‑Z terms”, it becomes ridiculous – maybe deliberately.
Most moving: If Peter had an iPhone
This one made me pause. And the fact that no one says anything silly helped a lot.
Most cringe-worthy: If Jesus had a phone
There’s plenty of cringe in these videos, but perhaps none more so than when “Jesus” says,
“… we’ve finished lunch so now I will heal this lovely young man and pray for him”.
Seriously?
Some of these videos are clearly satirical, but not all, and it’s not always obvious which ones are which.
Best attempt to answer a tough question: Why do bad things happen?
An honest attempt to answer one of faith’s hardest questions. But it reduces a very complex question to one simplistic point. Moreover, when people ask a question like this, they often need a pastoral, human conversation. AI doesn’t give that – but maybe this is a start?
Most surprisingly thought-provoking: New Jerusalem Explained
Does this help? I’m not sure, but it’s oddly compelling and there are lots more videos like it.
Most worrying and offensive
Worrying: I saw several that began something like: “If you love Satan skip this video, but if you love Jesus stay and watch.” And, judging from the comments, some people are taking that seriously.
Offensive: Offence is subjective, but for me, a cheerful Jesus on the cross smiling and chatting is inappropriate (and inaccurate).
Why have these gone viral?
Three factors are making these videos hugely popular.
First there’s the “novelty-shock” aspect. Mixing sacred stories with Gen‑Z slang creates novelty for some, shock for others.
Second, these videos, like them or not, are
highly relatable. They use a proven, short-video format and apply it to the Bible. The style (think “The Office”, where an individual talks to camera), makes for easy storytelling.
And third, AI has now reached an almost incomprehensible level of both sophistication and simplicity. These clips can look polished and professional, yet anyone can make them. The barrier to entry has never been lower.
And if these videos strike you as unprofessional, take a moment to reflect on what is happening here.
Just a few years ago, if you wanted to “make a film”, you needed actors, scriptwriters, sound and camera crew, postproduction etc, not to mention travelling to a set. Now there are no cameras, no sound, no-one got on a plane, and none of these actors exist.
Almost anyone can do these from their bedroom. You write the script with (say) ChatGPT), use Google’s Veo3 (the new tech) to create videos and post them onto TikTok.
There are glitches. You may have noticed that each scene always seems to last 8‑seconds, and then the scene shifts. That’s because Google’s Veo3, will only do a maximum of 8 sec due to resource restrictions. So individual clips are stitched together in TikTok’s editor and made into one. That’s also why accents or appearances can shift hilariously mid-story. But these quirks will disappear over time.
Imagine what will be possible a year from now … it’s unimaginable.
A way to reach new audiences?
As my college principal would ask whenever we considered a new trend,
“is this Gospel positive, Gospel negative, or Gospel neutral?” In other words,
does this further the Kingdom of God, or hold it back … or is it irrelevant?
I remember, as a pastor on a large housing estate, a couple showing me their “Bible” – which was, in fact, a DVD produced by Channel 5 called The Bible. After watching it, I concluded that about 40 per cent of it was made up, but it enabled that couple to access Bible narratives they otherwise struggled to understand. And, importantly, we talked about them. That’s
Gospel positive.
At its best, this new genre could also tell stories and help bring difficult to envisage scenes to life – think, Solomon’s Temple for example. It could extend the Bible’s reach to audiences who will simply never open a book.
And there have been other ways that the Bible was portrayed in ways that once seemed radical: THE CHOSEN with its artistic licence, The Message Bible with its new take on language, The Street Bible, Manga Bible. Even Tyndale’s first translation of scripture into English was blasphemous to some.
But of course, there are concerns.
That’s entertainment
For many, this genre reduces something dear to us to entertainment (and it’s perhaps telling that I could find no equivalent: “If the Prophet Mohammed had an iPhone” video).
It’s also racially stereotyped, packed with Americanised, handsome tanned faces, and US accents (although bizarrely, Moses suddenly becomes “Australian” in one video).
But the biggest concern is lack of accountability. These clips contain mistakes, and nobody can be held responsible since they are churned out mainly by unknown accounts — like @jesusvisions, @GenZBibleStories, @holyvlogsz — and then watched millions of times.
Many people viewing them will simply not know if what is depicted is biblical or not.
Upshot
As a minister, I would rather people come along to the Bible Study with an NIV, but mostly, that’s not going to happen. Meanwhile, AI becomes more powerful, more pervasive, every month.
AI-generated Bible content is bold, culturally relevant, and perfect for TikTok’s viral engine. It can spark curiosity and make our faith more accessible. But to be a force for good, it needs thoughtful curation and integration into human-led discipleship.
Better still, our most trusted church and Bible institutions should step into this space and bring their credibility and solid theology to content that is already shaping the imaginations of millions.
Chris Goswami is Associate Minister at Lymm Baptist Church, and a chaplain at Manchester Airport. He blogs regularly at 7minutes.net, where this reflection appeared. It is republished with permission
Chris is the founder of the AI Christian Partnership, which comprises Christian organisations, theologians, technologists and academics to explore how AI will impact the church, work and ministry. It produces a monthly newsletter
If you enjoyed reading this, try listening to this recent interview on Premier Christian Radio: What the Online Safety Act means for Christian families.
This article was commissioned by Premier Christianity. All Chris’s work for Premier can be found here.
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Baptist Times, 16/09/2025