Historically, did anyone interpret the bible from God's perspective? (discuss.tchncs.de)

submitted 2 hours ago by NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This thought has been weighing on me for the past few weeks. I am not religious, and my knowledge of the bible is embarrassingly lacking, even for an atheist. So I don't know if any of what I'm gonna say is new, or if it's been done to death a thousand years ago.

So, here goes. In the story of the garden of Eden and Adam and Eve, God created the humans, and told them clear limitations for what they're allowed to do. Namely: don't eat from the tree of knowledge. But of course, it didn't take too long until that one rule was broken.

Fast forward to the 2020s. Humans created AI, and in many cases configured it as an agent with certain instructions and certain limitations, often communicated with just words, e.g. don't make any changes to the live database, don't git push, or what have you. And of course, in so many reported cases, it did eventually do exactly the forbidden action, just like Adam and Eve.

I think the parallels are obvious: we can interpret the biblical story as a parable, where God stands for us, the users, and Adam and Eve stand for the AI agents. The lesson is clear, that even if you are a "superior being", the rules you set WILL be broken if you don't make actual robust safeguards against it.

My question is: has anyone thought of this before about the bible? Not just in the context of AI, but in general taking the stories of the bible and interpreting God as the stand-in for us? I mean, surely someone has, but is there an established school of thought based on it?

Would this kind of thing be considered blasphemy? (I'm sure some religious people would certainly think so)

top 8 comments

sorted by: hot top new old

[-] hirihit640@sh.itjust.works 2 points 53 minutes ago

Sounds like simulation theory with religion mixed in. The idea is that we could be a simulation (created by a higher race of aliens), and that we too might eventually make simulations of a lower race of aliens. There's a fair bit of sci-fi exploring this, like the famous Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy touches on it.

Also related: Shaggy God trope

[-] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 33 minutes ago

With all due respect, I don't see the relation. Everything I've said is valid even if the bible story is taken literally, with no simulations involved.

There is no need to make a simulation in order to create a new "alien" species. Advanced-enough AI put in robots with sensors and actuators, is able to roam our world. If it has the ability to build more robots, then it's effectively a species.

But even the current state of AI that just runs in datacenters, I don't think it's in a simulation. It's interacting with things in OUR world, often in very direct ways. Heck, I'm sure there's plenty of PCs out there today where an AI agent has enough privilege that it can directly control fan speeds. That's an AI with the ability to physically move something in the same realm as you and I. That's no simulation.

[-] masterspace@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 hour ago

I haven't heard of people doing that in quite the context you mean, but there's long been stories and parables about how humans shouldn't play god, and the lesson almost always ends with our creations running amok against us.

It has nothing to do with AI, but there is a Christian movement called "red letter Christians", who use Bibles where Jesus's words are written in red to distinguish them from stuff said by other people, and is generally used to point out how much more loving and caring Jesus was then most right wing Christians today.

[-] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 hour ago

I haven't heard of people doing that in quite the context you mean, but there's long been stories and parables about how humans shouldn't play god, and the lesson almost always ends with our creations running amok against us.

That's true. Frankenstein is the most famous example (I should probably read that at some point). As you point out, it's not exactly the same as what I'm asking. But let's assume that it is... Does that mean that God also shouldn't have played god? Are we god's mistake?

[-] Mighty@lemmy.world 6 points 1 hour ago

No it's not blasphemy. It's a form of orthodoxy. "God made man in his image", Jesus is "son of man", and "the way and the life". It's pretty much there in the text that the bible in parts is just a set of instructions and examples to follow. So, yes. God stands for us. At least as a part of us. (God is portrayed as saying "I am", meaning when you say "I" you say "god".) god is the part of humans that creates. But we are both creators and creatures.

I'm not in a religion or anything. Just autistic with the bible as a hyperfocus, so take that caveat

[-] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 hour ago

I'm not in a religion or anything. Just autistic with the bible as a hyperfocus, so take that caveat

In other words, the perfect person for me to be talking to about this. Nice :)

(God is portrayed as saying "I am", meaning when you say "I" you say "god".)

I've never heard this before. Do you happen to know if this works at all in Hebrew? I am (un)fortunate enough to be Israeli, so Hebrew is my native language* and I always like to compare translated things like this with the Hebrew original. There is no "am" in Hebrew. In what context does He say this?

* Modern Hebrew; I'm not fantastic with biblical Hebrew but I can get by.

(all the other parts of your reply)

Really great answer, thank you!

[-] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 1 points 1 hour ago

My question is: has anyone thought of this before about the bible?

I guess every sinner has thought such thoughts at some time or other.

[-] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 hour ago

It's called "God complex" for a reason ;P

this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2026

9 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

40590 readers

1355 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

6) No US Politics.

Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !uspolitics@lemmy.world

7) No Hit-and-Run questions.

Please don't delete your post for no apparent reason. If you plan on deleting a question later, say so in the post, or if you feel that you have a good reason to remove it, message a mod beforehand. It's not fair to the ones who took their time to answer, and it's not in the spirit of the community.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.