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Can AI chatbots write inspirational and wise sermons?

By Joanne M. Pierce College of the Holy Cross THE CONVERSATION When several hundred Lutherans in Bavaria, Germany, attended a service on June 9, 2023, designed by ChatGPT, the program not only selected hymns and prayers, but also composed and delivered a sermon, delivered by an avatar on a big screen. Indeed, programs like ChatGPT, that can produce a sermon in seconds, might seem attractive to busy clergy. But several religious leaders, including rabbis serving Jewish congregations as well as Christian Protestant pastors, have conflicting feelings about utilizing chatbots in ...

Seneca Falls Convention kicked off women’s suffrage fight 175 years ago

By Julie L. Holcomb Baylor University THE CONVERSATION On July 19, 1848, nearly 300 men and women gathered in Seneca Falls, New York, to begin the United States’ first public political meeting regarding women’s rights. The Seneca Falls Convention resulted in the Declaration of Sentiments, a document modeled on the U.S. Declaration of Independence that asserted “all men and women are created equal.” The two-day conference marked the beginning of the movement for women’s suffrage, which would be granted 70 years later by the ratification of the 19th Amendment of the ...

Religion Briefs

Editor’s note: To submit a nonprofit announcement to The Sentinel’s Religion section, contact Tom Laub at (717) 248-6741 or by email at living@lewistownsentinel.com. Items also may be faxed to (717) 248-3481 or sent to The Sentinel, 352 Sixth St., Lewistown, PA 17044. Items must be received by Tuesday for publication in the Saturday edition. Submissions will be published as space allows. The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions. ••• First Bakers UMC to host Bible study LEWISTOWN — First Bakers United Methodist Church will host a Bible study every ...

Being more like Jesus

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 Did he lose his job? When their father stopped going to his office, his two little daughters became confused. So, they asked their mother, “Why isn’t Daddy going to work anymore?” “He left his office job to start a home business,” she told them. “People pay him to do projects from home.” She thought this explanation was good enough, until the day she heard their three-year-old daughter tell a friend, “Daddy doesn’t have to go to work anymore. He just makes money in the basement.” That three-year-old’s honest mistake reminds me that ...

Old ideas that don’t apply to today’s church

They brought him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. Luke 2:22 This week we are going to consider a few things which have been brought along from the Old Testament economy, that do not apply to the church today and are not required in Scripture. Some people still observe baby (child) dedication in the local church. They often draw their support for this from the example of Joseph and Mary bringing Jesus and presenting Him to the Lord. If people would be consistent with the text in Luke 2:22-24, they should also bring “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,” according to ...

Analysis: Religion shapes vaccine views — but how?

By Christopher P. Scheitle West Virginia University The Conversation Many scientists and public health officials were surprised that large swaths of the public were hesitant or outright hostile toward COVID-19 vaccines. “I never saw that coming,” Francis Collins, a former director of the National Institutes of Health, commented in 2022. Even today, three years after the start of the pandemic, about 1 in 5 Americans have not received a single dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. What could be the reason for such widespread vaccine hesitancy? When it comes to skepticism toward ...