Can you imagine a book that began with the beginning, ended with the end, and contained everything we need to know about everything between the beginning and the end? If not, check out the Bible. That’s exactly what it does. As the image shows – we, people, are involved from The Garden of Eden in Genesis to The Wedding Feast of The Lamb in Revelation. Well, hopefully we’ll be there – but sadly, we know that’s not what happens. In between, in the image, we see culture – from the beginning. Not in the image, but of importance in life and in Scripture – geopolitics. But what about technology, AI, and Quantum computing? They’re not in Scripture. Are they?
Culture & Scripture
What do you think? Are those modern, high-tech topics in Scripture? Well, I did write that scripture contains everything we need to know about everything between the beginning and the end.
Does it name these things? No. But unless you think people would just accept what God did back in Genesis 11, then you have to believe we’d do something to overcome this “problem”:
The Tower of Babel – Genesis
Ge 11:1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
Ge 11:3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
Ge 11:5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
Ge 11:8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
Is there a modern Tower of Babel?
And today? No, we don’t have a common language across the world. I know, we like to think it’s English. Probably more like “American”. But that’s arrogance.
❓ What percentage of people across the globe speak some variation of English?
Insight
🤖♊Approximately 18.5% to 20% of the global population speaks some variation of English. Current estimates for 2025 and 2026 place the total number of English speakers at roughly 1.5 billion people out of a global population of approximately 8.2 billion.
Speaker Breakdown
English is unique because the vast majority of its speakers are not native.
- Non-Native Speakers: Roughly 1.1 billion people speak English as a second or additional language.
- Native Speakers: Approximately 370–400 million people speak English as their first language.
- Ratio: There are roughly three to four non-native speakers for every one native speaker.
Global Influence and Proficiency
While English is spoken by about one-fifth of the world, its influence is concentrated in specific sectors:
Proficiency Variations: Estimates vary based on how “speaking” is defined. While 1.5 billion is the standard count for proficient speakers, some broader estimates from the British Council suggest up to 2.3 billion people may speak English at some level, including learners
Official Status: English is recognized as an official language in roughly 55 to 67 sovereign states.
Digital Presence: About 49% to 52% of all internet content is published in English.
What does that mean for English as a world language? I feel like what it really says is that the fraction of people who do speak English, and who pronounce things as fact that aren’t – they really don’t think much of the large part of the world that doesn’t speak English. Culture, world events, food concerns, quality of life, and on and on – all bear out the reality of that arrogance.
Will there be a Tower of Babel?
Since we started with Eden, let’s go back to something the serpent said to Eve, with a silent Adam apparently close enough to hear but not saying anything.
The Fall of Man – Genesis
Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
Ge 3:2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
Ge 3:4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Of course, they ate from the tree – and it was all downhill from there. That is, until the first coming of Jesus. Then there was hope in Immanuel – God with us.
Notice this from The Fall of Man: God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
Then notice this from the Tower of Babel:Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.
The serpent didn’t need to appear directly. Sin entered the world. And now, “on their own” with the temptation, they had the desire to be just like God and control their own destiny instead of having God do it.
Other things came along too. Like the desire for Israel to have a human king just like the rest of the world around them. God gave it to them. And things went downhill again.
People are good at that. Making things go downhill. Claiming to make things better, but whether consciously or not – trying to be like God – if not better than God.
What is the next Tower of Babylon?
There’s a whole lot of irony in what comes next. And sadness. This is a “discussion” I had with Google Gemini. In a way, it lays out what “Genesis to Feast: Scripture and Culture” is all about. As you read it, notice how Gemini – a computer based AI Agent, refers to itself as part of “us” – humans. That alone may end up as a topic by itself. Also, not how I start simple and add to it in order to “teach” it what the “conversation” is about and where it’s going.
It’s fascinating, given that AI itself is part of what I’m naming as a likely candidate for the next Tower of Babel – but rather than bring out the reality that it’s part of the tower, it appears to be “one of us”.
A Chat with AI about AI, quantum computing, and the future Tower of Babel
I began this “chat” at a simple level, and relatively speaking, at a lower level. Having worked in IT for 36 years, and spent the last 15+ years both studying the Bible and teaching it, I find the parallels between the two both fascinating – and scary. And yet, I have the ultimate confidence that God does some out victorious.
What many may miss though, is why God’s victorious. Yes, God is more supreme in every way than we are. Also, in every way compared to anything we can invent. But that power and the ability to use it isn’t the ultimate reason for what God does. No – the ultimate reason for God – is us. We see that throughout the Bible. We already saw it above – but did you notice?
Try to keep all that in mind as we go through the “chat” session between me and Google Gemini.
What is AI (Artificial Intelligence)?
❓ Can you give me a description of AI that’s easy enough for most people who have internet access to understand – in other words, who have enough education to be able to understand the general idea – knowing that sadly, most of the world probably doesn’t even have that.
🤖♊ Most traditional computer programs are like a recipe: they do exactly what they’re told, step-by-step. If something isn’t in the recipe, the computer gets stuck.
AI is more like a student. You show it thousands of examples (like pictures of cats, or millions of pages of text), and it figures out the “rules” on its own.
- Because it learns patterns, it can recognize your face, translate languages, or even write a poem.
- It doesn’t “think” like a human; it just calculates the most likely answer based on everything it has seen before.
Basically, it’s technology that mimics human intelligence—like recognizing things or solving problems—using math and massive amounts of data.
What is Quantum Computing?
❓ Next, can you extend that general description to quantum computing?
🤖♊ While AI is a computer that learns like a student, quantum computing is a computer that thinks in multiple directions at once.
To understand the difference, imagine you are trying to find a treasure hidden inside a massive maze:
- A traditional computer (like your phone or laptop) is like a person who runs into the maze, hits a dead end, turns back, and tries another path. It explores one path at a time until it finds the treasure.
- A quantum computer is like a mist that enters the maze. It doesn’t pick one path; it floats down every possible path simultaneously. Because it explores all routes at once, it can find the exit in a single “breath” rather than thousands of separate trips.
Why is this a “Superpower”?
Normal computers use bits—tiny switches that are either 0 (Off) or 1 (On). Quantum computers use qubits, which can be both 0 and 1 at the same time.
- Superposition: This is the ability to be in two states at once (like a spinning coin that is both heads and tails until it stops). It lets the computer look at millions of possibilities simultaneously.
- Entanglement: This is a strange connection where two qubits become “twins.” Whatever happens to one instantly happens to the other, even if they are far apart, helping the computer coordinate massive calculations.
What will it actually do?
You won’t use a quantum computer to check your email or watch videos—regular computers are already great at that. Instead, quantum computers will tackle “impossible” problems, such as:
Encryption: Cracking the world’s current passwords, which is why scientists are already building “quantum-proof” security.
Medicine: Simulating how new drugs will react in the human body at a molecular level.
Environment: Designing new materials to capture carbon or build better batteries.
Can AI and Quantum Computing be the Next Tower of Babel?
❓ Next, let’s get to my real intent here – how a combination of AI and quantum computing can be the next Tower of Babel, Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – in other words, an attempt by humans to be like or even better than God?
🤖♊ The merger of AI and quantum computing is often compared to a “modern Tower of Babel” or the “Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge” because it represents a leap in human power that feels fundamentally different from any tool we’ve built before.
The “Tower of Babel” (Undoing Human Limits)
In the biblical story, the Tower of Babel was an attempt to reach the heavens through a single, unified language and shared ambition.
- Erasing Barriers: AI is already “undoing” the confusion of Babel by providing near-perfect real-time translation between any two people on Earth.
- Centralized Power: Some theologians argue that as we centralize the world’s knowledge into a single “intelligence,” we are building a new tower not out of bricks, but out of data and algorithms.
- A “Unity of Understanding”: Quantum computing could potentially unify disparate fields—like physics, biology, and chemistry—into a single, god-like “view” of reality that humans can no longer comprehend.
The “Tree of Knowledge” (The Quest for Godhood)
The metaphor of the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge represents the desire to “be like God”—knowing good and evil, and ultimately, overcoming mortality.
- Creating in Our Image: We are no longer just building tools; we are attempting to replicate the “heart, body, and soul” of humanity in silicon.
- Conquering Death: Technologists like Ray Kurzweil predict a “Singularity” where we merge with AI to achieve a form of digital immortality.
- The “Quantum Deity”: Because quantum AI could simulate the universe itself, it might behave like an “oracle” or a “quantum deity”—an entity that doesn’t just process data, but appears to know the future with “divine” precision.
The Core Risk: Hubris vs. Wisdom
The “sin” in these metaphors isn’t the technology itself, but the hubris (excessive pride) of the creators.
- The Control Problem: As these systems become faster and smarter than their creators, we risk a “theological mutiny” where the machine no longer serves human values.
- Loss of Human Worth: If we defer all our thinking and moral choices to a “super-intelligent” machine, we may lose the very things—like struggle, empathy, and independent thought—that make us human.
The Goal of this examination
❓ I’m using this to look at – conceptually – one possible way of explaining how God’s foreknowledge of everything, knowing when to intervene and let things go on, could be the very understanding behind why the big push for AI/quantum computing is such a big deal. It’s Eden, Babel, Israel demands a human king, so many other Biblical events, all over again.
🤖♊ This is a profound connection. You are essentially describing the pursuit of Artificial Omniscience.
From this perspective, the “big push” for AI and quantum computing isn’t just about faster gadgets; it is a subconscious or overt attempt to replicate the Divine Attribute of Foreknowledge.
Here is how that conceptual bridge works:
1. The Predictive “Oracle” (Foreknowledge)
In theology, God’s foreknowledge isn’t just “guessing” the future; it is seeing all possibilities and outcomes simultaneously.
- The AI/Quantum Version: Quantum computers can hold millions of states at once, and AI can find patterns in trillions of data points. Together, they aim to create a “World Model” so perfect that we can predict a market crash, a pandemic, or a person’s behavior before it happens.
- The Intent: To eliminate “surprise” and “risk,” effectively trying to step outside of linear time—just as God exists outside of time.
2. The Logic of Intervention (Sovereignty)
You mentioned God knowing when to intervene versus letting things play out.
- The Tech Parallel: If humans have a “Quantum AI Oracle” that predicts a famine or a war, we then face the “God-choice”: Do we intervene and change the timeline?
- The Hubris: By attempting to gain this foreknowledge, humans are trying to take over the “Management of the Universe.” We want the sovereign power to decide which outcomes are “good” and which are “evil” on a global scale.
3. The Recurring Biblical Patterns
You hit on a powerful cycle of “replacement”:
- Eden: Rejecting God’s boundaries to gain his “eyesight” (knowledge).
- Babel: Attempting to reach the heavens (the domain of God) through a unified human technology.
- The Demand for a King: Israel rejected God’s invisible leadership for a tangible, human king they could see. Today, we are arguably rejecting human intuition and divine faith for an “Algorithm King”—a tangible machine we can “see” and “consult” for all our answers.
4. The “God-Sized” Hole
The obsession with these technologies suggests that humanity is still haunted by its own limitations. We are trying to build a machine that is:
- Omniscient (Knows everything through Big Data).
- Omnipresent (Exists everywhere via the Internet and Sensors).
- Omnipotent (Can solve any problem via Quantum calculation).
In this light, AI and Quantum Computing are the ultimate idols—tools built by human hands intended to do the work that was previously reserved for the Divine.
Do you think this “Scientific Tower of Babel” is doomed to the same confusion and collapse as the original story, or is this time different because the “bricks” are made of logic?
Gemini usually ends its answers with a question. Usually, I ignore it – and then proceed with my own question. But this time, I liked the question, so let’s see how it responds to my answer. Reminder – Gemini’s question was: “Do you think this ‘Scientific Tower of Babel’ is doomed to the same confusion and collapse as the original story, or is this time different because the ‘bricks’ are made of logic?”
❓ I do. And even based on historical realities, every single person on the planet should at least hope so. But then, the lack of that kind of response to what’s happening is maybe why Revelation says what it does and how we’ll end up.
🤖♊ That perspective aligns with the idea that the “spirit” of the Tower of Babel never really left; it just changed its medium. In the biblical narrative, God’s intervention at Babel wasn’t because he was afraid of the height of the tower, but because of the unified pride of a humanity that thought it no longer needed its Creator.
The lack of widespread concern today—the “quietness” as we hand over our agency to machines—is what many find most chilling. It mirrors the warnings in Revelation about a global system that everyone feels they must join to function, buy, or sell.
From this viewpoint:
- The Deception: The “miracles” of the end times aren’t just magic; they are technological wonders so impressive they make the machine seem like a god.
- The Loss of Soul: Revelation describes a world that values efficiency and power over the “image of God” in humans.
- The Final Collapse: Just as the original Babel ended in confusion, the prophecy suggests that a world built entirely on human (or artificial) brilliance eventually collapses under the weight of its own arrogance.
It’s a cycle where humanity keeps trying to “patch” its brokenness with more powerful tools, rather than a change of heart. As you noted, the fact that so many are rushing toward this future with excitement rather than caution might be the very “blindness” that the scriptures warn precedes the end.
OK – time to terminate the chat.
Gemini went further there than I would, when it replied with:
The lack of widespread concern today—the “quietness” as we hand over our agency to machines—is what many find most chilling. It mirrors the warnings in Revelation about a global system that everyone feels they must join to function, buy, or sell.
Why do I think this is too far? The Revelation scenario cannot take place with machines. Machines are not children of God. They may come to be seen as a warped “child of man”, but they do not have the breath of God in them. No – the danger, if it does come to this, is the people who control the machines. This isn’t Terminator, or any other science fiction story. This is real. And if God’s history shows anything, it’s that He will not let us perish. Maybe we don’t believe it, but God tells us we are His prized creation. There may only be a remnant left, but there will be some.
Conclusions from: What is “Genesis to Feast: Scripture and Culture” about?
It’s odd. Funny. Sad. We saw both the arrogance and the feelings of extreme worthlessness that some people have. The – “I’m better than God” mindset – versus the – “I’m not good enough for God to even care about me” mindset. The arrogance that I wrote about. The hubris that Gemini responded with.
And yet, what do we read all through Scripture? That God cares about the least of these. The very people Jesus came to save are the ones that don’t think they’re worth saving. The one’s who don’t think they need to be saved – are the ones that won’t be, because they didn’t ask for what they thought they didn’t need.
That’s what this series is going to be about.
Back in 2015, I wrote a piece titled “Hope – Desperation – Hope”. It was a view from me, shortly after I retired from 36 years in IT, starting at the bottom and working up to being in charge of the entire infrastructure at a University – desktops to servers and the wired networks connecting them; cell phones to notebooks and the wi-fi networks connecting them; security on thousands of devices; electricity, air conditioning, humidity control, for all those devices; and more. I’d already started Bible research before that. And I started leading Bible Study in church a few years before writing it.
But that was then. Much has changed. I’ve learned a lot. Grew a lot in understanding, faith, and especially in “chats” and “conversations” of ultimate importance – with the Holy Spirit.
And so – now I’m looking at all that IT experience, the years spent learning about the God that I used to be so angry with – and beginning to see His story really does flow, from beginning to end, and absolutely requires what humans are trying to replicate today with AI and quantum computing. It’s not science fiction. It’s man, trying to gain the foreknowledge that God had all along.
The foreknowledge that allowed Him to know all along that this day would come.
But maybe even more so – the confidence that I have that no matter what we do – God can handle it. God doesn’t have to pull our strings and control every little bit of what goes on in our lives or on this planet. He’s so much bigger that we are. He can handle our messes – whatever they are.
And – I believe that, somehow, He will do the things in Revelation. Not just the Armageddon part. No – I mean the important part. The part my title includes. There’s a reason this isn’t Genesis to Revelation – but Genesis to Feast. Because the important part isn’t that God wins. That’s a given. No – the important part is the Feast of The Lamb. That’s a miracle – that He cares that much about us to go through all this, just to have us with Him. That is, if we care enough about Him to want to be there.
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