Bringing the Bible to Life: The Modern Methods of Answers in Genesis

Answers in Genesis delivers content to people in ways that are impactful and transformative. That means we must choose the content that can actually change people’s hearts and minds and ensure we are delivering it to them in all the ways they commonly consume information.

The content in question ultimately does not change. It is the Word of God. That said, it is possible for the culture to change in such a way that some truth becomes more or less relevant.

For example, the truth about gender has been made supremely relevant due to cultural changes, whereas 100 years ago, it wouldn’t have appeared relevant at all! And when I think of the title of my book, Who Am I?, it occurs to me that the question might not have made any sense at one time in history.

But ultimately, it is all the same truth, from the same source, applied anew in every generation.

Though the content does not change, the way people consume content certainly does. Normally, this is because of changes in technology.

One immense leap forward in technology, which changed the way people consumed content, was the printing press. Invented in 1440, it made books cheaper and widely available. Literacy improved enormously as a result.

Suddenly, there was a new way to deliver content to masses of people through a method that was impactful and transformative. Indeed, over the many subsequent decades and centuries, this increasingly became the main way to do it. And the first significant work to come off the printing press was the Gutenberg Bible . . . just one step toward the common man having access to the Word of God for himself.

At a recent anniversary dinner, Ken Ham had staff set up a bizarre-looking contraption in front so he could refer to it. “What on earth is that?” I asked. Turns out, it’s something called an overhead projector. He used transparencies to provide visual aids in his early talks, back in the ’70s and ’80s (before I was born!).

The overhead projector was a cool new technology—once. Ken and others used it effectively to deliver content in a way that would actually influence and transform people’s minds.

Editor’s note: Young Ken presenting at a church. A portion of the overhead projector and screen can be seen in the background on the left.

Growing up, I was greatly impacted by a lot of dead men I never met. How? Because of the technology of tape recordings. This meant that the ministries of great men, like Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, left the four walls of their churches, went around the world, and endured for generations.

Today, most younger people will say that they prefer to listen rather than read. In fact, most young people don’t read many books, if any. Even though I went through law school and had to read a lot, I still choose to listen if I possibly can. I defer to audiobooks, sermons, and podcasts before I pick up a book.

New technology changes the way people are most effectively impacted by content.

New technology changes the way people are most effectively impacted by content. Whereas once a book was the way to go, a podcast is now likely to have a far greater reach.

I haven’t even touched on the VHS tape (yes, I do vaguely remember those), the DVD, and video streaming. These days, social media platforms are geared toward short-form video. People’s minds are being transformed by streaming video content today— thousands of hours of it, in bite-size chunks.

At every stage, you can see that the right thing to do has been to ensure that good content is delivered well through these new technologies so that more people— especially new generations—continue to be reached and influenced.

It takes a lot of work and expertise to master each new technology or platform. But it must be done.

Yes, every one of these new technologies can be exploited for the most despicable evil. Think of streaming video alone and how that has brought with it an explosion of easily accessible perversion, right across the world.

And yet, during my ministry in Australia, I met a lot of young people, in particular, who were recently saved despite having no Christian family or Christian background. When I asked them how it happened, 9 times out of 10, their answer involved finding a video on the internet about the Bible, apologetics, the gospel . . . and they went searching for more. These people were rarely saved in churches or by reading books. They were saved where they were consuming content—on the internet, watching streaming video.

We need to keep flooding new technologies with the Word of God: its content, defense, teaching, and application.

So we need to keep flooding new technologies with the Word of God: its content, defense, teaching, and application.

This is why we must grapple with new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR). They are going to change the way a new generation consumes and is impacted by content.

Recently, I watched a video of Argentinian president Javier Milei speaking to the World Economic Forum. He had originally delivered the speech in Spanish. In the video I watched, however, he was speaking perfect English, in his own voice, with his own accent, and his mouth was moving according to the English pronunciation!

This was done by AI. It learned his voiceprint, learned English and Spanish, learned what people look like when they speak English, and applied the necessary changes to the video.

Can you imagine how that technology could be used? Every video ever produced by AiG could be delivered in the languages of the world, in the speaker’s natural voice. Soon, videos with subtitled translations will be considered poor quality.

Meanwhile, there is an education arms race taking place, with tech companies investing hundreds of millions into AI to create education tools. They want to make virtual tutors that can teach students interactively.

The possible applications for AI technology in the realm of content are endless.

Can it be used for evil? Absolutely! All the more reason to flood it with truth! Like the books of the world, the audio and video of the world . . . now the AI of the world must advance the gospel and defend the Word of God to a new generation.

Of course, most of the big AI platforms are like the social media platforms—they tend to be woke, which is a big part of the problem.

This is why Answers in Genesis is creating our own AI platform, which is a huge project.

What will it do? Ultimately, it will underpin several new content delivery systems which can reach a new generation, such as:

1. A virtual tutor that can teach biblical worldview, apologetics, and Scripture to users through conversational interaction, debate, and questioning. It will know vast information about the Bible, AiG material, and other theological issues as well as answer any kind of question using a biblical worldview.
2. A virtual reality children’s museum within the Creation Museum and a virtual reality Ark Encounter within the Ark Encounter. A pair of VR glasses or a tablet will unlock a whole world of interaction, games, and immersive experiences for children.
3. A biblical worldview virtual reality experience of other museums, attractions, and sites across the world. AiG could rewrite secular attractions in VR.
4. An AI platform that can be used by like-minded groups as an alternative to woke offerings from Google, OpenAI, and others. As time goes on and AI becomes more commonplace, this need will grow.

Currently, we are working on a “proof of concept.” This involves the creation of a realistic Noah character (an “avatar”), which will be projected into a space at the Ark Encounter. Visitors will be able to speak to Noah and ask him questions about certain subjects, like the ark and dinosaurs. He will be animated in real time by an AI engine to interact with them in natural conversation.

Once this phase is complete, we can work on progressively expanding the subject matter the AI can handle. We can also work on delivering it through other avatars, an online chat, or any other method.

I am so pleased that Answers in Genesis can be at the cutting edge of this new technology to reach the next generation with old truths through new methods.

Yes, the possible applications of this technology with our content are limitless and will take a significant commitment of time and resources to complete the proof of concept phase and then move forward with the actual development.

AiG has always done its best to responsibly step out in faith to utilize new technologies to impact coming generations with God’s Word and the life-changing gospel.

AiG has always done its best to responsibly step out in faith to utilize new technologies to impact coming generations with God’s Word and the life-changing gospel.

Would you prayerfully consider how you can help us? Your generous gift sent today to support AiG’s core ministry will help fund our proof of concept phase and beyond.

I’m grateful for your prayers and financial support as AiG pursues new ways to reach and impact more people where they are with the gospel.

In Christ,

Martyn Iles