How AI makes us Sovereign Slaves

“Artificial intelligence may or may not be coming for our jobs, but it’s certainly coming for our anthropology.

AI promises us the status of a monarch, with swarms of agents bowing before us and saying, ‘Your prompt is my command.’ And we’re all too familiar with the allure of chatbots, which affirm our every whim and indulge our every appetite.

AI will write your email, plan your lesson, draft your sermon, design your logo, summarize your book, tickle your pride, indulge your vices, and stroke your ego. We’re all monarchs now. What’s not to like?

But the more closely we look, the stranger the story becomes. The tool that promises to make us sovereigns is also quietly making us slaves. …”

– Chris Watkin writes at The Gospel Coalition.

An important topic deserving of wide consideration. (You can also hear him read the article – at the same link.)

Photo: Chris Watkins delivering the New College Lectures in 2023.

Modern Idolatry

From Phillip Jensen:

“Dear friends,

Idolatry is as ancient and universal as slavery. Paul moves in his discussion of food offered to idols (chapter 8) to his enslaving himself for others’ salvation (chapter 9) to now address idolatry itself (chapter 10). Here we have the clear command, “flee from idolatry”, with the terrifying examples of God’s anger poured out on Israel whenever they engaged in idolatry.

This passage not only gives us clear Bible teachings on the sin of idolatry, but in the process it raises the issue of the Old Testament’s importance for Christians.

Two Ways News is provided free of charge by other people’s generosity. If you are not yet one of those kindly providing Two Ways News for others, can I encourage you to do so? You can find out more here.

Yours,

Phillip.”

– Listen at Two Ways News.

Always well worth hearing and contemplating.

Jocelyn Loane reviews Everything is Never Enough by Bobby Jamieson

From The Australian Church Record –

“Our enormous collection of water bottles lives in a cupboard over our fridge. Every time I open it, I can almost be guaranteed a smack in the face by one falling out. You see, my five children have quite the fixation with acquiring the perfect water bottle. A few years ago, everyone was quite taken by a Contigo with a very satisfying silicone straw. Then a number became obsessed with owning a Frank Green (RRP $59.95). My very kind sister gifted us several one Christmas and I felt certain that, at that price, this should be the water bottle to finally satisfy. But no. A youth group leader introduced one daughter to the Owala FreeSip® (RRP $59.99). This water bottle can be used to both sip and swig. Revolutionary. We now own four. But even this did not scratch the itch. A child’s recent gift wish list included ‘Yeti water bottle’ at number three.

As I picked up Bobby Jamieson’s Everything is Never Enough, you can understand why my children and their water bottles immediately sprang to mind. …

This book deepened my appreciation for the beauty of the clear-sighted, timeless wisdom of Ecclesiastes. By dismantling the places we often, even unconsciously, seek satisfaction and meaning, Jamieson exposes the roots of our discontentment and unhappiness. It’s a commendation of the joyful Christian life that rejoices in the gifts we have constantly flung at us by our God, and that enjoys him infinitely more.

It is written with a non-Christian audience in mind …”

– Jocelyn Loane’s full review.

(We note that the book is currently on special at The Wandering Bookseller.)

King’s Birthday Conference 2026 talks are now available

The Two Ways Ministries Team shares the news that the King’s Birthday Conference 2026 talks are now available:

“We had a wonderful afternoon at the King’s Birthday Conference 2026, with 302 people attending and exploring the important topic of Prophecy Today.

Great news – the talks are now available on our website phillipjensen.com.”

– Watch or listen at these links:

KBC Talk 1 – Prophecy Today
KBC Talk 2 – Today’s Prophecy
KBC 2026 Full Conference.

Good to learn and good to share.

Freedom of Slavery

From Phillip Jensen –

“Dear friends,

Slavery is one of the ancient world’s most common practices. The notion that chattel slavery would be banned around the world was unthinkable until relatively recent times; yet today in our society, it is chattel slavery itself that is unthinkable.

All slavery is a restriction of freedom, and so our title ‘Freedom of Slavery’ is intentionally paradoxical. But then, Paul’s attitude to slavery in 1 Corinthians 9 is something of a paradox. For in this freedom, he chooses to enslave himself for others that they may enjoy the freedom of the gospel. It is in this context that we have one of the great passages on cross-cultural evangelism.

I hope you enjoy this episode of Two Ways News. If you want to contact us with a comment or question, please email us at respond@twm.email.

Yours,

Phillip”

– Listen at Two Ways News.

ACL AGM Address 2026 — Dr Lionel Windsor

The Rev Dr Lionel Windsor, New Testament Lecturer at Moore Theological College and ACL Council Member, gave the occasional address at the Anglican Church League’s 2026 Annual General Meeting.

His topic was: “Built on the foundation, joined together: Does God care about inter-church organisations?”  A talk on Ephesians 2:20–22.

“How do we define who the ACL is from a theological point of view? There are two dangers when we attempt to define ourselves theologically. At one end of the spectrum, we create too grand a vision and start believing church political networks like the ACL are central to God’s purposes in the universe. Yet at the other end, there is the danger that we become purely pragmatic, seeing the ACL as exclusively a human organisation. …”

– Listen to the full 19 minute talk here:

 

Or download the 19MB mp3 file at this link.

My Rights — Freedom, life, and liberty?

From Phillip Jensen –

“Today we are looking at freedom from slavery in the beginning of 1 Corinthians 9, but we decided to call this episode ‘My Rights’, for the way the passage has been translated raises the question of ‘rights’. The passage is really about the authority of the Apostle—an authority he does not use in his concern for other people’s salvation.

It is an extraordinary explanation of the nature of Christ’s work of salvation, preached in the apostolic gospel and lived out by the Apostle Paul.”

– Listen (or read the transcript) at Two Ways News.

(You can also join the Supporters Club – scroll down at this link.)

“Magnifica Humanitas”. The Chart of Roman Catholic Humanism and Its Theological Problems

Leonardo De Chirico takes a look at the first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, of Leo XIV, Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. The encyclical is his response to the rise of Artificial Intelligence.

De Chirico examines the place, in this document, of sin and the Atonement – “In MH the cross is only mentioned once… in a quotation from a 19th century French theologian…”

In summary, he writes,

“The voice of the Pope adds new strength to the choir of those who don’t want to succumb to the technocracy of AI and should be heard by all those who share this concern.

Having said that, the theological vision of MH is embedded in the Roman Catholic account of the nature-grace interdependence. …

The language used is Christian as far as the use of words is concerned, but the meaning is Roman Catholic rather than biblical. This results in doctrinal ambiguity at best…”

– See his reasoning at Vatican Files.

Have we preached the word richly, but failed to let the word dwell richly among us?

From The Pastor’s Heart this week –

“Have we preached the word richly, but failed to let the word dwell richly among us?

Tony Payne provocatively argues that while evangelicalism has successfully recovered expository preaching and every-member ministry, we have not adequately recovered every-member word ministry.

Tony argues that the Reformation remains unfinished, that we haven’t fully thought through the implications of the priesthood of all believers, and that passages like Ephesians 4, Hebrews and especially 1 Corinthians 11-14 may need to be read rather differently than many of us have assumed.

Tony asks, have we trained people to serve on teams, but not trained them to speak God’s word to one another?

It’s a challenge that reaches into some of our most fundamental assumptions about Christian ministry.

We discuss prophecy, the ministry of women, the role of the pastor-teacher, preaching and discipleship, and what it would actually look like for the word of Christ to reverberate through a congregation rather than stopping at the pulpit.”

– Watch or listen here.

Related:

Let the Word Dwell Richly — by Tony Payne – post 03 June 2026.

The love that builds up

An important and practical topic from Phillip Jensen –

“Dear friends,

‘Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up’. What a challenge Paul gives to us in the first verse of his answer to the Corinthians’ question about food offered to idols.

As we continue our discussion of this part of 1 Corinthians, I hope you will share with us the wonder of thinking lovingly about knowledge. For knowledge, especially the knowledge of God and his ways, is very important. But knowledge, like many good things, can be used for evil as well as for good. Without love, our knowledge will be used for our benefit instead of the benefit of others. And so we will fall under the condemnation of being puffed up instead of building others up.

It is just so fascinating how Paul’s discussions of particular problems in 1st century Corinth open up for us such permanently important topics.”

– Hear Phillip and Peter discuss, at Two Ways News.

Book Review: Sing! — reviewed by Liv Chapman Leggett

At The Australian Church Record, Liv Chapman Leggett reviews Keith and Kristyn Getty’s Sing! –

“Netflix’s animated smash hit K-Pop Demon Hunters has been watched over 500 million times worldwide, its songs streamed to the top of the charts, and its stars rocketed into global fame. Amid the flashy animation, insanely catchy tunes, and moments of genuine humour runs a surprisingly clear and powerful message: what you sing shapes you. It’s not surprising that millions of young people have accepted this to be true. As Christians, this offers a timely invitation to reflect more deeply on our own convictions about music, and to consider how deliberately and carefully that formative truth is carried—and protected—within our church’s music ministries.

Sing! How Worship Transforms Your Life, Family, and Church by Keith and Kristyn Getty is the perfect companion for this journey. …”

– Read and be encouraged here.

Find the book here – The Wandering Bookseller and Reformers, among others.

Knowledge — The knowledge that puffs up

From Phillip Jensen –

“Dear friends,

This week, we come to a new section in the writing of Paul to the Corinthians. In chapters 8–11 he is dealing with an issue that the Corinthians have raised with him: namely, food offered to idols.

I confess that when I first preached on this passage, I wondered about its relevance to our congregation. How wrong I was! God’s word is always relevant, and this passage turned out to be one of the most foundational passages for our congregation. For apart from the many overseas students who grew up with food offered to idols, the treatment of this issue by Paul raises the great questions of freedom, knowledge, and love.

This week, we look at knowledge.

Yours,
Phillip.”

– Hear Peter and Phillip Jensen discuss at Two Ways News.

Let the Word Dwell Richly — by Tony Payne

“I doubt I’ll read a better book this year. Tony Payne has taken decades to study, reflect, practice and write this book.  …

Let the Word Dwell Richly is a gift to pastors and churches that I pray is widely read. May the Reformational recovery of the ministry of God’s word in our lives and churches continue, and may this book be used to help it.”

– Mark Dever, Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church.

This forthcoming book from Matthias Media – Let the Word Dwell Richly by Tony Payne, sounds well worth pre-ordering. Expected to be available in July.

Other commendations come from Peter Jensen and Lionel Windsor.

As an aside, Mark Dever does read a few books – see this Banner of Truth interview from 2024.

Contentment in Practice — Avoiding marriolatry

From Phillip Jensen –

“For many years, Christians have been teaching on marriage and family life. But recently, the focus has moved somewhat towards singleness. This is in part because of our society’s movement away from marriage towards singleness, which is itself somewhat due to an attempt to correct an overemphasis on marriage.

This week in Two Ways News, we are discussing the issue of singleness not for either of those reasons, but because of Paul’s dealing with the subject in 1 Corinthians 7:25-40. So, following on from Paul’s discussion of contentment, we address the issues around whether we should marry and the consequences that flow from it.”

– Hear Phillip and Peter Jensen discuss at Two Ways News.

Also see –

Is prophecy dead? Where have all the prophets gone?

Amos said he was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, and yet he was one of God’s prophets in Israel. Do we have prophets and prophecy today? Should we all prophesy or is it the task of some of us?

The issues around prophecy are many and varied; this King’s Birthday Conference will look particularly at a Biblical view of prophecy today.

– Less than a week away. Register at this link.

Sexual Contentment — As called, so remain

From Phillip Jensen –

“As we work through 1 Corinthians 7, we come to a paragraph that seems to have nothing to do with glorifying God with your body in love, sex, or marriage. Suddenly, there is a paragraph about slavery and circumcision. But this is the most important passage in the chapter, for it is simply using these topics to discuss contentment, which is the key to love, sex, and marriage.

I hope you enjoy this discussion. Please remember that Two Ways News is provided free of charge by the generosity of friends. If you would like to become one of our generous friends, at the end of the transcript are details regarding how you could contribute.”

– Listen to Phillip and Peter discuss, at Two Ways News.

Also mentioned and good to check out:

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