Transcription
Well, Americans are flocking back to God. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
A Christian revival across the country. Bible sales increasing over 40% since 2022. Religion app downloads surging nearly 80%. That increase since 2019. And Christian music Spotify streams up 50% from 2019.
Okay. So, is this a good thing or a bad thing? So a lot of Christians, a lot of uh people are converting to Christianity or refining their faith. Um but certainly we are seeing this surge and there is no doubt that that is real and happening. I think we've seen it online with even influencers and other talk show hosts. We saw Russell Brand convert to Christianity. We've seen Candace Owens convert to Catholicism. So we we've certain, you know, Charlie Kirk obviously was a big proponent of of Christian values and Christianity and we're definitely seeing a a surge in this. The question is whether or not this is a good or a bad thing.
So I'm seeing a lot of people praising this and saying this is wonderful. More and more people are flocking to church. And I do think probably overall it is better for people to have a you know if the church that they go to is preaching good morals and values it is I would say definitely a healthier place to spend your time than for example Instagram, Tik Tok or you know where else you could be spending your time. So certainly I think there's a positive here but is there a negative? Is there a sign that all of these people flocking to churches are actually, you know, that this is perhaps actually a negative thing?
Well, historically studies have shown that when people turn to God, it means that society is worsening, that the economy, stress, uncertainty, um that people don't feel like their surroundings are solid and stable, that it is a sign that it really should signal to the government more than anything that they're failing at their job. Now, and again, I'm I'm trying to paint this in, you know, I don't want to make it look like sound like it's a bad thing that people are going back to church, that it's a bad thing people are embracing God or Jesus or whatever. Uh, fundamentally, like I said, I think it's a good thing for people to, you know, if they have good morals and values. But I know a lot of Christians that are pretty awful. I mean, I know a lot of Christians that I mean, I watched it all through this whole Gaza Israel crisis. Many Christians were championing the the massacre of children. I don't think that there's any justification for that whatsoever. I don't know how you call yourself a good person cheering along children being killed. Even if you say, "Well, it's God's plan. It's God's purpose." I don't believe that. I'm sorry. I just don't I don't think that's God's plan at all. I think if Jesus were standing next to you and he saw a child killed, uh, he would not be cheering that on with you. He would not be saying, "This is the plan. This is the way. This is good. Let's kill those babies." I just don't agree with that. I don't believe that at all. So I don't think that every religion is necessarily teaching the right things or is fundamentally helping people become better people. I think in some ways it can it could go the opposite direction.
But for the most part, for the whole, I do think that religion is really good for society. That churches have brought lots of humanitarian aid. There's a lot of love thy neighbor, help thy neighbor. There's a lot of community and a lot of good morals and values. Even though a lot of people, I would say inside of the Christian community pretend to be good Christians, uh they they they put on the show of I'm a good Christian and then we see what happens. You know, they're out there cheating on their wives and beating their children and doing all these, you know, and gambling and they're addicted to porn and they're doing all these terrible things. So, it's, you know, it's a lot of times it could just be the show. And I think a lot of people, especially a lot of influencers, I think they're just putting on the show of being a good Christian. But the bigger question I think for the government when they see this type of surge, they shouldn't be thinking, "Oh, it's great. See, Americans are just wonderful Christian people." I think the government in particular should take it as a sign of things aren't so great and people are feeling like they have no hope and they got to turn to God. So that means you're not doing your job. That means there's something really wrong inside of the government that's making people turn to God.
This is true also not just in Christianity but also interestingly when it comes to Islam and the same Christians that are flocking to Christianity and saying you know praise the Bible and praise Jesus. A lot of these people are saying but condemn Islam. Let's bomb them to oblivion. We have to go after these human animals. we have to do what we can to stop the spread of Islam and so we need to wage war on them without really thinking that waging war on them actually increases the rates of Islam and uh the conversion to Islam more people flock to Islam actually more people flock to Islam than even Christianity more people convert to Islam more people practice Islam and more people embrace Islam when their lives are [ __ ] So they're being bombed. Their economies are not great because they're being bombed. And here are the Christians championing that. Meanwhile, also championing we got to get rid of Islam. And yet the trends are the same. When things are bad, people turn to God because they feel like that's our last hope. When your children are being massacred and buried under rubble, you turn to God because that's the only explanation or the only hope you have of ever seeing your children and loved ones again is you just think they're with God and one day I'll be with God and I'll be able to see them again. That's how people cope.
So there is a surge in Christianity. There is also a surge in Islam in in in that faith as well. And I and I think there's actually probably a if I had to guess, I think there's probably a what's the opposite of a surge um out of Judaism? I think there's probably a lot of people who identify or who practice Judaism who don't anymore. I think there's I think there's maybe a bit of a decline there, but certainly the Christianity surge is real. The uh Christianity the the Islam surge is also real. And they're rooted in the same thing, which is despair. Society has just gotten to a point, and this isn't just governmental rot and governmental inep ineptitude, high prices, people feeling like they don't have any hope. It's also cultural rot that leads towards people turning back toward God. This is why I think we're seeing a lot of young people that Gen X, I mean, sorry, Gen Z, that is that is going back toward God because they're like, you know, the world has just gone so crazy around them in particular. They're being told be trans. Uh, you know, nothing is what it see. I mean, they're they're just inundated with all of these crazy messages that they're just like, you know what? Screw you. You're confusing me. I'm just turning to God. And so, I think we're seeing a surge in turning to God.
But, you know, I guess what I'm what I'm trying to get across is the you might think it's a really great thing. People are embracing God. They're embracing Jesus. This is wonderful. This is great. But, I just want you to remember where that's stemming from. And it's coming from a place of life isn't good. And so that's why I have to turn to God and it but it's a good but overall you know I do think it's a good thing that people have religion. I think religion is great if you are in the right religion. Uh and again they're they're you know promoting good uh social community and good values and whatnot. What religion does for people is it gives them a sense of relief and studies have also shown so studies show that people flock to religion in hard times that that is absolutely 100% certain that uh we see a surge in religion whenever people are going through tough times. What's also true though is that people who are religious tend to have less stress when it comes to things like their pocketbook. So if they're poor, but they have God in their lives, they have more peace and they're more balanced and they're less stressed than those who don't have God and are also experiencing poverty. So there is that blessing and that positivity there. But it's just a big reminder it's coming from. The reason people are embracing it is not because wow, it's so great. People are just finally finding God again. It's because their life isn't so great. So things are really, you know, we got to take a look at that.
Another sign that things are not so great, Sam Alman um issued this statement. Basically, people are going to be able to start having sex with Chat GPT. So, you can go one way or the other. I guess you could embrace Jesus, go to church, or you could just go to Chat GPT and get a girlfriend. That's what Sam Alman is saying. He says, "We made chat GPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realized this made it less useful, enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems. But given the seriousness of the issue, we wanted to get this right. So he says, now that we've been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases. Yeah. So what does that mean? Sam Alman, are we going to be bettering society or are we going to just re reel further into degenerative behavior? says, "In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of chat GPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4. We hope it'll be better. If you want your chat GPT to respond in a very human-like way or use a ton of emoji or act like a friend, chat GPT should do it. But only if you want it, not because we're using, not because we are usage maxing." In December, as we roll out agegating more fully and as part of our treat adult users like adults principle, we will allow even more like erotica for verified adults is what he's saying. So yeah, you can basically have sex with chat GBT is what they're going to be rolling out in December.
This is once again a sign of things aren't going so great. Why would people turn to AI for sex rather than, you know, seeking human connection and human relationships? Well, men would do that because they're they're lonely, right? And they don't want to get a girlfriend. Why can't they get a girlfriend? Cuz it costs money and they don't have any money. So, it's another sign of the economy is not so great. People are seeking something somewhere. They're seeking solace somewhere. Some go to church, others go to porn and strip clubs and AI. And uh I mean now historically and studies have shown that porn usage actually increases in times of prosperity. So even though uh times of despair, we do see this type of you know kind of insane like I'm not going to get a real girlfriend. I'll just get an AI girlfriend. But historically people turn to porn when things are going well. um things a and the reason they think is because testosterone levels are higher when things are going well. Men feel like they're, you know, they they have more verality and they're wanting to um use it like they just feel good and so they want to go feel good. Whereas when a guy's depressed, a lot of times they kind of lose their drive and so they see less porn usage in times of economic despair and in depression. However, that being said, these studies were not done when we had AI. you know, that had to do with just porn itself, not like seeking friendship, seeking what's more of a human connection, an AI form, and how that then, you know, maybe somebody isn't using it all the time for erotica, but they are using it like kind of creating a boyfriend or creating a virtual girlfriend and then at times they're like, "Hey, you want to have sex?" And the AI is like, "Yeah, let's do it." Because of course, the AI is never going to turn you down because you're not actually having sex. So, um, I I think these these this is just a where where are we headed with all of this? I think is a big question. Where are we going with this?
So, we're seeing a big surge in people embracing God and another surge in people embracing AI. And I I think it's stemming from the same place. I don't think that we should say, well, the AI people are just the degenerates of society. And, you know, look, they're the bad. It's the evil versus good. It's all coming from the same place. People wanting to feel better. That's where it's coming from. People want to feel better. They want to feel like they have a friend. They need connection. They turn to church. They turn to God. Or they turn to AI in a chatbot. I mean, that's what people are doing. And that is a I think my takeaway on this is I'm sorry. This is a bad thing. Overall, this is a bad sign. Again, you might find healthy ways to satisfy your need for friendship. I think it's much healthier to go to church than to turn to chat GPT for sex, but nonetheless, it's stemming from the same place. And until we rather than just celebrate, oh yay, Bible sales are up and people are going to church, instead of just celebrating that, I think we have to understand that there is also the same number of people who go to church, we might see that same equal reaction of people who turn to AI in degenerative uh relationships. And so this is a problem that has to be corrected. This isn't just something like, yay, yay, everybody go to church, it's great. No, we have a problem that is causing this and we have to fix that root problem, address that root problem or it's only going to get worse. And so the big question is where's society headed with this?
Now, I of course would much rather you go to church. Don't turn to AI for connection. Go to church. If you feel that way, if you feel down, if you feel like you're lacking connection, I highly recommend church for sure, way more so than AI, 1,000% absolutely. But uh we have to be realistic and a lot of people aren't going to choose that. And really I would just hope that people find connection and uh and and social, you know, happiness and uh purpose and peace. I no matter where they seek it, I hope that they feel that just deep within themselves. But I don't know. I I'm not thinking that this Christian surge is necessarily a sign of good things coming. Maybe that's just me.
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