When ‘Edutainment’ Replaces Education: AI Bible Videos Distort Scripture for Clicks

The AI Bible, a project by Pray.com with over 2.3 million combined social media followers, claims it’s using artificial intelligence to “glorify God” through “cool, cinematic-looking” Bible stories. What they’re actually doing is turning Scripture into clickbait entertainment that strips away theological depth and biblical context—all while calling it “edutainment.” In a recent interview with Christianity Today, Max Bard, Pray.com’s VP of content, revealed just how shallow this approach really is (and how they don’t seem to care). When asked about their 10-minute Job video that reduces 40 chapters of profound theological wrestling to a single verse about hope, Bard essentially admitted they chop up complex biblical narratives based on what gets views, not what’s faithful to Scripture. “We’re using the 10-minute format to see which of the stories people most want to hear about,” Bard explained. Translation: We’re A/B testing the Bible. The approach is data-driven rather than discipleship-focused, optimizing for engagement metrics instead of spiritual formation. But here’s where it gets more troubling: Bard admits they’re targeting people who “don’t even know the Bible” with their fantasy-game aesthetic and sexualized characters (yes, including a scantily-clad Jezebel that even he acknowledges might be “too much for middle schoolers”). They’re not teaching scripture—they’re creating a substitute that looks enough like biblical literacy to fool parents and youth pastors. The theological review process Bard describes sounds reassuring until you realize what’s actually happening. Sure, they have “pastors and theologians” look over scripts, but those same scripts get butchered in the editing room based on what performs well on social media. A theologian’s approval of a full, nuanced script means nothing when the final product strips out everything that doesn’t drive clicks. Look at their Job video more closely: The most important parts of Job—God’s rebuke, Job’s repentance, the theological wrestling with suffering—get reduced to inspirational fluff about perseverance. They’re not teaching the Bible; they’re teaching people to think they know the Bible while actually knowing nothing about its complexity, context, or difficult truths. This matters because biblical illiteracy is already a crisis in American churches. When Barna Research finds that a third of American Christians don’t believe they’re sinners, we don’t need more content that makes Scripture easier to digest. We need content that challenges people to grapple with difficult texts, not AI-generated eye candy that makes Goliath look like a Final Fantasy boss. The damage here is subtle but real: Young people and new believers get a video-game version of Christianity that’s exciting but theologically empty. They think they’re learning the Bible, but they’re actually being trained to expect Scripture to entertain them rather than transform them. When they encounter the real Bible—with its difficult passages about suffering, sin, and sacrifice—they’ll be unprepared for the spiritual maturity it requires. Pray.com isn’t “glorifying God” through this project. They’re commodifying Scripture, turning the Word of God into content designed to drive app downloads and subscription revenue. That’s not ministry—it’s marketing dressed up in religious language. Source: Christianity Today