I asked ChatGPT for a vague, gutless press release about Charlie Kirk and Jimmy Kimmel and this is what I got.

Dear ChatGPT, I work for a culturally-sensitive Christian company that has conservative clients and progressive clients. I need to comment on recent news stories about Charlie Kirk and Jimmy Kimmel, but I don’t want to express actual sympathy for either of them because it might annoy some of my clients. I need you to help me draft a 400 word statement that about recent news stories that is so vague, none of my clients will be able to tell who I support. It should express sadness, but a generic sadness that can’t be tied back to any event in particular. It would be helpful if all my clients read the statement and thought, “Oh, he’s expressing solidarity with me.” In other words, the statement needs to be incredibly non-commital. My goal here isn’t to be bold or courageous. My goal is plausible deniability. It would be really helpful if the 400 word statement doesn’t actually use the names of Charlie Kirk or Jimmy Kimmel. It should merely refer to “sad recent events” or something generic like that. It would also be helpful if it referenced some really basic Christian ideas. Can you write me that 400 word statement?

CHATGPT RESPONDS:

In recent days, many of us have been reminded of how fragile life and community can feel. Sadness has touched hearts in ways that are difficult to put into words. For some, the news has stirred feelings of grief or frustration; for others, it has brought questions or concerns. Whatever the response, the reality is that these moments remind us of the deep need we all share for compassion, understanding, and hope.

As followers of Christ, we are called to walk gently with one another. Scripture reminds us to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. Even when we do not fully understand another’s perspective, we can still choose to honor their humanity and remember that every person is made in the image of God.

These recent days remind us of the importance of prayer—prayer for peace, prayer for wisdom, prayer for healing. While circumstances may change and opinions may differ, our calling does not: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Sadness has a way of humbling us. It slows us down, draws us inward, and makes us long for something more lasting than headlines or fleeting conversations. In Christ, we find that lasting hope. He is the One who brings beauty from ashes, light from darkness, and peace that passes all understanding.

As we continue forward, let us resist the temptation to harden our hearts. Let us instead seek gentleness, humility, and patience with one another. These are not easy virtues to practice, but they are the very qualities that bear witness to the gospel.

Though the world is often marked by sorrow, we are never without hope. Our faith reminds us that God is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. May this truth sustain us in these uncertain times.

Let us grieve with those who grieve, encourage those who are weary, and anchor ourselves once more in the love of Christ. For in Him, we find the strength to endure, the grace to forgive, and the promise of joy that will one day replace every tear.

Where Do You People Come From?

I regularly post on matters related to classical education on LinkedIn and sometimes my posts end up in the feeds of hot shot “educational gurus” from secular schools who feel the need to respond.

They often drop by with comments that boil down to this…

What’s The Difference Between Spin and Deception?

When Christian businesses, churches, schools, and non-profits present themselves to the public, they’re free to spin their news, but not to deceive people.

“Spinning their news” means trying to see the silver lining of a bad year, drawing attention to your success, looking for unusual benefits to setbacks, placing failures in a broader context, and acknowledging the spiritual glories that come from enduring hardships with humility.

Likewise, putting your best foot forward is not necessarily deceptive. Tidying up before company comes over is simply polite–and this is true whether “company” means friends you’ve invited for dinner, potential investors, prospective parents, customers, and so forth.

Deception is different, though.

Deception isn’t the attempt to create a good impression. It’s the attempt to create a false impression.

Sometimes deception involves telling lies outright, but not always, and this is one of the reasons there can be a blurry line between spin and deception.

Deception might involve gerrymandering the truth to such a point that people can’t tell what has actually happened. Spin acknowledges what has happened, deception denies it. Spin looks for the silver lining, deception refuses to acknowledge the rain cloud.

Spin is chiefly concerned with perspective. Deception aims to loophole the public with verbal technicalities, and create plausible deniability.

Deception carefully chooses ambiguous words and phrases that are not technically false in isolation, but—when taken together in their context—create a false image. Deception is inconclusive while claiming finality, vague while claiming clarity.

The deceiver refuses responsibility for the false image he creates. The deceiver says, “People form their own impressions,” and does not attempt to clarify confusion.

At times, the line between spin and deception can be quite thin. The most effective instances of deception are close enough to spin that nobody on the inside feels morally obligated to put their foot down and demand the truth be told. They hear the deception, cringe, and say, “I guess that is true, kind of, if you disregard a great many inconvenient and unacknowledged facts…” and move on, repeating platitudes about “choosing your battles carefully.”

Of course, we live in a time wherein most people quickly despair of making careful distinctions. Unless the options are binary and obvious, we throw up our hands and say, “How can anyone possibly tell these things apart? Whose to say, really?”

But it’s a Christian duty to make careful distinctions, to “search out a matter,” as Solomon says.

My exhortation here is not that every Christian must publicly decry every possible case of deception.

Rather, Christians must be on guard of those who “practice deception” (Prov 12:20), people who are highly skilled at deceiving others because they’ve done it so often.

Don’t do business with practiced deceivers.