Are you practicing heaven banning?

There is a fascinating fictional term introduced in 2022 called “heaven banning.”

It describes how AI will infiltrate online forums and eliminate internet trolls who seek to spoil social networks. The concept is that these people will be “heaven banned” with angel bots who will always agree with them, compliment their intelligence, and make them feel important. The trolls will think they are real people, so they won’t bother anybody else. (Read more on heaven banning.)

Do Christians unwittingly practice heaven banning?

It would be nice if we could surround ourselves with people who always agree with us, compliment our intelligence, and make us feel important. Frankly, that’s a direction AI is taking us. But our brothers and sisters in Christ are real people.

People that Christians are attempting to reach with the gospel are real too.

In this post-pandemic world with lots of problems, it would be natural to place ourselves in a Christian cocoon with limited contact with those who don’t share the same faith. God’s gracious love wants all people to be saved and he uses us to communicate the message of salvation. By choosing to disengage with the world and remaining silent in our witness, we are making judgements that people are without hope to receive salvation. By choosing not to tell others about what Jesus has done, could this be a form of heaven banning?

Trust that God is working in the hearts of people around us. He has set us apart during this time in history to tell others about the hope we have in Christ alone.

Trust that Jesus is right. The harvest is ready, and the workers are few – even in a world that seems overwhelming disinterested.