“Bring Back Shame” Meets AI Discipleship: Training Christians to Spot False Teaching and Stand Firm

The modern church has a discipleship problem: too many believers are starving for “meat” while being fed milk, and too many men are tired of shallow, performative Christianity. That is the tension behind a growing category of tools: AI-driven Bible apps built to help Christians study scripture, pray with focus, and defend the faith with clarity.

In this conversation, entrepreneur Nicholas Patrick lays out the case for Selah Bible Tools, an AI-powered discipleship platform he describes as “AI surrendered to Christ” – not a gimmick that puts words in Jesus’ mouth, but a system trained to stay centered on scripture, orthodox doctrine, and the limits of what we can know this side of heaven. He frames it as a response to a real-world crisis of courage: Christians who will say they believe, but will not share, defend, or live like it matters.

He also makes a point that cuts deeper than app features: the most dangerous deception right now is not outside the church. It is inside it.

The Hunger For Meat, Not Milk

A major thread running through this episode is the idea that many Christians have been conditioned into a “feel-good” faith: motivational slogans, itching-ear sermons, and a “vending machine God” who exists to bless your plans on demand. That kind of spirituality produces soft believers – people who melt under pressure, retreat from conflict, or confuse niceness with righteousness.

Patrick argues the surge of viral “hard truth” preaching is not an accident. It signals demand. People want scripture with context, not vibes. They want discipline, not entertainment. They want conviction, not constant affirmation.

And that demand is especially visible among men who are trying to rebuild a backbone – spiritually, morally, and intellectually.

“AI Surrendered To Christ”

The best part of Patrick’s pitch is that he does not pretend AI is neutral. He calls out the obvious problem: models can become sycophantic, tell you what you want to hear, and confidently answer questions humans were never meant to answer.

So his claim is simple: the app is designed to do the opposite. If you ask a mystery-question you cannot know, it should say so. If you ask something that requires humility, it should reinforce humility. If you ask for guidance, it should drive you back to scripture and context instead of inventing revelation.

That distinction matters because plenty of “Bible AI” products are doing something reckless: roleplaying Jesus, Paul, or Peter, and generating spiritual authority on demand. Patrick calls that heretical and dangerous. His framing is that AI cannot change hearts – the gospel does – and AI should only be used as a tool to sort, study, and apply what God has already spoken.

Context Is The Difference Between Wisdom And Weaponizing Scripture

One of the most practical demonstrations is how the app approaches verses people commonly cherry-pick.

Take the classic: “I can do all things through Christ.” Most people quote it like a sports slogan. Patrick argues you cannot understand it unless you know the surrounding context: suffering, endurance, prison, contentment in lack and abundance. Same words, completely different meaning when you read like a disciple instead of a consumer.

His tool-set emphasizes:

• verses matched to a stated situation
• commentary that explains the author, setting, and meaning
• “personal guidance” that translates the lesson into steps

Whether you use his app or not, the underlying principle is evergreen: context keeps scripture from becoming a prop for ego.

“Bring Back Shame” – The Line Between Conviction And Condemnation

The most striking moment comes when the conversation turns to shame.

Patrick draws a clean line that a lot of modern Christians blur:

• Godly shame / godly sorrow functions like loving discipline. It convicts you, corrects you, and pulls you back toward righteousness.
• Condemning shame tells you you are beyond redemption, never good enough, and permanently disqualified.

That distinction matters because our culture has trained people to treat any correction as hatred. Love is redefined as approval. Accountability is treated like violence. And that inversion does real damage: it makes biblical conviction sound like “judgment,” and it makes moral rebellion sound like “freedom.”

One quote that captures the spirit of the show’s mission:
“Godly shame or sorrow over sin serves as a divine tool for conviction… much like a loving father’s discipline.”

That is not cruelty. That is care.

Calling Out False Teaching Without Becoming A Clown Show

The episode does not dodge a controversial target: Jamal Bryant, and the broader phenomenon of politically-charged pulpits that feel more like activist rallies than churches.

Patrick’s critique is blunt: when pastors treat the pulpit like a stage for grievances, viral soundbites, and group identity politics, they stop shepherding and start performing. The conversation highlights two traps at once:

1. The “pastor can’t be wrong” culture that discourages questions and turns followers into dependents
2. The “discernment with ego” backlash, where critics try to expose a false teacher by creating public chaos that pushes seekers away

The point is not that false teaching should be ignored. It is that the method matters. There is a way to confront error that actually protects the flock, and a way to do it that just feeds pride on both sides.

Apologetics Is Not Optional Anymore

Patrick calls apologetics the heart of the platform: a suite meant to help believers answer hard questions about theology, atheism, other religions, and cultural issues.

He defines apologetics in plain terms: a system for defending the faith and answering difficult questions with clarity.

And he hits a reality the modern church cannot dodge: the world is not getting friendlier to Christianity, and believers who cannot explain what they believe will either stay silent or get folded in public.

The goal is not to turn everyone into a debater. It is to produce Christians who can speak without panic.

The Communism Question And The “Voluntary vs Coercive” Divide

This episode also leans into a core theme of Just the Guys: communism as a worldview competing with Christianity.

When the question is put directly – “Is communism in line with Christ’s teachings?” – the answer given is no, drawing a sharp distinction between:

• voluntary generosity flowing from a transformed heart
• coerced redistribution enforced by the state

That voluntary/coercive divide is the crux of the argument. Jesus commands radical generosity. He does not command government salvation.

You can disagree with how far the hosts push the “communism is a religion” framing, but the underlying warning is consistent: any system that tries to replace God as provider, authority, and moral lawmaker will eventually demand worship.

A Better Way Forward Than Politics-Only Christianity

The closing takeaway is not “ignore politics.” It is “stop pretending politics is the root.”

This is a heart issue. A discipleship issue. A truth issue.

That is why the episode lands where it does: if believers want cultural change, they are going to need spiritual depth – not just tribal alignment. And if Christians want to correct what is false in the church, they have to do it with discernment, not theatrics.

The country does not need louder religious celebrities. It needs stronger disciples.

Quick Definitions That Actually Help

Discipleship: Training your life around Christ through scripture, obedience, repentance, and spiritual discipline.
Apologetics: Defending the faith by answering hard questions with sound reasoning and scripture.
Discernment: Testing teachings, motives, and spirits against God’s word – not vibes, popularity, or emotion.

“Discernment Checklist” For Any Pastor Or Platform

• Does the teaching elevate Christ – or elevate group identity, grievance, and self?
• Is scripture used with context – or as isolated one-liners?
• Do they invite questions – or punish them?
• Do they produce repentance – or just outrage?
• Is the fruit humility, courage, love, and holiness – or ego, clout, and division?

FAQ

Is “bringing back shame” un-Christian?
Not if you mean conviction that leads to repentance. It becomes toxic when it turns into condemnation and hopelessness.

Can AI help with Bible study without replacing the Holy Spirit?
It can, if it is treated as a tool for organizing scripture and context – not a source of authority, revelation, or “new truth.”

Should Christians publicly call out false teachers?
Sometimes. But method matters. Wisdom is confrontational when needed, not performative for attention.

Truth With Backbone, Not Theater

If you strip away the app demo, this episode is really a referendum on the state of the church: too many believers are underfed, undisciplined, and unprepared for conflict. Tools like SA Bible Tools are interesting, but the deeper point is timeless: Christians do not need a new gimmick. They need old truth applied with fresh conviction.

And if the church cannot recover discernment, correction, and courage, it will not just lose culture. It will lose its own people.