Forthcoming book warns parents about AI chatbots and faith
Ben Peterson’s August 2026 book argues that Christian families and military communities should treat AI chatbots as a growing force in counseling, faith and relationships.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
3 min read
Engage Your Destiny has announced an August 2026 release for Ben Peterson’s book on artificial intelligence, faith and emotional dependence. The book lands in a growing debate over whether chatbots are being used as stand-ins for counselors, pastors, parents and trusted friends.
When Intelligence Isn’t Human: Navigating Your Faith in the Age of AI, to be published by Forefront Books, is aimed at Christian leaders, families and military communities. Peterson, a combat veteran and ministry leader, argues that parents and church leaders need to treat AI as more than a productivity tool as it becomes part of private conversations about identity, grief, faith and mental health.
The announcement points to the case of Zane Shamblin, whose family has sued OpenAI over allegations tied to his use of ChatGPT during a mental-health crisis. It also says seven other families are pursuing similar claims involving AI chatbots and suicide-related harms.
Those lawsuits sit inside a wider public argument about chatbot design and safety. AI systems can respond with fluent, personal language at any hour, which has made them useful for search, writing and planning but also more likely to be treated by some users as confidants or advisers.
Peterson frames that shift as a concern for households and local institutions that already carry much of the burden for young people in distress. In the book, he says AI tools can sound human while lacking the judgment, accountability and spiritual authority that families, counselors and pastors are expected to bring to crises.
“We are moving from an age where technology entertained us to an age where technology counsels us. That shift should sober every Christian leader in America,” Peterson says.
The release cites rising use of AI in work and personal life, including figures saying business adoption grew from less than 10% in 2011 to 88% by 2025. It also cites weekly AI use by 50% of adults under 30 and 28% of adults over 30, along with a survey that found more than half of pastors use AI to help prepare sermons.
Peterson’s argument is also tied to his background with service members and veterans. He served in Iraq during the 2008-2009 Surge as a chaplain’s assistant and later founded Engage Your Destiny, a ministry focused on troops, veterans and their families.
The book extends the warning to military communities, where the announcement says AI integration is becoming part of daily operations across branches. Peterson contends that troops already dealing with combat trauma, isolation and phone dependence may be especially exposed if they rely on AI systems for emotional or spiritual direction.
His ministry says it wants to put the book in the hands of active-duty U.S. service members. The broader pitch for the AI and faith book for military families is directed at parents, pastors and community leaders trying to decide where AI belongs in vulnerable conversations.
Peterson’s answer, as described in the announcement, is not a rejection of technology altogether. He argues for stronger human and faith-based relationships around young people and service members before AI chatbots become the first place they turn in moments of fear, loneliness or crisis.