Jeremy Peckham on AI Chatbots

Cambridge Papers are published once a quarter (or thereabouts) and address a wide range of topics, offering ‘Christian reflection on contemporary issues’.

The latest paper is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here):

Jeremy Peckham, ‘Living Virtuously with AI Chatbots’, Cambridge Papers 34, 3 (September 2025).

Here is the summary:

‘AI chatbots have become part of our everyday lives, whether on our smartphones, in the workplace, or even on a church website. They are an impressive simulacrum of human cognition and their seeming endless knowledge, authoritative outputs and friendly behaviour is alluring and sucks us into deeper engagement. This paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of AI chatbot technology, how it may shape us and how we can live virtuously as Christians with these applications and avoid being nudged into unhealthy habits by our vices.’

Mission Frontiers 47, 5 (September–October 2025)

The September–October 2025 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by Frontier Ventures, contains a number of articles devoted to the topic of ‘The Edges of Mission’.

Here’s the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘Over the last 50 years what has changed in God’s mission to glorify himself at the edges? Do we still have pioneer settings? Should we still prioritize them? Are any people groups hidden from maps today? Where are the edges? Come on a journey with us through this issue and decide for yourself.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Christian History Magazine on Fasts and Feasts

The latest special issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to: ‘Fasts and Feasts: A historical guide to the church calendar’.

From the blurb:

‘Think about how you would tell the story of your own life to someone else – and the story of your life with Christ. Are there events you particularly remember? Are there times of happiness and times of sorrow? What has been the rhythm of your days?

‘One of the distinctive aspects of the Christian faith is that it is a story rooted in time – centered around the true story of a Savior who lived at a moment in history that we can pinpoint. Because of this, Christians began very early to celebrate the life, death, and Resurrection of their Savior by marking time. Weekly at first, and then yearly, joyful commemorations and penitential periods developed; over the first few centuries of the church they achieved a rhythm, year in and year out, intended to help believers grow in faith and become closer to their Lord.

‘In Fasts and Feasts, you will find an introduction to this rhythm – to inform you about its history and, perhaps, give you ideas to make it part of your own discipleship or that of your church.’

The whole magazine is available as a 5.9 MB pdf here.