Should We Use AI to Translate Christian Resources?
With the revolution of AI tools, people have started to ask me about the potential for using AI to translate Christian books. For a number of years I have been involved with writing, translating, and publishing Christian resources in Thai. I currently teach church history and mission studies at Chiang Mai Theological Seminary, and previously I taught at Bangkok Bible Seminary while also working part time at Kanok Bannasan (OMF Publishers) Thailand. I have a desire to see good resources get into the hands of Thai Christians to help them spread the Gospel and to grow in their walk with the Lord. Compared to languages like English, Chinese, Spanish, or Korean, there are relatively few Thai-language Christian resources. With the advent of widely accessible AI tools, especially Large Language Models (LLM) like ChatGPT or Grok, the potential for fast tracking translation is really exciting. More books faster sounds really good.
That said, my experience of using AI translation for Christian content has been mixed. I have primarily used ChatGPT for translating back and forth between Thai and English. If you use a different AI model and different input languages, I imagine the results might be different, especially for translation into more widely used language like Chinese or Spanish, for which AI has more data to draw from. That said, here are the advantages and limitations of AI translation as I find them at the beginning of 2026.
Biblical Interpretation and the Thai Church
One of the greatest needs of Thai churches today is the desire and ability to rightly divide the Word of God.
If you were to visit Thai churches across the Protestant and Pentecostal spectrum, you would often hear sermons that are only loosely connected to the Bible. There are many self-help sermons, allegorical sermons, and rousing exhortations to serve God and receive his blessings. Many sermons are topical, meaning that the preacher has chosen a topic that he wants to preach on and then has sought out a Bible passage (or passages) that support what he wants to say. In church small groups, it is common for Christians to read the Bible together and then immediately ask, “What does this mean for me?” instead of first asking, “What does this passage mean?”
Tricking Evil Spirits with Clever Car Stickers
Throughout Thailand, there are stickers on the back of cars declaring the color of the car. But it is always the wrong color. On the back of a black car, there is a sticker declaring "This car is white." On the back of a yellow car, there is a sticker declaring "This car is black." These stickers are usually written in Thai, though in the photo below, we see a rare sticker in English. Why would someone put a sticker like this on their car? Because evil spirits are (supposedly) colorblind.
Thai Language Learning Tips and Tricks with Dave Voetberg
The following is a guest post by Dave Voetburg, one of the best non-native Thai speakers I have heard. Dave and his family are involved with church planting and book translation in northeastern Thailand. You can find him on YouTube at David Voetberg (ข่าวประเสริฐ)
Learning Thai is no simple task.
For those of us who’ve spent a considerable amount of time climbing this Everest, I’m sure you can attest to this reality. While there are certainly a number of noble reasons for learning a new language, doing so “for the sake of elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory”(2 Tim. 2:10) is most commendable.
In the midst of your struggle to acquire Thai in order to be a witness for Christ, remember that the struggle of language is to be counted among the various difficulties endured for the sake of gospel. Jesus died the one big death for us & for our salvation. Now, we die little deaths in the day-to-day for the promotion of his kingdom in the world (1 Cor. 15:31). As we battle to learn Thai, a kind of death is at work in us so life can be at work in others (2 Cor. 4:12). Love calls us to pursue the other. Therefore, we don’t wait for Thai people to learn our language so they can hear the gospel. Rather, we step out & seek to learn their language first. We go to them first. In so doing we reflect the image of the one who didn’t wait for us to come to him (we never would’ve!), but rather came down to seek & save us first.
Although there is ultimately no silver bullet to learning the Thai language, there are various tips & tricks that can certainly aid in the pursuit. The following list of bullet points (in no particular order) is not exhaustive, but I hope it can be of some assistance to you as you work away at the language for the good of Thai people & the glory of God in Christ. I’ve also included a small sampling of feedback from Thai language learners who were asked what they would do differently if they could start learning Thai all over again.
Language Learning and Managing Expectations
If you know anything about cross-cultural missions work, you probably know that langauge learning is really important. How else can you share the Gospel if you can say things that people understand? However, culture learning is sometimes overlooked. In the short video below, I highlight one of challenging aspects of language learning. If you are from a Western country and are working in East Asia, you will probably be able to relate. If you've never lived in Asia or some other part of the world that has a high-context culture, let me reassure you that what you are about to see really happens.
If you like reading more than watching, scroll down for the video transcript. But keep in mind, the video is more fun.
If you don't see a video above, click here to watch on YouTube
The Solar Eclipse that Changed Thailand (1868)
The nineteenth century was an amazing time of transition globally as transportation, communication, and science more generally developed rapidly, including in Thailand. Two of my favorite stories from Thai history revolve around the 1868 solar eclipse that was seen in Southeast Asia. I thought about writing about these two stories in a single post but since more and more people are watching videos these days rather than reading, I thought I would make a short video. It turned out to be just over 3 minutes and I have linked it below for your education and entertainment. However, if you prefer reading or happen to be looking at this blog in a place where it would be awkward to turn up the volume on your device, just scroll down to read the transcript. Enjoy!