I’ve discovered that a fun way to teach our Sunday School class is to write a skit and put it on Power Point slides (okay, Libre Office Impress slides). If I can work in a little humor and a little suspense between slides, it keeps their attention. Plus, I think it causes them to think and imagine the Bible stories in ways they might not otherwise.
Well, I just installed the DeepSeek AI model on a spare laptop that I had downstairs. While talking about it with coworkers, the idea came up to get it to write my lessons/stories for me. That raises all kinds of red flags about actually using it. I mean, could it actually teach valuable lessons? Still, it was worth an experiment.
The Story
So, here’s exactly what the AI produced. Give it a read to see what you think.
Title: The Nile’s Surprise
Characters
- BERT: Energetic, curious, leader-type.
- MATT: Slightly cynical, skeptical, but brave.
- ALICE: Thoughtful, empathetic, observant.
- RUTH: Younger, easily amazed, asks lots of questions.
Setting
A lush garden near the palace complex in Memphis or Thebes, ancient Egypt. The air is warm and thick with the smell of exotic flowers and incense. They can see the distant, shimmering expanse of the Nile River. Servants in elaborate but simple tunics move silently nearby.
(The scene opens with a shimmer of light and sound, then silence. BERT, MATT, ALICE, and RUTH stand in a sun-drenched garden. They look around, blinking against the bright sun.)
BERT: Wow! Okay, that was way more dizzying than the funhouse mirror at the County Fair. Where… where are we exactly?
MATT: (squinting) Judging by the architecture and the weirdly dressed guys walking around like they’re trying not to trip, I’d say… really, really old Egypt. Like, Pharaoh old. And I have a feeling we’re not exactly on vacation.
ALICE: (pointing towards the river) Look. The Nile. That’s probably why we’re here. And it’s… huge. Makes sense. A baby basket floating on that?
RUTH: (eyes wide) But… but isn’t that… dangerous? What if fish got him? Or worse, the crocodiles? I saw a picture book once.
BERT: Exactly! Which means someone did find him. Right? That must be why the time machine picked this spot. Let’s see what happened, okay?
(They cautiously move towards the edge of the garden wall, near a fountain fed by an aqueduct channeling Nile water.)
(Suddenly, a young woman in a simple but elegant pale blue dress walks past. She has dark skin, bright eyes, and a determined look despite her youth – probably around 12 or 13. She carries a small, ornate walking stick.)
MATT: Whoa. That girl… she looks like she could be a princess. Or maybe just really rich.
ALICE: She doesn’t seem scared. She looks… purposeful.
BERT: Hey! Over here! We need to talk!
(The young woman turns. She sees the four kids, dressed in bright, unfamiliar clothes, looking utterly bewildered and out of place. She frowns slightly.)
PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER (ANNETTE): (Startled, then curious) Foreigners? What… strange attire. And children. Where are you from? This is a private garden.
RUTH: We’re… uh… from the future! Like, way, way in the future! We’re time travelers!
ANETTE: (Eyes widen slightly, but she remains composed) Future? Time travelers? That is… impossible. But your clothes… they shimmer. And you speak of things not of this age. Very well. Who are you?
BERT: We’re Bert, Matt, Alice, and Ruth! We came back to see… you know… the big rescue! We read about it in the Bible! You found Moses in the river!
ANETTE: (Nods slowly, a flicker of recognition in her eyes) Ah yes. Moses. The Hebrew baby. My father ordered a search. He fears the Plagues. The Nile guards are vigilant tonight. It is dangerous for any babe to be found there.
MATT: You’re looking for a baby? In the river? Why? And why is it dangerous?
ANETTE: (Sighs, a flicker of impatience crossing her face) It is forbidden, Matt. The Nile is sacred, yet also wild. A babe there is unnatural, and perhaps… cursed. My father fears what is to come. But… (She looks towards the river, a thoughtful expression replacing the annoyance) I cannot ignore the possibility. Someone must search.
ALICE: So… you’re searching because… you hope? Or because your father told you to?
ANETTE: Both. My father commands, but part of me… a part I try to ignore… feels that perhaps there is truth to the whispers. A babe crying out for help in the greatest river… it stirs something. Come, I know where we can be alone to discuss this search. And perhaps… I can show you the spot where I saw the basket first.
RUTH: A basket! Like the one in the movie? The one with the little basket on top?
ANETTE: (Smiling faintly) The story you tell is simpler than the reality. But perhaps… it is closer to the truth than I thought. Follow me. We must be careful.
(Annette gestures for them to follow her towards a hidden path behind some large flowering shrubs. The kids exchange nervous glances but follow eagerly, stepping carefully around the palace grounds.)
BERT: Okay, this is getting intense. Let’s see what happens next!
(They follow Annette deeper into the shadows, closer to the river, the air thick with anticipation.)
(FADE OUT)
The Issues
We been playing with using AI (Whisk) to generate images for Sunday School for a while. Half the fun is to spot all of the issues with the image: kids with three legs or four fingers, arms that bend the wrong way, etc. I think this is no different. Can we spot all the issues where AI messed up?
First, with any sermon or lesson, I think it’s important to read the Bible. Even if it’s not AI, people make mistakes when interpreting the Bible, and it’s our job to read the Bible for ourselves. So, here we have to go back to Exodus chapter 2.
The first thing I notice is this story seems to make it sound like Pharoah’s daughter went down to river searching for Moses. it’s almost like there was some prophecy that Moses was to be born. That’s not what the Bible says. She went to the river to bathe:
And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. (Exodus 2:5)
I’m confused by the story. She goes from “someone must search” to “let me show you where I found the basket”. AI can’t decide if this is before Moses was found or after.
Next, the name Annette caught my attention. Is that Egyptian? A quick Google search says it is French. It says it is inspired by Hebrew meaning “grace”, “favor”, or “merciful”. I guess that’s appropriate for the princess having mercy on Moses but doesn’t seem Egyptian to me.
Finally, the basket? What is a basket with a little basket on top? What is the little basket for? Once I put it into Whisk, maybe it’s not quite as crazy as I thought? Here’s the prompt
Create a photo of a basket ark placed into the Nile River to hold baby Moses. Pharaoh’s daughter can be seen in the background. Bulrushes are near the bank of the river. The palace is in the distant background. The basket features a smaller basket on top integrated into the design.
The Result
What do you think? First, I think it’s a little too old for my class. I’ve discovered that the kids do better with shorter lines and don’t get stuck reading on smaller words. “Architecture”, “vigilant”, and “attire” are all words they probably wouldn’t read well. Maybe it would work for teens? I think the bigger issue is the point. Does it actually teach anything? I think it’s important to start the skit with a goal or objective that I want to teach. Maybe I could have done better if I prompted it better with that goal?
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