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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Recurso digital |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Zenodo
2025
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14614996 |
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Table of Contents:
- <p><span>Pastoral education is a determinant of pastoral duties and practices which include teaching, mentoring, counselling, witnessing, and preaching. There are many challenges that pastors face in carrying out their duties. Apart from personal challenges, the pastors are also faced with societal, economic, political, and technological challenges. The purpose of pastoral education is to equip pastors to effectively carry out their roles. The technological advancement has gone beyond the imagination of many people, particularly the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has made machines that execute duties of humans intelligently. Machines perform surgical operation, write papers, buy things, drive vehicles, interact with humans, but more than this, they have started being used to carry out pastoral roles like preaching and teaching. If machine can execute pastor’s duties what then is the purpose of pastoral education? Different studies have been done on how AI affects Christianity generally, but not much has been done in regards to defining purpose of pastoral education in the era of AI. Using discipling theory, this paper adopted phenomenology design of qualitative research, to examine the need to clearly define the purpose of pastoral education that will be relevant in the age of AI. It was found that AI and its usage should be appropriately integrated into pastoral education but should not replace the roles of human. The purpose of pastoral education is to prepare people who have passion for Christ to go and make disciples. Teachers in the seminaries need to update themselves and be current. It was concluded that since the purpose of pastoral education remains equipping people to make disciples, AI should be used when necessary but should not replace humans where needed especially in instilling practical approach of discipling to students.</span></p>