The AI Art Bible: the First Chapter of Genesis Illustrated by Artificial Intelligence

Why AI-generated art is a powerful tool for faith

AI-generated art offers a fascinating glimpse into machine learning, but it can also be a powerful tool for illustrating religious texts. This article showcases AI-generated Bible artwork, with a focus on images from the first chapter of Genesis. Each image is accompanied by the text prompt used by the AI, providing a unique look at how these generators create art.

I decided it was about time that someone used AI to illustrate the Bible. The Bible has always adapted to new advancements in media technology, from early illuminated manuscripts and the Gutenberg printing press, to online versions that can be downloaded to smartphones, e-readers, and tablets.

Today, the Bible is more accessible than ever before, thanks to the internet. People will always adapt the Bible as our technological society continues to expand, in order for the text to remain relevant and accessible to as many as possible. Even to the non-religious, the Bible is a formative literary text.

So why not make a world first with AI-generated illustrations of the Bible?

This project is an exploration of both artificial intelligence and religious illustration, and is sure to interest anyone fascinated by either topic.

How I used Jasper Art to illustrate Genesis

There are lots of image generators — like MidJourney, Dall-E 2, and Stable Diffusion— but I‘m fond of Jasper Art. Jasper uses the same framework as Dall-E 2, but has an enhanced NLP (natural language processing) interface.

You can read about how AI art generators work above. Basically, I wanted to use a generator that could take Bible verses exactly as written (or as close as possible) and employ that to generate the image, without any additional input or engineering from me. I wanted to see what AI would make of the words, and what images it would evoke using machine learning. For that reason, the natural language focus of Jasper Art made it the frontrunner.

I started by creating a Jasper Art project with the first chapter of Genesis as my source material. I mostly used the online American Standard Version, as the clarity of syntax worked well as AI prompts. Additionally, I used the King James Version when I wanted more evocative illustrations.

Stumbling blocks I encountered

Because I was working with text-heavy prompts, many images came out with text across them (like motivational posters). However, these quotes were in the AI’s “hidden vocabulary” — a phenomenon where AI creates letters (currently, AI image generators can’t depict typefaces accurately).

I just ignored these. A lot of AI art relies on a human carefully curating the selected artwork :) I generated hundreds of images and chose my favorites.

Ethical considerations of AI illustrating the Bible

I have occasionally edited the images for clarity, but as much as possible I’ve provided the AI artworks unaltered. You can see the prompts I used above each image. I apologize for not capitalizing “GOD”; Text is always printed in lowercase when processed by the AI. No disrespect intended.

With these images, I aimed to honor the Bible as a source of comfort and inspiration for billions worldwide. The Bible is more than just a book to many; it is a living document of stories, teachings, and values. It was important to not be sacrilegious and approach the project in earnest.

I have also disabled the Medium paywall on this article. I think it is important that everyone has free public access to any religious text.

Please remember to share this article with your friends on social media!

Successes I enjoyed

Overall, illustrating the first chapter of the Bible with AI has been an incredible journey for me. I hope these images will inspire you, too.

I have a vision where we can crowd-source this historic project together and have the first Bible completely illustrated by AI.

If you’d like to have a go, you can sign up for Jasper Art with my link below and create as many images as you like for just $20 p/m. I make a modest commission if you use my link, so it’s a great way to support my work.

I believe in the power of art, and that through it we can gain greater insight, illumination, and understanding of this timeless document.

Thank you.

GENESIS 1:1–31

Thank you for reading

If you’d like to see more, or a favorite verse or chapter adapted, reach out!

Remember, you can easily make AI images yourself with Jasper Art. Click here to discover more, and follow my blog for great art advice and AI tips.

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Who is Jim the AI Whisperer?

Jim the AI Whisperer offers advanced training in how to use AI generators to create stunning visuals as well as to write original, compelling content with AI. If you’re interested in learning more, feel free to contact me.

You might enjoy these related articles from Jim the AI Whisperer:

A friend and colleague of mine, Samuele, is also exploring the AI/spiritual space with his series profiling Biblical prophets. Check him out!