16 The Faith of Abraham in the Age of Algorithms
Abraham obeyed God without:
- a building
- a program
- a priest except Jesus
- a ritual
- a schedule
- a sermon
- a clergy class
- a worship set
- an attendance ritual
- a doctrinal statement
- a church website
- a Christian subculture
He had one thing only:
A God he knew he could interact with.
And a Life that listens.
That’s it.
That’s the whole secret.
The Ecosystem Jesus designed is built on Abraham’s faith. Those with the “Faith of Abraham” may be sons of Abraham, children of God, Saved. A relational, real-time, risk-taking, obeying, surrendering, walking-with-God-with-no-plan-B faith is where the Good stuff is!
But the System replaced this with:
- predictable routines
- institutional inertia
- plausible deniability
- men behind the curtain like the Wizard of Oz
- doctrinal correctness, at least their best guess
- emotional programming
- brand maintenance
- clergy-controlled environments
- algorithmic imitation of spirituality
It became Christianity without the terrifying adventure of waiting for God and obeying Him, no matter the cost.
But the Kingdom is not a spreadsheet or a songbook.
It is a windstorm:
“The wind blows wherever it wants. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it goes.”
– John 3:8
Faith is inherently dangerous.
Algorithms are safe.
Statistics and demographic and marketing studies are safe.
Systems are safe.
Ritual is safe.
Said someone, “Ritual and predictability are the last refuge of the scoundrel.” Oh. Maybe I said that.
But Zoe requires risk—the kind that forces you to rely on God, not on predictability.
Gen Z actually understands Abraham better than any modern generation:
- They distrust institutions.
- They crave authenticity.
- They instinctively sense when something is scripted.
- Many want the truth even if it’s costly.
- They are willing to walk away from social norms.
Abraham would recognize them instantly.
The Ecosystem is built for precisely this kind of person:
one who will walk when God whispers,
even if every structure around them says,
“Be safe. Stay predictable. Don’t risk. Don’t obey too quickly.”
But faith is not safe.
Faith is surrender.
Faith is fire.
Faith is walking into the unknown with God as your only map.