Forrest Frank sparked debate in Christian music last week by questioning the spiritual authenticity of AI artist Solomon Ray.
Speaking on Instagram, he said: “At a minimum, AI does not have the Holy Spirit inside of it, so I think that's really weird to be opening up your spirit to something that has no spirit.”
Frank’s video came in response to Ray topping the iTunes Christian charts, with the Faithful Soul album and tracks like Find Your Rest and Goodbye Temptation occupying top spots.
Christian hip-hop artist Derek Minor responded on Instagram, pushing back against Frank’s view.
Minor, whose real name is Derek Laurence Johnson Jr., argued that many successful Christian songs involved collaborators who were not themselves Christians.
“Here's the problem with that perspective. There are a lot of Christian songs that people love today that were written by people who weren't Christians. What if the person who's using the AI is a Christian, they just love God, and they use the tools to their advantage?” he said.
Minor added: “Maybe they're not a talented artist, maybe they're not a talented writer, but they have taste, and they wanted to worship.”
In the caption of his video, he said the AI conversation "is complicated, but it's not 'spiritually complicated'".
He concluded: “It's the same as it's always been. Judge the artist by their fruit. The [Bible] says that gifts and callings come without repentance. There are people with terrible character who have made big Christian songs that people are moved by because God can use who or what he wants to get his point across. Even AI.”
Ray, created by Mississippi-based artist Christopher Jermaine Townsend (Topher), has seen rapid success since launching on 28 October, with multiple albums and over 15,000 YouTube subscribers.
Townsend responded on Instagram, calling Ray an “extension” of his creativity, insisting the music is “inspired by a Christian”, even if it is "not performed by one".