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.

Genesis is the central creation story for three major religious traditions in the world

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.

How Do AI Art Generators Create Original Artwork?

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.

Improve your AI text-to-image prompts with enhanced NLP

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.

Jasper Art - AI Image Generator

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

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

Genesis 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Genesis 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Genesis 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

Genesis 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:

Genesis 1:15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Genesis 1:16 And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

Genesis 1: 17 And God set them in the firmament of Heaven to give light upon the earth

Genesis 1:18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven

Genesis 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.

Genesis 1:23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Genesis 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind: and it was so.

Genesis 1:25 And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food:

Genesis 1: 30 and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so.

Genesis 1:31 And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

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.

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You can create unlimited AI images for $20/mo

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

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