It took Jennifer Vineyard, a member of the Satanic Temple, ten minutes using an AI (Artificial Intelligence) platform called Midjourney to create a fake image suggesting that Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned business, was now selling satanic merchandise, Charisma News reports.

Hobby Lobby is a craft store owned by the Green family. It has 994 stores in 48 states and was founded specifically to express its “Christian beliefs” and to reflect conservative values.

According to Wikipedia, the store which is closed on Sundays, has a statement on its website that reads:

“Honoring the Lord in all we do by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.”

Vineyard, who also works as a pharmacy technician in Austin, Texas, then posted the fake image to Facebook on June 5, 2023, along with the statement “I think we need to talk about what is going on at Hobby Lobby… won’t somebody please think of the children!?”

It was in direct response to Conservatives who have successfully called for a boycott of Target because it is selling Pride items in its stores.

Within a matter of hours, the fake image was shared over 7,000 times.

And some conservatives fell for the deception, and began criticizing Hobby Lobby and even called for a boycott of the Christian-owned business, much to the amusement of Vineyard, Relevant Magazine reports.

However, others quickly recognized the deception and posted comments that the image was fake, but nevertheless, the image continued to be shared on other platforms such as TikTok and Twitter.

With our rapidly changing culture and advent of AI technology, Christians need to heed one of Jesus’ warnings:

¹⁶ “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be as wary as serpents, and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16 NASV)

Jesus told His disciples that because the Lord was sending them into a hostile world full of aggressive wolves, they needed to be as wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

While doves have been a picture of peace and tranquillity, an image that Christians can easily embrace, others have wondered what it meant to be as wise as serpents.

Many suspect this proverb-like statement could be traced back to the garden of Eden, where we are told that Satan was cunning and shrewd (Genesis 3:1) and that he used this ability to twist the words of God and deceive Eve into believing a lie.

As disciples, we have been sent into an openly hostile world and we must be similarly shrewd and realize that wolves will be trying to deceive us.

READ: Deep Fake or Real Image? Hobby Lobby Targeted by Satanic AI Artist AND Satanic Panic Happens at Hobby Lobby Over Fake Photos