Breaking Captivity from Within—Personal Transformation as the Foundation for Social Change
The False Divide Between Personal and Social Transformation One of the greatest misunderstandings in modern Christianity is the false separation between personal transformation and social engagement. On one side, some reduce faith to personal renewal —a gospel of self-help slogans, positive thinking, and individualistic spirituality. This perspective often fails to engage with the brokenness of the world , leaving injustice unchallenged and allowing oppressive systems to persist. On the other side, some embrace social activism as the heart of the gospel while neglecting the transformation of the heart, mind, and character . The danger here is that external change without internal renewal only replaces one corrupt system with another . Paulo Freire, the Brazilian educator and theologian, warns that when the oppressed lack inner transformation , they unconsciously internalize the oppressor’s mindset , repeating the very cycles of injustice they sought to resist. But Jesus did not come ...