Missiology in a World That’s Forgetting What It Means to Be Human
By Dayanand Bharati | Ashram, June 20, 2025
In times past, familiarity may have bred contempt. But in today’s world, the danger is not overfamiliarity—it is total indifference. A new kind of isolation grips our generation—especially the youth—not because we lack resources or wisdom from the past, but because we are drowning in an age of noise, distraction, and disconnection.
Recently, I came across a paper by a senior theologian and missiologist, deeply rooted in real-world pastoral experience. What struck me was the pragmatic tone, shaped not merely by theory, but by ongoing engagement with ordinary people. This is precisely the kind of practical theology we need today.
And yet, as we find ourselves living in 2025, I feel compelled to say: the challenges of the present age require more than merely recycling the past. We must rethink and reinterpret—especially in the field of missiology.
A World on Fire—and More Fragile Than Ever
Wars are not confined to distant lands anymore. Armed conflicts in Europe and the Middle East now have global consequences due to our deep interdependence through the global supply chain. According to a recent global peace survey, the world is now witnessing the lowest level of peace since World War II.
Back then, entire continents were not equally affected. Today, every nation feels the tremors—whether from actual warzones or potential flashpoints like China vs Taiwan, Cambodia vs Thailand, or India vs Pakistan. In such a tightly woven global reality, even the threat of war disrupts everyone’s peace.
But war is not the only crisis. The invasion of technology and social media, once hailed as tools of empowerment, now feel more like instruments of control. And with the arrival of Artificial Intelligence, we face a new kind of dehumanization. AI—this digital octopus with endless tentacles—has begun to redefine what it means to think, feel, and even be.
A recent study in the U.S. asked three groups of students to write essays: one using only their minds, one using the Internet, and one with the help of AI. Ironically, the worst performers were the AI users, not because their essays were bad, but because they could not remember what they wrote. When asked to reproduce the content without AI, they couldn’t.(Source: Firstpost Vantage, June 19, 2025, 9:00 IST)
We are not just outsourcing information; we are outsourcing our very selves.
From Privacy to Isolation
In this context, traditional human struggles—interpersonal conflict, moral failure, spiritual stagnation—are now overlaid by tech-driven alienation. In the name of privacy, we now live in digital isolation.
Each person has become a digital island, enclosed in their phone, their screen, their feed. Whether at home, at work, or in public spaces, we have become physically close but emotionally distant. We are losing the “touch of human flesh,” and with it, the joy of fellowship and companionship.
Previously, people may have suffered contempt bred by too much closeness. But now we face a different danger: indifference bred by disconnection. And in some strange way, this mirrors a new kind of Stoic philosophy—one not born of discipline, but of exhaustion.
Missiology as a Living Response
Despite all this, the core message of the Gospel—mukti, or deliverance from all kinds of bondage, both here and in the hereafter—remains unchanging. But the world into which we speak that message has changed dramatically.
Missiology cannot remain static. It must always be reinterpreted in the light of the times. We must stop merely revisiting old materials—even when they are still true—and instead ask: what does this truth mean today?
To do this, we need more than academic writing. We need experts who are listeners first, who can discern the needs of this age and speak prophetically and pastorally into it. Fortunately, many such voices are available—writers, theologians, field practitioners—who can rise to this challenge. We must create platforms for them to speak.
Conclusion: From Repetition to Relevance
We can and must continue to draw from the wisdom of our predecessors. Their insights remain valuable because they are anchored in eternal truths. But missiology is not a museum—it is a living response to a changing world. And that world today is spinning fast, webbed with uncertainty and anxiety.
Let us move from repeating to rethinking, from quoting to questioning, from preserving to proclaiming anew.
So I leave you with this reflection:
How do we share the Good News in a world that’s forgotten what it means to be human?
May we ponder, pray, and respond—not alone, but together.
Postscript:
Note: I have also used AI in preparing this article—not to generate the original thoughts, but only to edit and refine them. In that sense, we can no longer avoid this unavoidable tool. If we wish to remain relevant in today’s world—even while holding firmly to our own traditions—we must learn how to engage with such technologies wisely, without becoming enslaved to them.
With prayers,
Dayanand Bharati
Ashram, June 20, 2025
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