A Critical Response to Aritonang and Steenbrink's book, A History of Christianity in Indonesia

ICRS Yogya
Class of History of Religion in Indonesia Part II
Dr. Bernard Adeney-Risakotta
Dr. Sri Margono

Assignment week 6
Abraham S. Wilar

A History of Christianity in Indonesia
A Critical Response to Aritonang and Steenbrink’s book

A History of Christianity in Indonesia whose editors are Jan S. Aritonang, and Karel Steenbrink is a book consists of compiled articles. This book can be considered ambitious in its background (p.viii) for its efforts to cover and make an overview on the long history of Christianity in Indonesia. However, for some reasons, I feel this book is indeed needed in particular for the foreign scholars, because the articles were written in English and it becomes a compendious source as well as a representative one on the history of Christianity in Indonesia. And as known the usage of English in a scholarly-written book has definitively played decisive role in disseminating its content and also influencing and framing the readers.

The present paper is not based on the reading of the whole pages of this book, but rather based on a partial reading of the book. At least, the first 5 chapters, and one or two more chapters in addition, have been read and prepared for composing this paper, In commenting the book, the paper would like to concentrate on two points: 1). the association of Christianity with Imperialism and Western Colonialism, and 2). the acceptance of Christianity amongst the people of Indonesia.

The book has not given attention to discuss the association of Christianity with Imperialism and Western Colonialism in a separate chapter. But, what troubles me with the history described in the book is the book has contained and created an impression that Christianity was brought by Colonialism and therefore both are looked identical. This is a definitively delicate issue, but the present paper thinks such understanding must be revisited. The acronym of 3 G: Gold, Glory and Gospel, has been attached to both Christianity and Colonialism is seemed likely confirmed by the book.

Azra’s article conclusion states that since the mid-seventeenth century, the major conflict were no longer between crusading Catholics and Islam, but between the religiously neutral VOC and its allies on the one side, and those who sought a freer system of trade on the other hand (p.20). While addressing his conclusion, Azra tries to respond to the race theory of Islam and Christianity, and thinks such theory is no longer held by both communities. Based on his idea, the present paper believes that the association of Christianity with Imperialism and Western Colonialism is actually no longer true, for the coming of European colonialism to Indonesia was part of the European culture war, adventurer mentality of European, and the advent of technology revolution took place there on one side, and the coming of Christianity to Indonesia (1800-1900, p.) was in fact a religious respond to the religiously dark story of European Christians on the other side (note: the advent of Pietism in Europe had become the first stimulus for Christians, as well as a religious counter to that dark story, to be aware and awake of their religious calling rather than to be caught living in the religiously dark ages for Christian faith in Europe. After the Pietism movement the European missionary movement had rapidly emerged, especially the Protestant missionary (1800-1900) (p.141). Also, the actors involved in Colonialism project and Christian missionary differ to one another. The former was secular men but socially and culturally Christian by name, and the later was the churchmen, the devout one. Therefore, if the coming of both European colonialism and Christianity at the same time to Indonesia, as seen in the history of Portuguese and Spaniards coming to Indonesia (p.23-52), is seen as one package, the paper suggests it supposed to be seen as a coincidence event rather than an intentionally-set up agenda by the European churchmen and the European adventurer.

The history of Christianity described in the book is mostly told and explored through the historical memory of the European lenses. Only the last two chapters whose focuses are more on local and contextual issue like wayang and so on (p.925-974). The section on theological thinking is still under influence of Western theologies, although the project of theologia in loco or contextual theology has been discussed in the book. However, globally speaking, Christianity as experienced by and through the lenses of indigenous Christians is absent in the book. So, in the book, as we can see, the European was the main and the most active actor determining how the history built, and the indigenous Christian had been mostly become the passive receiver or follower, and voiceless. Such picture could have explained why Indonesian Christians seem to have embraced ‘slave-mentality’, borrowing the Nietszche’ word, and put the European Christian as the master or the central of Christianity to whom they must give their respect and honor, and follow the European Christian without any condition. This is about the acceptance of Christianity amongst the indigenous Christian. Christianity was and is accepted by the indigenous Christian mostly in the frame of master and slave, or active giver and passive receiver.