Despite the fact that the introduction of Christianity in Indonesia coincides with the arrival of Portugal and Dutch Colonialism in the 16th–19th centuries, Christianity in Indonesia could not be claimed as a colonised religion. This study emphasises the importance of Christianity as an integral part of the history of Indonesian nation-building. It also has significance and relevance for Christianity, and how people of different religions should live together in Indonesia. Using historical theology analysis, we argue that being Christian in Indonesia has theological meaning as God’s work in Jesus Christ. God that has called and sent Christians to Indonesia has bestowed independence on the country, as a nation that accepts and recognises all people in their plural existences. At the end of the research, the authors emphasise that by understanding the independence of Indonesia as God’s gift, Christians are to make Indonesia a theatre for glorifying God. They should do it by dedicating themselves to participate in togetherness with all citizens to build and develop this country in all dimensions of life. Therefore, various actions that discriminate against Christians deny the history of Indonesian independence, which accepts and recognises the equality of all citizens as a gift from God.Contribution: This article contributes to constructing a theology of nationalism as a kind of contextual theology, which is based on the particular context of the history of the proclamation of Indonesian independence. It also enriches the interreligious theology from the Christian perspective on Indonesian history.
Conflict and reconciliation are a reality in the life of congregations. Generally, conflict emerges in the life of the congregation because of non-theological reasons. Principally, congregations involved in a conflict have the responsibility to overcome the conflict. So do the Elpaputih and Samasuru, two congregations in the Protestant Church in the Moluccas involved in a conflict. This research aims to discover the potential reconciliation between these congregations. Through interviews and focus group discussions, the researcher discover that forgiveness is an essential bridge to reconciliation. At the end of the research, the author emphazise that reconciliation is a must because it is a church calling. For this case, the land as the source of the conflict must be a place for reconciliation when perceived as belonging to God and God’s gift. AbstrakKonflik dan rekonsiliasi adalah kenyataan yang sangat sering dijumpai dalam kehidupan berjemaat. Umumnya, konflik yang terjadi dalam kehidupan jemaat didorong oleh faktor-faktor non-gerejawi. Pada hakikatnya, jemaat-jemaat yang berkonflik itu memiliki tanggung jawab untuk menyelesaikannya. Demikian juga dengan jemaat Samasuru dan jemaat Elpaputih; dua jemaat di Gereja Protestan Maluku yang berkonflik. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menemukan potensi-potensi di dalam jemaat-jemaat ini untuk membangun rekosiliasi di antara mereka. Dengan melakukan wawancara dan focus group discussion, penulis menemukan bahwa pengampunan merupakan jembatan menuju rekonsiliasi. Rekonsiliasi perlu dilakukan karena itu merupakan panggilan jemaat, di mana tanah sebagai sumber konflik dapat menjadi tempat rekonsiliasi, ketika tanah itu dilihat sebagai milik dan pemberian Tuhan..
The Church is both personally and communally a religious community that God has placed together with other religions as a manifestation of the presence of God in the midst of the world.The world as a context in which the church and religions are present is a plural world. Christianity and Islam accept pluralism as an absolute part of God's actions that integrate all of His creation on the basis of mutual respect and cooperation.The uniqueness of each religion is the wealth that should be in dialogue as a strength of value that coordinate the religions themselves. The church sent into the world is a church that understands its presence as partners of God in realizing true humanitarian responsibility in building society.Therefore, the ecclesiology offered to be developed by the church is a humanistic ecclesiology, which is based on the unity of all components of society including religions in a unity that respects each other and cooperates in harmony and peace.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.