CHAPTER 22

Learning to be a missionary

Four world religions came to Indonesia in separate waves: Animism had been there since pre-historic times, then came Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity in that order. Each new religion was influenced and changed to some extent by the preceding religion, creating an almost unique syncretistic belief, no matter which religion is examined.

The first time the Christian Gospel came to the island of Timor in Indonesia was in the year 1613, but the Gereja Masehi Injili di Timor (GMIT, Protestant Church in Timor) was only established in 1947, after Indonesian independence. It seems a very long road to independence, also for the church, but the influence of the Dutch colonisers was so strong, that even in the church they didn't let go of their grip over the indigenous people until they were forced to. Christians had fully participated in the struggle for Independence and because of this avoided becoming irrelevant for the nation building that followed independence.

Christianity was assured a place in the Indonesian Nation by the preamble of the Constitution of 1945, which reads:

"With God's blessing and moved by the high ideal of a free national life, the Indonesian people hereby declare their independence É National independence is embodied in one constitution of the Indonesian state, set up as a republic with sovereignty vested in the people. We believe in an all-embracing God; in righteous and moral humanity; in the unity of Indonesia. We believe in democracy, wisely guided and led by close contact with the people through consultation so that there shall result social justice for the whole Indonesian people."

Although Muslims constitute about 85% of the population, Indonesia did not become an Islamic State. The five principles of the above preamble are called Pancasila, and the first of them, the belief in the one supreme God is often interpreted to mean that atheism is un-Indonesian and therefore against the constitution. It fosters mutual respect and cooperation between people of different faiths and aims at a life of harmony, concord, mutual respect and recognition of the freedom to worship according to one's own religion and faith. The Pancasila was to

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