Comparative Religions

1267

1267

Islam was first introduced in Indo-Malaysia

• Islam had 250 year head start
• It began with the establishment of a Muslim trading sultanate on the Sumatra side of the Malacca Strait.

1522

1522

Portuguese arrival introduced Christianity.

• Christianity establish a presence in the East Indies

1771

Dutch East Indies Company employed 1,054

missionaries directed to the Non-muslim people

• They employed 254 Dutch men and 800 Dutch women
• They converted 80,000 people who were mostly non-Muslim Animist and Chinese Traditional religionist backgrounds.

1873

Sadrach had already led more than 2,500 Javanese Muslims to faith

1965

Communist were threatening to win the war in Vietnam and roll across South East Asia

• Indonesia had one of the largest Communist parties containing 800,000 members

1965

General Suharto took over the country to get rid of Communism

• killed over 500,000-1,000,000 Indonesians
• 80,000 more were killed in Bali

1967

1967

President Suharto required every Indonesian to identify with Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, or Buddhism.

• Those were the Nation's five authorized religions

1965-1971

Over 2 Million people converted

• 1,870,512 converted to Protestantism
• 938,786 converted to Catholicism
• This may be the largest turning of Muslims to Christianity in History.

Key Individuals

President Suharto

President Sukarno

Sadrach Surapranata

Sadrach Surapranata

• By 1873, had already led more than 2500 Javanese Muslims to faith
• Approach to evangelism and church formation distanced him from the Dutch missionary community
• Chief difference was to retrain yet transform for Christian purposes as many Javanese customs as possible
• By the time he died, historians suspect he converted around 10,000-20,000 People.

President Sukarno

• Was a freedom fighter in the struggle for Indonesian independence
• Collaborated with the Japanese to take control of Indonesian from the Dutch
• Sukarno became President of the new nation of Indonesia.
• He supported Communism

President Suharto

• Was a Major General
• Seized power from President Sukarno and placed the country under martial law.
• The military then conspired with vigilante bands of Muslims to get rid of all Communists.
• Became President and forced every Indonesian to identify with 5 approved religions. One of them being Protestantism.

1267

1267

- Magellan conquered the Philippines and a Cold war started between Muslims

- Catholicism pressed toward the Philippines while Islam spread into the Malay peninsula and Indonesian archipelago

1522

- the Portuguese Catholic missionaries established Christianity presence

- established 18 mission outposts in Indonesia with 25,000 baptized congregants

1522

1873

- Sadrach had led 2500 Javan Muslims to faith

1873

1965

1965

- Another wave of Muslims coming to faith in Christ took place after an aborted Communist coup in Indonesia in 1965

- A purge occurred and muslim youth and vigilante bands executed communists

- After the incident with the Communists, the president required everyone to identify with one of the nation’s five authorized religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism or Buddhism.

- Over the next five years, more than two million Indonesians joined the recognized Protestant and Catholic christian churches.

"The Major Model of Muslim Ministry"

Unintentional Approach

- Less flashy, more pedestrian mode of outreach and conversion

- “Unintentional evangelism” - through day to day interactions with Indonesian Christians (instead of trying to convert them)

- When they are stressed by legalism, violence or Arabization, evangelism from Christians provided an alternative sanctuary

Intentional Approach

Intentional Approach

- Insiders have followed Sadrach’s lead in trying to remove as many cultural barriers to the gospel as possible by presenting it in a manner that is non-offensive to Muslims.

- “Any-3” Mike Shipman’s outreach tool that stands for Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime

Intentional gospel-sharing relationship, 5 step evangelism and weekly follow-up meetings

- There are many other ways Christians share their faith through small networks in work or communities

9.6%

Christian

76.5%

Islam

Citation for pictures

Hendri.f, Isnaeni. “Kristen Abangan Ala Sadrach.” Historia, 2020, historia.id/agama/articles/kristen-abangan-ala-sadrach-vodjP.

“History of the Church's Existence in Indonesia.” Ahmad Ali, ahmadali88.artstation.com/blog/Kr6a/history-of-the-church-s-existence-in-indonesia.

“LibGuides: Islam in Southeast Asia: Country, Area & Regional Profiles/Data.” Country, Area & Regional Profiles/Data - Islam in Southeast Asia - LibGuides at Cornell University, 2020, guides.library.cornell.edu/c.php?g=141521&p=926391.

“Strait of Malacca (East).” Strait of Malacca (East), 2012, www.sea-seek.com/Strait-of-Malacca-East-.

“Suharto.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Mar. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suharto.

“Sukarno.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukarno.