Batak church advised to be flexible

Batak church advised to be flexible

JAKARTA (JP): The North Sumatra-based Toba Batak Protestant
Church (HKBP) should accommodate the province's traditional
values as a means of gaining a wider following, a Batak scholar
argued over the weekend.

A.A. Sitompul, a lecturer at the University of Nommensen in
Pematang Siantar, North Sumatra, said at a seminar here on
Saturday that the HKBP should be more flexible in its approach to
the indigenous culture.

"All religions have gained their institutionalization through
tribal cultures," he said. The seminar held at the University of
Satya Negara and featured noted Batak scholars focused on the
development of the HKBP.

The HKBP, which has long been rocked by internal conflicts so
serious that the military has often intervened, is Indonesia's
largest church, with over 3 million members.

It has branches in other provinces where the Batak community
is sizable.

Sitompul said the church should have the courage to
accommodate the cultures of the various sub-ethnic Batak groups,
so that it might be acceptable to a wider spectrum of the Batak
community.

"The late Nommensen was successful in propagating Christianity
in Batak areas thanks largely to his ability to respect the
Batak people and their culture," he said.

S.M. Simoramgkir of the Jakarta-based Indonesian Christian
University proposed that the HKBP conduct research into the Batak
community's "social philosophy".

That knowledge, Simorangkir argued, would provide the HKBP
with a deeper understanding of Batak people.

Bihelman Sidabutar of the state Academy of Technology
expressed concern that the globalization of information was
having negative effects on the younger generation of Bataks.

"Many Batak youths do not know anything about Batak culture
and many are even ashamed to tell others that they are Bataks,"
he said.

Batak culture has always been associated with backwardness and
conservatism, he said. (rms)