Church row

Church row

With great interest I read the article Conflict-ridden Batak
Church suspends former bishop in The Jakarta Post of March 13,
1994. I am rather surprised, however, at the allegation of HKBP
General Secretary S.M. Siahaan that "the new executive board has
the support of 98 percent of the church's followers."

Maybe it is different in Asia, but in Europe only dictators
boast of percentages like 98 percent. That is why I am
distrustful of Mr. Siahaan's allegation. But what is more
important: Everybody who does not just listen to Mr. Siahaan's
statements, but visits HKBP congregations, talks to the church
members and notices what is going on with his own eyes, is aware
that the reality is quite different from what Mr. Siahaan claims.
A great percentage of HKBP members decline to support the new
church leaders.

Has Mr. Siahaan lost his sense of reality? Or does he fail to
tell the truth on purpose? Both things will not recommend him as
a religious leader. But it seems worse to me that a tremendous
number of HKBP members assume Mr. Siahaan's tell lies. "You
cannot believe him," they say.

Furthermore, Mr. Siahaan accuses Dr. S.A.E. Nababan of
securing financial assistance from Germany. That sounds rather
absurd as it is known that the new church leaders themselves
requested financial support from abroad. Their problem is that
they are denied any support.

For all I know there is not a single Christian church all over
the world that acknowledges the new HKBP leaders because of the
manner in which they came into power and their violent actions
that are not considered to be the Christian way of acting. The
new church leaders have led their church into isolation hitherto
unknown within worldwide Christianity.

"There is only one leadership of the HKBP," Mr. Siahaan says.
I do hope he is right, but the fact is that a great part of his
own church members do not want him to be one of their leaders.
"He does not lead HKBP, but destroys it," they say. I cannot
believe that this is what the Indonesian people want to happen.

It is not the enemies, but the friends of Indonesia that
follow the situation of HKBP with deep concern. Everyone who
loves the country, admires its stability, respects Pancasila as a
basis of a human society and regards the Indonesian constitution
as a very good one, asks himself: Why are the church leaders
allowed to act the way they do? Christians all over the world
that love the Batak people want HKBP to once again become a
respected member of the Christian community.

REV. RAINER OLLESCH

Krefeld-Huls

Germany