Friends dedicate book to ousted HKBP bishop

JAKARTA (JP): Bishop S.A.E. Nababan, who heads one of the rival camps in the strife-torn Toba Batak Protestant Church (HKBP), had something to cheer about on his 60th birthday yesterday.

A book was dedicated to him by friends who gathered no less than 24 contributors, including Tn Sumarthana, chairman of the Inter-Religion Dialog Forum, and Abdurrahman Wahid, chairman of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Moslem organization.

The book, entitled Mencari Keseimbangan (Looking for Balance), was launched at a ceremony yesterday.

The title encompassed what the contributors felt was Nababan's most salient point in his theological work.

Nababan himself wrote the introduction to the book and the last two chapters.

Nababan said Looking for Balance was inspired by his will to find a paradigm of social justice, which he said has not yet been established in Indonesia.

He further said that ideally "those who have much should not posses too much and those who have less should not lack basic needs."

"But the reality is that those who have much posses too much, and those who have less possess nothing. It is the law of the jungle," he said. "It's time to look for a balance between the rich and the poor, so that the poor will not become poorer," Nababan stated.

He stress that his teachings are far different from communism. (11)