bobjots : redux

Leaders of Churches, organizations, NGOs and political parties were among the approximately 200 Catholics and Protestants who took part in the program at the hall of the Bethel Church Synod of Indonesia in Jakarta.

Father Susetyo also pointed out that Christian politicians in the House of Representatives have no significant bargaining power.

He concluded that "Christians should not think too much of establishing Christian political parties, but instead try to improve the lives of people, especially needy farmers, fishermen and laborers." (emphasis mine)

He also suggested that Christians be open to the dialogue of life, work and faith so as to create peace and harmony in the predominantly Muslim country.

"Getting involved in politics means meeting people in the muddy and stinking market, and freeing people from ignorance and injustice," he said.

Father Susetyo encouraged Christian politicians to express their option for the poor by going down to farmers, fishermen and laborers, and to educate them in political awareness and fight for their right to a better life.

"What is a Christian political party for if it sells Christianity only to win voters and then does nothing for people, leaving them alone when they are in difficulty?" he asked.

Andreas A. Yewangoe, chairperson of the Communion of Protestant Churches in Indonesia, also questioned the need for Christian political parties. He pointed out that love, the characteristic of Christianity, has not been the source of inspiration for Christians pursuing or exercising political power.

"The most basic question is what makes a Christian political party different from others?" Yewangoe asked participants.

Christian party leaders, however, defended the existence of their parties.

One Catholic politician, Gregorius Seto Harianto, chairperson of the Catholic-Protestant Partai Demokrasi Kasih Bangsa (PDKB, love the nation democratic party), asserted that establishing a Christian political party is the realization of the Christian call.

Harianto described a Christian political party as "from all and for all," and argued it is inspired by Christian as well as national values. Even so, he admitted, it is hard for Christian political parties, which are small, to win seats. "It seems Christian political parties can only have representatives in parliament if they unite. This must give us the momentum to unite," he said.

Representatives of Partai Kristen Indonesia 1945 (Parkindo 1945, Indonesian Christian Party) and Partai Damai Sejahtera (PDS, Peace and Prosperity Party) agreed on the idea of uniting Christian political parties but a representative of Partai Katolik Demokrat (PKD, Catholic democratic party) did not.

Radjakarina Bramana of Parkindo 1945 clarified that his party was formed to serve the common good of all and is not exclusively Christian. He asserted that his party embraces both Christian principles and symbols, and said, "We must not be afraid to proclaim ourselves as followers of Jesus?"

Reverend John Kahuluge from Papua, Indonesia's easternmost province, asked Christian leaders to train and send more people to socio-economically backward regions. "In Papua, many schools had to be closed due to lack of students and the people's poverty," he complained. "They are poorer than people in Nigeria and Uganda, even though the leaders in Papua are Christian."

Daniel, Esther & Joseph Network, an Indonesian Protestant center for social analysis, and the Indonesian Christian Intelligentsia Association organized the program in cooperation with the Indonesian Association of Catholic Intellectuals. A workshop on March 19 followed the seminar.

No doubt there are quite a few different point of views on this issue. My own personal opinion would fall along the lines of values - it is really quite pointless to have X number of Christians in the Cabinet / Parliament / State Assemblies if they don't make it a point to live out the values of their faith both in their private lives and in the service of the nation. There is a thin line between private and public morality which some Christians find convenient to cross but when it comes to public advocacy, that's where a lot of us fall short.

The expression of Christlike values are not limited to those that proclaim allegiance to the Cross only. A lot of public servants who do not profess the Christian faith are many times more consistent in their advocacy of Kingdom living and values (ie. advocacy of the marginalised, empowering the people, commitment to justice, peace and mercy, righteous living) than many of our fellow brethren.

This time around, Christians are well represented in the Cabinet as well as in Parliament. Perhaps the larger church's engagement with these representatives would not be to pat ourselves in the back and merely pray for these folks with vague ideas as to what we ought to be praying for. Instead we ought to be consistently challenging them to live out Kingdom values and exercise their office with integrity and faithfulness without fear or favour.