>*No one has returned from heaven to tell the truth* >http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20050721.B07&irec=6 > >*Kornelius Purba*, The Jakarta Post > >A university student recently felt it was urgent to wake up his father late >at night in Jakarta to discuss something very fundamental in his life. > >In his father's eyes, the only fundamental thing that his son is concerned >with is whether his monthly allowance is on time. So it was a surprise >wake-up call. > >This time he wanted to get an assurance from his father, who without the >son's consent because he was only an infant, baptized him as a Catholic, >that Jesus is his real Savior. > >"Are you sure that Jesus Christ is really like the way He is described in >the Gospels?" he asked in a very anxious tone. > >While partly awake, his father replied, "I think so." More questions were >raised to his father, including,"Did Jesus marry Mary Magdalene?" > >Seeing the shock in dad's face, the son explained that he had just finished >reading the Indonesian translation of Dan Brown's *The Da Vinci Code* given >to him by a non-Christian friend. The description of Jesus in the book was >totally different from the one he knows and learned about in his childhood. > >Citing the lyrics of a popular Indonesian rap song, his father then joked, >"So what *gitu lho*?" The young man continued demanding an answer from the >man who was responsible for making him a Catholic: "Do we embrace the right >religion?" > >"No one has returned from heaven to testify about the truth of our >religion," the father then cited what his own father told him each time he >asked him about the existence of heaven. > >Like the common scenes in many Indonesian TV soap operas about the journey >of devout young men, the son then said, "No matter what Dan Brown says about >Jesus, it will not change my belief." > >Brown's book sparked anger and condemnation from many Christians, including >from the Vatican. But he is luckier than Salman Rushdie, whose very life was >threatened, forcing him to go into hiding for many years, after he published >his book *Satanic Verses*. Should we kill Brown just because of his book? >There are many books similar to Brown's, so should those authors be >slaughtered too? > >The above conversation can perhaps be linked to last week's violence against >500 members the Jamaah Ahmadiyah Congregation (JAI) perpetrated by thousands >of fundamentalist Muslims in Parung, Bogor, because the JAI members believe >there is another prophet -- the founder of JAI -- who lived after Prophet >Muhammad. I do not intend to discuss that dispute here, however, we need to >ask: Can we tolerate the use of violence to deal with people who have >different faiths or interpretations? > >For non-Muslims in this country, the violence is perhaps more frightening. >If Ahmadiyah followers -- who describe themselves as Muslims -- received >such treatment, how about believers of other religions? > >To be honest, since childhood most Indonesians are taught either at school >or at home, that their religion is superior -- if not the only true religion >-- to all others. Many Christians believe Islam is not a real religion, but >because Christians are in the minority in this country they may not have the >courage to express that publicly. > >Perhaps people from other religions like Hinduism and Buddhism also have the >same sense of superiority. Whether we realize it or not, hatred against >other religions is often sowed from very early ages. We just pretend to >respect others, but actually we think all of them will to go hell for not >embracing our religion. > >Tolerance and appreciation of those with different opinions is sometimes a >luxury. There is a tendency to treat them as our enemy, although we often >pride ourselves on the slogan that Indonesia is a tolerant nation. > >Anyway, perhaps it is tempting to ask: Why don't we -- people from all >religions -- just concentrate on hunting down corrupt people who have >impoverished our country? Corruption is not tolerated by any religion. Let >us make these corrupt thieves the public enemy rather than hunting for those >whose opinions differ from ours? > >We are often outraged if someone, just because of a slip of the tongue or >poor knowledge, says something unacceptable to us -- something perceived as >a humiliation of our religion -- but how about those who systematically >abuse their power to enrich themselves and to continue satisfying their >greed for power? > >Many Acehnese people are disappointed because sharia law -- the caning -- is >only implemented against relatively minor crimes like gambling, theft and >adultery. > >They ask: Why not cut the hands off of those who have stolen the >international donations meant for the tsunami victims? > >But as one official of the Aceh administration said, "If we cut off the >hands of corrupt officials, how many officials will still have hands in this >province?" >
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