The Protestant churches and the missionary fields during the Japanese occupation in Indonesia 1942-1945 in the Japanese navy controlled areas :

Abstract

This dissertation has grown from an effort to investigate and write the history of the Protestant churches and Missionary Fields operating the Japanese occupation 1942-1945 in regions under Japanese Navy control. At that time the Dutch-occupied part of Kalinantan,Sulawesi, Moluccan islands , Nusa Tenggara islands and Irian Jaya were mainly under Japanese Navy authority. In those areas there were three of the four churches, each with synod of its own (GDE, GPM GMIM); others were still predicated as missionary fields: Sangir Talaud, Poso, Toraja Rantepao, Toraja Mamasa, South East Celebes, Halmahera, Irian Jaya, Bali, Timor dan Sumba. There were also congregations belonging to the Protestant Church of the Netherlands Indies in Kalimantan and South Sulawesi. The Introductory part contained in Chapters I, II and III; the principal topic is found in Chapters IV and V. Chapter VI covers the concluding commentary. After the Japanese military had imprisoned church staffs of European origin, the church as an institution was put under suspicion. Christians were suspected to collaborate with the enemy. It appeared that Christians in areas where the majority of people were members of the church, experienced condition that differ from those under which small congregations live in communities where the greater part of citizen adhere to other religions. Moreover, the European work-force had no regulation for a legal transfer of mission-property to the local church board which caused confiscation by the Japanese rulers of possessions which were believed to be enemy-property. Japanese leadership issued a decree that regulated religion-teaching was to be banned from school- curricula controlled by the church. These measures came as a shock to the churches, the more so because in most areas the school teacher was also the teacher of the congregation. When communications between the Dutch East Indies Protestant Church Commission and temporary board of Missionaries were cut off, leaders of church and missionary societies attempted to establish relationships with the Japanese civilian military government through the education and culture sector or the section of teaching and worship. In various regions a preacher or a Christian teacher was employed at the Minseibu to secure protection to Christians and their congregations. These employees were mistrusted by the Japanese, and after the war these same people were suspected by the Dutch to have collaborated with the Japanese. Christians and churches took to firm stand against the challenges of Japanese military ideology and nationalism promoted at the time. They tended to compromise for fear of Japanese threats to behead those who tried, to choose the neutral side or even to oppose Japanese authorities. It was also possible that the basic theological understanding of the relationship between church matters and state administration, had never been studied or attended to seriously, while the church itself had not yet been able to formulate exact guidelines for its clergies and members to determine their attitude in facing and coping with Japanese rules of nationalism and militarism. Not more than two Protestant pastors, one in Rote and the other in the Minahasa, included the Apostles Creed in their Sunday Worship Liturgy. Communications with the Prot. Church of the DEI Commission and Emergency Committee of the Missionary Society were cut off that brought financial problems. This meant that the Classic Board and its subsequent sections, arranged financial aid for congregation leaders, in line with regulations set by the executive committee of the synod, preachers and classic chairmen. During the period of Japanese occupation, only three Japanese preachers were serving in Java while sixteen others were positioned in the Japanese Navy Territory. Except for Reverend Miyahira, his colleagues did not master the Indonesian language. Their working area was completely alien to them while their terms were short: one to one-and-a-half year. Some of these pastors viewed Japanese policy critically, but as responsible members of the Navy they showed their loyalty by weaving Japanese principles into their sermons and speeches. Acting as contact persons between congregational leaders and Japanese military authorities, these pastors could and did protect Christians against offences coming from the Japanese side as well as from non-Christians. At that time there existed four forced united church organization which were established in Makasar (28 December 1942), in Ambon (October 10, 1943), in Manado (January 28, 1944) and in Banjarmasin (January 1944). Through courses held by these forced unification, those Japanese pastors indoctrinated the Christian leaders with principals of Japanese nationalism and militarism; so that the church stewards could play an instrumental role for the victory of Greater East Asia. On March 26, 1967, Kyodan leaders issued a 'CONFESSION OF RESPONSIBILITY DURING WORLD WAR II' and then translated into English, issued January 20, 1982. Therein they confessed their sin and asked the Lord for forgiveness, also they seek forgiveness particularly of the member’s churches in Asia.