Happenings in Indonesia

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By Widi Nogroho, Chief Translator, Indonesian Translation, Jakarta, Indonesia

With a new revenue source for my family, I hope that I can someday resign from my job, find more time to translate, give seminars, and preach the gospel of Jesus in Indonesia. People are so glad to hear the simple message of Jesus: the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. Jesus’ teachings are so complete, so true to life, so remarkable, and so beautiful. They are the greatest teachings of all time. They can and will change one’s life―and someday the world―completely.

Since translating Part IV of The Urantia Book, I endeavor to preach the Jesusonian gospel by using four basic teachings as the keys to salvation:

1. the Fatherhood of God,
2. the brotherhood of man,
3. our personal relationship with God, and
4. the doing of the will of God through the guidance of his indwelling spirit.

Of those who hear these four basic teachings, the more spiritually oriented people are usually willing to participate in discussions about the Thought Adjuster. After that, they usually want to know more information about the contents of The Urantia Book. Some very interesting questions have been asked in these discussions.

Every Monday evening we have a Urantia Book study group, which meets at the Viky Music Center in Jalan Minangkabau, Jakarta. There are about twenty of us, who come from different religious backgrounds. But all of the attendees are becoming, not just readers of The Urantia Book, but students of it.

The gospel is so simple yet so powerful that it touches the hearts of men and women. Never again will I worry about speaking to groups of people from many religious backgrounds. We know that Islamists and Christians have built strong barriers between themselves and other faiths, but the Master’s teachings, as revealed in The Urantia Book, will eventually win over all!

Today, the majority of Indonesians are Muslims, of whom about half are moderates. And these moderates are open to new teachings that show better ways of living. Slowly but surely The Urantia Book, will be accepted.

We translators of the Indonesian translation are struggling with what name to use for Jesus. In Islam, Jesus is a prophet for the tribe of Israel and is called “Isa” (“Eashoa” [pronounced EE-shoh] is “Jesus” in Aramaic), and Muslims believe that Muhammad is Isa’s successor for all nations. If we use the name Isa, Muslims may not accept him as the Creator Son of God. But if we use “Jesus,” they will think that The Urantia Book is a Christian book and will not accept it.

The wider introduction and dissemination of the teachings of The Urantia Book must await the completion of the Indonesian translation.

Widi Nogroho, Johan Niyadi, Intan Nugroho, A.M. Yusuf, Rahman Trimulyana, and Marlene Michelson-Dupont