08/02/2022 Indonesia (International Christian Concern) – On July 26, a video posted on Twitter revealed heretical content from a textbook concerning the Protestant and Catholic faith in Indonesia soon became viral.
The schoolbook, Pancasila and Citizenship Education, was written and published last year by two Muslims who described the triune Christian faith as follows: “God, the Virgin Mary, and Jesus Christ.”
In response to the post, an inter-church group, the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, and an Indonesian priest, Father Stephanus Sigit Pranoto, demanded revisions to the textbook.
Father Andreas Atawolo, lecturer in dogmatic theology at the Jakarta-based Driyarkara School of Philosophy, responded by clarifying what Christians believe. The priest said that both Catholics and Protestants “believe in a Trinity God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”; although Catholics venerate the Virgin Mary, they do not worship her.
Since then, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has asked the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia to help revise the book.
The ministry promised that the revised version would soon be available to students who purchased the textbook’s previous edition.
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