As Indonesia develops, its people are becoming more transient. Jakarta is a melting pot of people of various religions and ethnicities from all around the archipelago, and Bali’s growing economy has brought in thousands of migrant workers from Java and Madura, fueling Denpasar’s change from a provincial city to a traffic-clogged capital. Add in the [...]

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The influence of mobile technology on religion has been evident for quite some time. The use of the mobile and the Internet has opened a new face to religious life. If it moves at this pace in a matter of a decade religious life will be redefined. The communication revolution and especially the mobile and [...]

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During one period of my years in living in Jakarta, a favorite activity was my weekly visit to Pak Trisno, an elderly antiques dealer and former journalist with a prodigious knowledge born of a long lifetime of reading in several languages. On one occasion, during Ramadan, I dropped by about an hour before sunset. When [...]

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Easter recently came and went and so, with contrition on my mind, I took myself along to the Easter Sunday service of the Jakarta International Baptist Church. The service itself took place on the top floor of the Dharmawangsa City Walk shopping plaza. Now, I realise that Jesus himself had rather strong opinions about mixing [...]

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