Al-Jāmi‘ah: Journal of Islamic Studies - ISSN: 0126-012X (p); 2356-0912 (e)

Vol. 53, no. 2 (2015), pp. 367-386, doi: 10.14421/ajis.2015.532.367-386

A POSTCOLONIAL BIOGRAPHY OF SADRACH

The Tragic Story of an Indigenous Missionary

Emanuel Gerrit Singgih

The Theological Faculty, Duta Wacana Christian University;
Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
email: [email protected]

Abstract
Nowadays, many Indonesian Christians are fully aware that evangelic mission
in Indonesian context is to be involved in the dialogue of life with one’s neighbor
and share their struggles. Sadrach, an indigenous missionary who lived in
19th century, can be seen as a pioneer in this mission method. However, this
method was not accepted by the foreign missionaries at that time. They accused
Sadrach’s method as a form of syncretism. This work is an attempt to analyze
Sadrach’s biography in the framework of postcolonial theory which argues that
Indonesian Christians have to learn about their colonial past and strive to
maintain equal relationships with non-Indonesian Christians. It is hoped that
his achievements can be appreciated by the present generation, and they will not
repeat the mistakes of the past. It is also good to be aware that resistance to
Sadrach’s mission nowadays will come from some contemporary international
mission-bodies which continue the old way of propagating Christian faith
without regard to the context of Indonesia.
[Banyak orang Kristen sekarang ini sadar bahwa misi dalam konteks
Indonesia adalah melibatkan diri dalam dialog kehidupan dengan sesama
dan ambil bagian dalam pergumulannya. Sadrach, seorang penginjil lokal
yang hidup pada abad ke-19 dapat dianggap sebagai salah satu pelopor
metode misionaris seperti ini. Akan tetapi penyebaran misi ala Sadrach ini
tidak diterima oleh para misionaris asing. Upaya seperti ini dianggap sebagai
sinkretisme. Tulisan ini merupakan studi biografi Sadrach dalam kerangka
teori poskolonial yang bertujuan untuk menunjukkan peranan Sadrach
dalam penyebaran misi Injil di Indonesia. Diharapkan generasi sekarang
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
akan belajar dari dan tidak mengulangi kesalahan-kesalahan masa lampau.
Studi ini juga untuk menyadarkan bahwa perlawanan terhadap model misi
Sadrach pada masa kini akan muncul dari badan-badan misi internasional
yang tetap menjadi model-model misi Kristen yang tidak memedulikan konteks
Indonesia sama sekali. ]

Keywords: Sadrach, indigenous missionaries, foreign (Dutch) missionaries, colonial

policy, independent christians.

A. Introduction
On the night of 1 October 1967, several church buildings,
Christian/Catholic schools and pastors’/priests’ residences in the city
of Ujung Pandang (now Makassar) were ransacked by Muslims. They
were incensed by reports that a teacher of Christian religion at a state
senior high school (SMA I at Bawakaraeng Street) had given derogatory
remarks on the conduct of the prophet Muhammad saw. This particular
incident could be seen as the climax of tensions between Muslim and
Christian communities in Indonesia after the change of the political
situation in October 1965, following the unsuccessful coup d’etat of
September 30, 1965.1 To ease the tensions, the government took the
initiative to hold a national Musyawarah Antar Umat Beragama (a national
inter-religious consultation) in Jakarta on 30 November 1967. On this
occasion, President Soeharto and the minister of religious affairs, M.
Dahlan, pleaded for the recovery of good relationships and reminded
the representatives that religious propagation should not raise conflict
among adherents. For this reason the adherents of one religion should
not be made the target of the propagation of other religions. The
Christian delegation could not accept this plea, as that could mean the
end of mission and evangelism as well as the Islamic dakwah. As a result
the consultation failed and it contributed to the worsening relationships
of the two religions.2
Does the situation remain the same, almost fifty years after the
consultation? If one reads Jan Aritonang’s magisterial Sejarah Perjumpaan
Kristen dan Islam di Indonesia, then the impression is that in every period
of the encounters (six periods from the arrival of the Portuguese
1
Jan Sihar Aritonang, Sejarah Perjumpaan Kristen dan Islam di Indonesia (Jakarta:
BPK Gunung Mulia, 2010), p. 383.
2
Jan Sihar Aritonang and Karel A. Steenbrink, A History of Christianity in Indonesia
(Leiden: Brill, 2008), pp. 207–8.
368 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
conquistadores to the “Reformation” era), the dominant character of the
encounter is always of conflict. Aritonang seems to be pessimistic, if not
realistic. That is why in the concluding chapter he asks whether there
is still hope for betterment of the relationships.3 If so then there is no
significant progress from the Musyawarah up to the “Reformation” era.
Steenbrink, however, is more optimistic, although not overtly
so. Although he agrees that the Musyawarah is a disappointment to
both Muslims and Christians, it encourages both sides to have deeper
acquaintanceship, knowledge and understanding of each other, and it
became a starting point for further consultation and dialogue.4 Eventually
this inter-religious relationship, or better, Muslim-Christian relationship,
resulted in a more generally positive climate, although from 1999-2002,
in the eastern part of the country, the situation regressed to become
communal clashes. Another factor could be added, namely the awareness
of pluralism, which, although not without opposition, becomes more
accepted. Formerly it was seen in the context of ethnicity, but now it is
broadened to include plurality of religions. In the context of Indonesia,
Christianity and Islam are facts that have to be acknowledged and
appreciated reciprocally.
Many Indonesian Christians are now aware that missionary attempt
to introduce and witness to Christian faith has to pay utmost attention
to the feelings of those who are addressed to. As such, mission could
only mean to involve oneself in dialogue of life with one’s neighbor and
share their struggles. While this new type is considered as the result of the
development of inter-religious relationship which started in the second
half of the 20th century, not many are aware that in the second half of
the 19th century there were already attempts to do mission in a different
way from what was usually done by foreign missionaries.5 Sadrach, an
indigenous missionary, was the foremost one, who can be seen as one of
the pioneers in mission as sharing neighborly life with other members
of the Javanese society.
There are at least two books concerning Sadrach’s method of
3
Aritonang, Sejarah Perjumpaan, p. 383.
4
K.A. Steenbrink, “Patterns of Muslim-Christian Dialogue in Indonesia, 1965-
1978” in Muslim-Christian Perception of Dialogue Today: Experience and Expectations, ed. by
Jacques Waardenburg (Leuven: Peeters, 2000), p. 84.
5
It is telling that the supposedly standard work of Indonesian Church History
refers in passing (in only two pages) to Sadrach but do not regard him an embodiment
of new kind of mission, see Jan Sihar Aritonang and Karel A. Steenbrink, A History of
Christianity in Indonesia (Leiden: Brill, 2008), pp. 674–5.
Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 369
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
evangelic mission, Sadrach’s Community and Its Contextual Roots by Sutarman
and Mission at the Crossroads by Sumartana. Sutarman thinks that the
present Javanese churches should continue to tread in Kyai Sadrach’s
steps. Sumartana is in favor of “syncretism”, but not according to the
understanding of the Javanese Christians.6
This work tries to analyze Sadrach’s biography from postcolonial
perspective.7 Postcolonial reading means, among others, how we as
Indonesian Christians who were once colonized and missionized by
others, learn about colonial past and strive to maintain equal relationships
with non-Indonesian Christians who live in the Northern Hemisphere
in this era of globalization, the descendants of former colonizers, who
belong to the same denomination as us.8 By studying Sadrach’s biography,
it is hoped that his achievements can be appreciated by the present
generation, and by using the word ‘tragic’ in the title of this paper, it is
also hoped that the present generation will not repeat the mistakes of the
past, and be aware that resistance to Sadrach’s kind of mission nowadays,
which is a contextual mission, will come from some contemporary mission-
bodies which are continuing the old way of propagating Christian faith
without regard to the context of Indonesia.

B. Sadrach’s Youth and Baptism

Sadrach’s original name is Radin. He was born near Demak in
1835, at the north coast of Central Java. He comes from a family of
poor farmers, and it was not unusual for a member of the family to leave
and wander around to seek a better life. At the same time, there was at
that time a custom for young people to make some journey (lelana brata),
looking for someone older in order to be led to achieve wisdom (ngelmu).
Perhaps these two motives are mixed, as to become a disciple with a guru
(kyai) and staying with him together with other aspirants provide a regular
life. At least there is a place to sleep and to eat. Sadrach did not rest with
one guru, but had several. He moved from one place to another. He
6
Th Sumartana, Mission at the Crossroads: Indigenous Churches, European Missionaries,
Islamic Association and Socio-religious Change in Java, 1812-1936 (Jakarta: BPK Gunung
Mulia, 1994).
7
See Philip Holden, “Postcolonial auto/biography”, in The Cambridge History
of Postcolonial Literature, ed. by Ato Quayson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2012), pp. 107–36.
8
See Elizabeth Mudimbe-Boyi, “Missionary Writing and Postcolonialism”, in
The Cambridge History of Postcolonial Literature, ed. by Ato Quayson (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2012), pp. 81–106.
370 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
journeyed to Mojowarno in East Java. Mojowarno is a Christian village,
established by Javanese Christians. But this first meeting did not have
any effect on Sadrach. He did not decide to become a Christian and join
the Mojowarno Christians. From Mojowarno he moved to Ponorogo at
the border between East Java and Central Java, and then again moved to
Semarang at the north coast, and chose to live in the ‘Kauman’ area, where
the observing Muslims usually stay. Here he added the name ‘Abas’ to his
name, to show that he too, belongs to the observant Muslims. Later on,
still in Semarang, he met a Christian guru, Kyai Tunggul Wulung, who
worked in the area around Northern Central Java (the Muria area). This
guru organized Christians to build a cluster of villages, in the same way
the East Javanese Christians had been doing. The largest among these
villages is Bondo.
In 1866 Radin Abas went to Batavia (now Jakarta) to meet a Dutch
lawyer, retired high government official and a lay Christian, Anthing.
This lawyer is very keen in matters of Evangelization. Eventually he
became one of Anthing’s assistant. It was in Batavia that Radin decided
to let himself be baptized. He was baptized on April 14, 1867 in an old
church (The ‘Sion’ Portuguese buitenkerk church) which belonged to the
colonial state church. He took the name Sadrach, one of the three Jews
who faced trial by fire in the book of Daniel, chapter 3, as his Christian
name. According to a biographer of Sadrach, C. Guillot, the name is not
chosen randomly. Just like the biblical Sadrach, who refuses to renounce
his Jewish heritage under the threat of the mighty ruler of Babel, so now
“the Javanese Sadrach” will also refuse to renounce his Javanese identity
under the threat of the Dutch colonial rulers and their religion.9 Then
why was he baptized in a colonial church? I think Guillot was trying to
draw an image of Sadrach as a revolutionary Javanese who is anti-Dutch
in every aspect. It seems, however, that although Sadrach was a genuine
indigenous Christian, he was not anti-Dutch per se. It was the Dutch
missionaries that started to treat him as an enemy, when it was clear that
he would not follow the regulations they put on him.

C. From an Assistant in Batavia to Independent Work in

Karangjoso
After his baptism, Sadrach stayed for a while with Anthing and

9
Claude Guillot, Kyai Sadrach: Riwayat Kristenisasi di Jawa (Jakarta: Grafiti Pers,
1985), pp. 63–4.
Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 371
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
helped with colportage work. He must also be impressed with Anthing’s
method of evangelization, which tolerated many indigenous customs.
For instance, Anthing taught his disciples the Lord’s Prayer, which
according to him is like a Javanese mantra which could protect them
from dangers. But then he moved back to Semarang, and then to Bondo,
the headquarters of Kyai Tunggul Wulung, until 1869. Tunggul Wulung,
the founder of Bondo, did not settle in Bondo until 1875 (the title Kyai
is honorific, and is usually related to the person as a religious teacher).
During his absence, he was represented by Pak Sis, and in turn Pak Sis
was assisted by Sadrach. When Tunggul Wulung visited Bondo and stayed
for a while, Sadrach decided to leave Bondo. No reason was offered of
his leave. According to the Dutch missionaries, Sadrach wanted to gain
influence in Bondo, and eventually aspired to replace Tunggul Wulung
as the village head, but he failed. According to other sources, the reason
is the decision of Tunggul Wulung to take a second wife, as it was the
custom of many village heads of that period. That may be a strong reason
as Sadrach was known as an observant Christian (before that he was an
observant Muslim), and although he takes inspiration from local culture
and is regarded by many as a pioneer of contextualization, all his life
he regarded Christianity as a set of teachings, or better, rules (pranatan)
which has to be observed in detail, including monogamy.10
Another reason, and this is the strongest one, is the feeling of
having received a vocation from God (wangsit) to go to a place which is
still unknown to him, like the call of God to Abraham to leave Ur and
place himself in the hand of God.11 Sadrach wandered again for one year,
first going to East Java, to Mojowarno, but in the end of 1869 he went
back to Central Java and settled down at Purworejo, in a village called
Tuksongo. Here he met a Eurasian couple, Mr. and Mrs. Philips-Stevens
and Mrs. Van Oostrom-Philips. Mr. Philips was a supervisor at an indigo
plantation. Mrs. Philips-Stevens and Mrs. Van Oostrom-Philips were also
very active in evangelization, and succeeded in gathering small groups
in their respective houses.12 Although they already had two assistants
10
Alle Gabe Hoekema, Denken in Dynamisch Evenwicht: De Wordingsgeschiedenis Van
De Nationale Protestantse Theologie in Indonesië (ca. 1860-1960) (Zoetermeer: Boekencentrum,
1994), p. 69.
11
Guillot, Kiai Sadrach, p. 67; Sutarman Soediman Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community
and Its Contextual Roots: A Nineteenth Century Javanese Expression of Christianity (Amsterdam:
Rodopi, 1988), p. 67.
12
Th Sumartana, Mission at the Crossroads: Indigenous Churches, European Missionaries,
Islamic Association and Socio-religious Change in Java, 1812-1936 (Jakarta: BPK Gunung
372 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
(Abisai and Tarub), they accepted Sadrach to become their third assistant.
With his Javanese style of evangelization, Sadrach was very successful
in adding the number of people who gather at the homes of the Philips
ladies. Soon he overshadowed the other two assistants.
After one year he moved to another village, Karangjoso, near
Kutoarjo. This village is destined to become the basis of Sadrach’s work.
His relationship with Philips ladies continued, and mainly through the
help of Mrs. Philips-Stevens, people who wanted to be baptized were
introduced to the minister of the Indische church (the colonial state
church) in Purworejo. Sadrach continued his unique Javanese way of
preaching the Gospel, namely by holding debates with ngelmu gurus.
It is common to regard the Javanese as people who tend to look for
consensus in a quiet way, in accordance to the principle of harmony
in society. They are thought of abhorring arguments or debates. But in
very important matters, such as truth claim, they do not hesitate to use
powerful arguments. These debates between gurus of wisdom are held
in a dignified way, and those whose arguments are stilled, are expected
to become disciples of the one who won the debate. If a guru becomes
a Christian, his disciples automatically followed their guru and also
become Christians.
Eventually Sadrach settled in Karangjoso. Karangjoso is different
from Mojowarno and Bondo, which are built as Christian villages. But
such is the prestige of Sadrach as a ngelmu guru, that the villagers accepted
him as their foremost member. Like Tunggul Wulung, he was also called
“Kyai”. They rely on him for instance, when they want to decide the
safety of a certain plant to be used as medicine, or they asked him to
pray before they open a space in the forest which is usually regarded as
haunted by evil spirits, but the followers of Tunggul Wulung, Anthing
and Sadrach have a prayer to neutralize poison and combat evil powers
which sounded like this:
“O Allah, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, we beseech Thee to
neutralize the dangerous poison from these plants so that they
may be used for our benefit; also render the inhabitants of this
forest powerless, so that the land may be utilized for the village.
May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His peace be upon
us all, Amen”.13

Mulia, 1994), pp. 19–20.

13
Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community and Its Contextual Roots, p. 67.
Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 373
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
When the number of Christians in Karangjoso increased, they
decided to build a church. It was built in the Javanese style, and was called
a “mosque”. The style is indeed commonly associated with mosques.
The building was finished in 1871, since that they did not need to go to
Tuksongo for the Sunday worship. Mrs Philips-Stevens was still formally
the leader of these indigenous Christians, but the real leader was Sadrach.
At one time his followers reached 7552, compared with the followers of
the missionaries, which in fifty-years of hard work, never reached the
figure of 2000.14
What are the factors that make the non-Christian people of
Karangjoso accept Sadrach as one of their own, and even accept him as
the foremost head of the community? It is his reliance on the cultural
context, namely the Javanese-Hindu-Muslim heritage which becomes
part of the religious life of both Javanese Muslims and Christians.
To see how the workings of this reliance, it is good to see how the
Christians of Karangjoso perform their rituals. It goes without saying that
rituals are one of the means of identification, which makes one group
aware of their differences from the others. However, the Christians of
Karangjoso did not live apart from their neighbors, but lived alongside
their neighbors, and such, from outward appearances, their rituals were
not very different from their neighbors’. Sutarman Partonadi describes
the Christian rituals in detail and compares them with the rituals of the
Javanese Muslims.15 There are rituals of marriage, rituals concerning
pregnancy, childbirth and circumcision, rituals concerning death, rituals
concerning land cultivation and farming, New Year celebrations, and
other miscellaneous rituals. All these rituals are performed by paying
attention to its similarities with the customs of the whole community. For
instance, the community performed the ritual of circumcision. It is not
placed in antithesis to baptism, as in the teachings of the missionaries.
While the missionaries were opposed to circumcision as an obsolete
Jewish ritual which has been superseded by baptism and view the Muslim
circumcision as a continuation of this superseded ritual, the Sadrach’s
community regards it as an important Javanese custom and thus it was
never abolished.16 The community also celebrated New Year, but not
the western New Year. Along with their Muslim neighbors, the Christian
community celebrated Lebaran. The rituals of death are not very different
14
Ibid., pp. 94, 102, 129.
15
Ibid., pp. 145-52.
16
Ibid., p. 147.
374 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
from the Muslim rituals of death, and the same holds for the other rituals.
But there are also customs which are not celebrated by the community,
for instance, slametan to honor the spirit of the dead, rituals concerning
the month of Sura and rituals which are closely related to the life of the
Prophet Muhammad saw.17 Partonadi’s commented that the effort of the
members of Sadrach’s community to christianize the Javanese Muslim
rituals is impressive. They made a noble attempt to remain within their
Javanese heritage without denying their new faith. It could be added that
because of this achievement, the Christian community of Karangjoso
were accepted within the larger community of the Javanese Muslims.
This progress on the side of Sadrach is at the same time the
reason for resentment and enmity of the Dutch missionaries (from
the De Nederlandsche Gereformeerde Zendings Vereniging, NGZV; Eng: ‘The
Dutch Reformed Mission Organization’ and later from the Zending van de
Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, ZGKN; Eng: ‘Mission of the Reformed
Churches in the Netherlands’) and of the Indische church congregation
at Purworejo. This emotion can only be explained as coming from a
background of colonial mentality. I have stated above that Sadrach
is not anti-Dutch. He has good relationships with Anthing and the
Philips couple. But the missionary policy at that time always insisted
that leadership and initiative has to come from the side of the Dutch
missionaries and not from the indigenous Christians. In the framework
of colonial mentality, the indigenous Christians must be put under the
control of the foreign missionaries. If they refuse it, then the missionaries
have to take action against them. Since 1873 Mrs Philips-Stevens was
often in a sickly condition, and died in 1876. Sadrach then was regarded
by the indigenous community as the formal leader in the area of Bagelen.
At that time he was just 40. He got married, and as it was the custom
of many Javanese, he added to his name, another name, Suropranoto.
This marriage was childless, but Sadrach has an adopted son, Yotham,
who later inherited his mantle. The Dutch missionaries became more
agitated in regard to Sadrach’s position as a leader, and start to insinuate
the colonial government to become suspicious of Sadrach. In 1882 the
head of the local government, W. Ligtvoet formally accused Sadrach
of preventing the government’s program of smallpox vaccination, and
Sadrach was held for three weeks in detention at the prison of Kutoarjo,
and after that he was placed at “house arrest” for three months at the
house of P. Bieger, the missionary who was appointed by Ligtvoet to
17
Ibid., p. 151.
Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 375
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
replace Sadrach as the leader of the congregation. But in the end he was
released on the orders of the Governor General because the evidences
against him are not convincing.
Sadrach was indeed against the smallpox (Jav: cacar) vaccination,
but not because of political reasons but because of religious, or biblical
reasons. He followed literally the text of II Corinthians 6:3 and I Timothy
5:6-7 in the Javanese version of the New Testament. The Javanese
rendering of II Cor 6:3, “no fault”, is aja dicela, while in I Tim 5:6-7,
“without reproach”, is ajana cacad. The Javanese Bible translation of
cela and cacad were literally interpreted by Sadrach as “scar”.18 Smallpox
vaccination at that period would often leave ugly scars on one’s body,
and according to Sadrach, this is contrary to the Bible as the Teachings
of God. Ironically, Bieger himself actually objected to vaccination for
religious reasons. He believed that one should not avoid disaster from
God.19 But such was the colonial policy at that time, that Sadrach as an
indigenous person could be put in prison, while Bieger as a Dutch person,
could go unharmed, and even get support from the local government to
replace Sadrach. F. van Lith SJ, a Jesuit priest who worked at Muntilan at
the same period and later became famous for his openness to Javanese
culture, was an interested spectator of this conflict. When he returned
to the Netherlands for health reasons from 1921 to 1924, he wrote a
treatise on Sadrach, based on the books of F. Lion-Cachet (which is
anti Sadrach) and L. Adriaanse (which is pro Sadrach). Van Lith is of
course pro Sadrach, and gave cynical comments on how Bieger regarded
his “victory” over Sadrach. After his appointment, Bieger gathered the
congregation and preached to them on the basis of a biblical text: “Mij
is alle macht gegeven in de hemel en op aarde” (to me is given all the powers in
heaven and on earth). Van Lith did not refer to which text, but it is clearly
from Matthew 28:18, part of the Great Commission, which to many at
that time (and also in the present) was Jesus’ only commission for his
disciples. In his report to the mission board in the Netherlands, Bieger
saw his “victory” as the workings of the hands of God. But this is too
much for van Lith, and he commented loudly in his treatise: “Bieger!
Bieger! Bieger! Hoe geweldig heb je je vergist! Gij hebt gedacht de Geest Gods in
Uw hart te voelen en het was uw eigen menselijke geest” (Bieger! Bieger! Bieger!
How enormously you are in the wrong! You think that you feel the Spirit
18
Hoekema, Denken in Dynamisch Evenwicht, p. 68; Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community
and Its Contextual Roots, pp. 74–5.
19
Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community and Its Contextual Roots, p. 75.
376 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
of God in your heart, while it is your own human spirit).20
This sad incident is sufficient to give us a picture on the policy of
the missionaries, who did not hesitate to use the arm of the government
to harm their fellow Christians (albeit indigenous) who prefer to live
independently of them. There are also reports that for a considerable
time worship in the church at Karangjoso was prohibited by the police.21
On the other hand, it also clear, that the local colonial government did
not hesitate in interfering in religious disputes or conflicts, despite the
official neutrality of the Central Colonial Government. The only Dutch
missionary at that period who could understand the vocation of Sadrach
is rev. J. Wilhelm. His view is an exception from the general attitude of the
missionaries. In his diary he commented on the detention of Sadrach as
a grave mistake. Sadrach was innocent, it was the Dutch who were in the
wrong. Relationship between Wilhelm and Sadrach was very good, and
Sadrach even asked Wilhelm to become a leader of the worship services
in Karangjoso. Wilhelm accepted this request, and was rewarded with
angry comments by his colleagues. The congregation which was led by
Wilhelm called themselves golongane wong Kristen kang mardika (“the group
of independent Christians”) and Wilhelm called himself pandita mardika
(“an independent minister”). The word mardika originated from the
Malay term, merdeka, “independence, freedom” and Sutarman is of the
opinion that this term was suggested by Wilhelm, who was familiar with
the idea of freedom in the West.22 Although Wilhelm was a member of
the mission board which sent him to Central Java, in this occasion he did
not regard himself as a representative of the mission board. He did not
act as the superior of Sadrach, but regard Sadrach as an equal partner.
Sadrach ministered in his Javanese way, Wilhelm with his Western way.
Rather than confronting each other, they precisely complement each
other. In this period a picture was taken of this two strange bedfellows
(later it becomes very famous, or notorious, depending of one’s point of
view), in which they were shown as sitting on chairs and at the same level.
This is indeed something unusual, as it was the custom of that
period that even in the missionary circles, whenever there is a mixed
encounter, only Dutch people sit on chairs, while the Javanese Christians,
20
Franciscus van Lith, “Kjahi Sadrach: Eene les voor ons uit de Protestantsche
Zending van Midden-Java”, Typewritten Manuscript, The Library of Kolese Santo
Ignation, Yogyakarta (1937), p. 24.
21
Guillot, Kiai Sadrach, p. 115.
22
Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community and Its Contextual Roots, p. 78.
Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 377
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
even if they are evangelists, had to sit on the floor or stand behind the
sitting figures. In Dutch circles the photo which shows Wilhelm and
Sadrach sitting on chairs was interpreted theologically as a sign that
Wilhelm has opened the door for syncretism. He was accused as sitting
together with Balaam. But then they comforted themselves: we do not
have to worry, even if Wilhelm did this thing, Jesus would not sit beside
Baal.23 Wilhelm had to endure many insults. In the end he left the
congregation and perhaps because of inner struggle to face the pressure,
he became ill and died in 1892. His diary was discovered by his successor,
L. Adriaanse, who arrived in 1895 from the Netherlands. Later on he
wrote a book based on Wilhelm’s diary to correct the negative conclusions
taken by F. Lion-Cachet, a minister who was sent by the mission board of
NGZV and the General Synod of the Nederduitsche Gereformeerde Kerken
(NGK), Eng: ‘The Netherlands Reformed Church’) to investigate and
report on Sadrach. Only once he met Sadrach and engaged him in light
conversation, but his report is full of accusations (from others) which
were written in a convincing style on the ‘sins’ of Sadrach. On the other
hand, according to Sumartana, even the sympathetic Adriaanse did not
want to acknowledge openly Sadrach’s leadership over the Karangjoso
congregation.24

D. Accusations against Sadrach

The main critic of the Dutch toward Sadrach is of a non-
theological factor: they are unable to accept that Sadrach places himself
in a par with them. Then it is understandable that the photo which shows
Sadrach sitting together with Wilhelm functions as kerosene poured on
fire. The problem really is, “sitting together on chairs at the same level
or not”. After that, theological arguments are constructed to pinpoint
the teachings of Sadrach as syncretism, which distorts the purity of the
teachings of Christianity. The accusations involved both his personality
and his teachings. Concerning his personality, he is accused of thirsting
for power. Because he is highly regarded by his fellow Javanese in his
position as a ngelmu guru, he is thought to aspire to replace the place
of Jesus Christ as the center of the congregation. The addition of the
23
Ibid., p. 227. “Balaam” may refer to Bileam, a hapless Moabite prophet
made famous by his talking donkey in the book Numbers chapter 22-24, or a wrong
spelling of Ba’alim, which in Hebrew is a plural form of Ba’al, “the false god” of the
Canaanites [EGS ].
24
Sumartana, Mission at the Crossroads, p. 66.
378 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
name “Suropranoto” is misunderstood as an attempt to uplift oneself in
a position which is even higher than the Javanese kings. The honor and
respect shown by his followers are regarded as a demand from the side
of Sadrach, and this kind of honor is often superfluous, e.g., to kiss his
feet.25 This superior feeling is related to Sadrach’s position as a ngelmu
guru. How could such a position be reconciled with an evangelist?
From the point of view of the missionaries, the honor bestowed
to Sadrach is of course superfluous. But that is normal for the traditional
Javanese cultural phenomenon from that period. A ngelmu guru was
regarded as an example (panutan) in searching for wisdom, and that is
why he is honored. But it depends on the concrete, everyday life of the
guru. The minute he becomes conceited and demands to be honored,
he will lose the trust of his disciples. They will desert him, and look for
another guru. This is a paradox in the everyday life of the Javanese people
up to this day, which people like Lion-Cachet sorely missed. Also the
ignorance towards the life style of a Javanese is shown in the way Lion-
Cachet translated Sadrach’s new name Suropranoto. Actually it means,
“Him who has the courage in ordering”. But Lion-Cachet translated suro
as “god”. Suropranoto thus means, “A god who rules”. This meaning
will never enter into the mind of a normal, ordinary Javanese, as many
Javanese from the lower strata also use the term suro in their names. And
for a Christian Javanese, the position of Sadrach as a ngelmu guru and
an evangelist is not regarded as incompatible, in the same way that Kyai
Tunggul Wulung from Bondo is also regarded as guru and evangelist. Of
course, if ngelmu is regarded in a narrow way as an art of manipulating
spiritual powers in order to achieve one’s self-interest, as ‘magic’, then
ngelmu is incompatible with the Gospel.
Ngelmu is not just magic, but broader than that. It is related to
the understanding of a Javanese person concerning wisdom, on how
one see himself/herself in the midst of the whole reality, on searching
and making of harmony, on salvation and perfection of life. In short,
ngelmu is a process of discovering the self-understanding of a Javanese
concerning his place or existence in the universe, where he/she comes
from, where he/she is now and where is he/she going to. The Gospel
is not the same as ngelmu, but is there no possibility to understand
ngelmu or to use the approach of ngelmu as an effort to find the truth of
the Gospel, not unlike the parable of the man who was looking for a
buried treasure in the Gospel, who decided to do this thing, i.e. to sell
25
Guillot, Kiai Sadrach, p. 158.
Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 379
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
everything he has (ngelmu), in order that he can buy the land and thus
acquire the buried treasure, or the parable of someone who is looking
for a precious pearl, and also sell everything he has to be able to buy the
precious pearl? Ngelmu is not only a worldview, but also a way of life. That
is why the figure of a guru becomes important as an example (panutan).
In looking at the exemplary figure, the disciple can be able to discern
the truth, and decide for himself/herself what way to choose to achieve
wisdom. Through the figure of the guru, religion becomes concrete in
praxis. At the time of Sadrach, most of the missionaries held the narrow
understanding of ngelmu. If we do cultural analysis towards the view
of these missionaries, then it is clear that this narrow view reflected a
negative outlook at the local culture as a ‘low’ culture, compared with the
culture of the missionaries. But there are also exceptions. We have seen
Wilhelm above, and according to Sutarman, there are also a few other
missionaries who tried to understand ngelmu in a broader way.26
The most interesting objection of the missionaries is the teaching
of Sadrach on the person of Jesus Christ as Ratu Adil (The Just King/
Ruler), or by using Sutarman’s term, Sadrach’s Christology. Not only that,
sometimes the insinuation points to Sadrach, who regarded himself as
the awaited Ratu Adil, Christ within the figure of Sadrach. The latter
stressed that Jesus comes to the unjust world to establish his kingdom,
and this kingdom is the kingdom of justice. According to the missionaries,
Sadrach misunderstood the Gospel. The kingdom of God is not worldly
or revolutionary, but spiritual and eternal. Believers enter the kingdom
of God as the result of accepting salvation from Jesus Christ, and such
life in the kingdom of God is to be understood as pointing at the future
and even out of this world, the kingdom of God as a heavenly kingdom.
Jesus comes to the world to offer salvation so that humankind may
enter the heavenly kingdom of God. This other-worldly aspect of the
kingdom of God is of course compatible with the colonial framework
of thought. Sadrach’s idea of the kingdom of God then was thought of
having political implications, and for the colonial rulers, this implications
is dangerous. In other contexts, there are missionaries who support the
independence movements, but in the context of Java in the middle of the
19th century, almost all of the missionaries adhered to the colonial policy.
Although the Sadrach congregation at Karangjoso used the term mardika
(independent), contrary to Guillot, it seems that their understandings of
the term are not yet political. What they emphasized is their independence
26
Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community and Its Contextual Roots, pp. 192–7.
380 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
in choosing how to live as Christians. But of course from the side of the
missionaries, this emphasis is seen as political.27 They are afraid that this
independent position will give raise to political aspirations.

E. Sadrach’s Conversion to the Apostolic Church and his Death

The Dutch missionaries of Central Java then launched a systematic
campaign to purge the Javanese congregations from indigenous thinking
and isolate Sadrach at Karangjoso. But even so, there are still efforts
to convince him to cooperate with them. Adriaanse, who became
sympathetic to Sadrach, thinks that a friendly attitude towards Sadrach
will bring good results. But as we have seen above, the problem is not
of friendly relationship, but of equal relationship, and concerning this
matter, Sadrach is obstinate until his death. On the other hand the
constant pressure from the missionaries tires him. He can no longer
request individuals from the missionary circle to minister baptism or
Holy Communion. Although Sadrach is head of the community, he is
not an ordained minister. On the one hand he rejected the missionary
structure, but on the other hand he still has high respect on the validity
of ordination. When it was clear that the missionaries would not ordain
him unless he placed himself under their jurisdiction, he then looked for
other solution, which he find in the Apostolic church. His old mentor
in Batavia, Anthing, has joined the Apostolic church and was ordained
as an apostle. It is not difficult to imagine that Anthing suggested to
Sadrach to contact the nearest Apostolic community. And so, Sadrach
made contact with the Apostolic church at Magelang which was led by
the apostle Liem Cu Kiem.
This community is the result of the mission of the Apostolic
church, which can trace their root to the Irvingian Apostolic church in
England. According to van Lith, who for several weeks joined their Sunday
morning worship at Bintaru, the color of their faith is eschatological or
apocalyptic: the sermons are almost always about the book of Revelation
and so they are close to the Adventists. On the other hand, they worship
on Sunday (not Saturday), and do not incorporate teachings of the Old
Testament concerning unclean food. Probably this interest in eschatology
corresponds to the faith of the Javanese Christians on the coming of Ratu

27
See Emmanuel Gerrit Singgih, “Mengkaji Ulang Makna Sinkretisme”, in
Berteologi dalam Konteks: Pemikiran-Pemikiran Mengenai Kontekstualisasi Teologi di Indonesia
(Jakarta; Yogyakarta: BPK Gunung Mulia; Kanisius, 2000), p. 105.
Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 381
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
Adil,28 but Sadrach’s eschatology is directed to the future of the world,
while the Apostolic Church focuses on otherworldly. In this church the
office of the apostle is still recognized, and it is not difficult to imagine
that they offered this office to Sadrach, with the hope that he will become
a member of the Apostolic Church with his followers (now about 8000).
In 1899 Sadrach went to Batavia again, and was ordained as
an apostle by G.J. Hannibals, who represented the Dutch Apostolic
Church in Batavia.29 It is not clear why Sadrach has to go to Batavia for
his ordination and not just receive his ordination from Liem Cu Kiem
at Magelang. Maybe he suspected that his community will be placed
under the authority of the Magelang community. When he returned to
Karangjoso, this ordination was celebrated with Holy Communion, and
he himself presided over the service.30 At that time he was 64. With his
new title of “apostle” (he was even regarded as “the apostle of/for Java”),
Sadrach became more energetic in consolidating and developing his
followers. Nominally they belong to the Apostolic Church, but in reality
the Karangjoso congregation follows “new ngelmu”, i.e. the contextualized
Christianity of Sadrach. With his title as an apostle, he did not seek to
preserve his relationship with the Dutch, who still try to contact him and
so they broke. The church under the Dutch missionaries and the church
of Sadrach went their own way. He was given a strong constitution, and
led his church until he died quietly at his home next to the “mosque”, at
the old age of 89 in 1924.

F. Concluding Remarks
Sadrach was succeeded by Yotham, his adopted son, but Yotham was
not a strong figure. When the Dutch missionaries re-opened contact with
Karangjoso after the death of Sadrach, he was open to it, and eventually
led his congregation back to the folds of the missionaries. This happened
in 1933 and that time Sadrach’s congregation consisted between 10.000-
20.000 members.31 Is there a social reason for this return? At the end of
the 19th century the colonial government launched the hated program
of Cultuurstelsel, which is a forced-planting policy. In the beginning of
the 20th century the situation of Central Java was very difficult. Reports
from the missionaries were full of stories of hardships and sufferings
28
Lith, “Kjahi Sadrach”, p. 75.
29
Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community and Its Contextual Roots, p. 92.
30
Ibid.
31
Ibid., p. 129.
382 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
of the people. Actions done to ease their plight were met with positive
reaction. The missionaries changed their strategy from verbal to social
ministry. This social ministry in the field of health, education and welfare
attracted the people of Java, and even the followers of Sadrach returned
to the care of the missionaries. According to Sumartana, who studied
the aftermath of the struggle between Sadrach and the missionaries, the
Sadrach community was not prepared to face this challenge of social
needs of the people. For Sumartana this points to the main weakness of
the indigenous movement. Sumartana’s analysis gives the impression that
it was not Kyai Sadrach who won the field as it was often summarized,
but it was the Dutch missionaries.32 It seems that the failure of the
contextualization movement to respond to the sufferings of the people
leads Sumartana to differ from the conclusions of Sutarman, who in his
dissertation thinks that the present Javanese churches should continue
to tread in Kyai Sadrach’s steps. In his dissertation Sumartana is in favor
of “syncretism”, but not according to the understanding of the Javanese
Christians, but, accordingly, to its “original” meaning, that is, political
meaning.33 For Sumartana, in the present it is wrong to continue to cling
to the missionaries’ Gereformeerd (Dutch Reformed) teachings. However,
it is equally wrong to continue Sadrach’s teachings. On the other hand,
because the Javanese church has inherited the paraphernalia of social
ministry from the Dutch missionaries, they ought to preserve social
ministry and makes it relevant to meet the challenges of the present.
When the Karangjoso church became part of the missionary church,
every vestiges of the teachings of Sadrach were erased. For a long period,
even after the Javanese Christian Church became independent from the
missionaries in 1934, there is a fierce antagonism from the side of the
church towards signs of revival of Javanese Christianity. Every attempt
to introduce cultural dimensions to the life of the congregations is met
with alarm cries of syncretism. What is about Sumartana’s conclusions
above? I disagree with Sumartana’s conclusion that it is wrong to develop
contextualization in cultural matters. Sadrach’s indigenous theology,
especially his Christology, is a starting point to express the essential
freedom of human beings. Culturally speaking, it is traditional, but we
should not reject everything that is traditional. If we reject tradition, it
could be that we are rejecting ourselves, and overvalue other expressions
of culture. If we are doing that, then (this is the lesson of Sadrach) we
32
Sumartana, Mission at the Crossroads, pp. 59–107.
33
Ibid., pp. 337–40.
Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 383
Emanuel Gerrit Singgih
will lose our freedom. Sadrach did not return to ngelmu and sacrifice the
Gospel, as he was often accused. He started from ngelmu, and hold on to
the Gospel. This indigenous Christology has a social content or message,
which could be meaningful in a context of local culture. It seems that
Sumartana wanted to say that the missionaries won the struggle because
they started to use modern technology, which is available to them, in the
framework of social ministry as a strategy. Sadrach’s community was also
practicing social ministry, albeit in a traditional way. This is described in
detail by Sutarman in his dissertation.34 Probably, this is their weakness.
However, if the present Javanese Christian Church really want to continue
in the footsteps of Sadrach as advised by Sutarman, then it must not
reject its cultural context. It has to look for relevant ways to practice
this social ministry as advised by Sumartana, but the context should be
always based on local culture.
Now there is awareness that Sadrach was neglected for a long time.
In the weekly service of Karangjoso church nowadays, however, nothing
of contextualized theology can be noticed. People tend to flock to his
grave, to do pilgrimage. After his death Sadrach became more or less a
wali, and many, especially non-Christians come to pray at his grave. This
practice of pilgrimage is frowned upon by the church-officials, but they
can do nothing, as Sadrach does not belong to them. He belongs to the
people. The Apostolic Church’ small congregations still exist in central
Java, but also no trace of Sadrach’s teaching is evident. So in the end,
the story of Sadrach is a tragic story. But it must be told again and again,
so that we at the present time do not repeat the mistakes.
Grand narratives on Muslim-Christian relationship in Indonesia
may produce a pessimistic view on the possibility of peaceful co-
existence, but local narratives such as the story of Sadrach could produce
a more optimistic view. Sadrach’s way of contextualization should be
continued even for the present Christian generation, albeit not in details.
We have seen above that contextualization paves the way for harmonious
and irenic relationship with the majority Muslim community. From the
observations on the irenic interaction of a Christian community with
their Muslim neighbors, and the role of Sadrach in creating this irenic
atmosphere, it is also interesting to ask how Sadrach is seen from the
side of the Muslim scholars. As far as I know there are no articles on
Sadrach, written by Muslim scholars. If there were such writings, then
the result could have been a balanced inter-cultural or inter-faith view on
34
Partonadi, Sadrach’s Community and Its Contextual Roots, pp. 161–2.
384 Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H
 A Postcolonial Biography of Sadrach
an important historical figure, which is sorely needed by both Christians
and Muslims.

Al-Jāmi‘ah, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2015 M/1437 H 385