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Abstract
Indonesia stands firm in its democratic values and respects its presidential election in 2024. However, the scent of the history of identity politics still lingers and threatens the harmony of voting. Even though identity politics seem to be a common and acceptable method, it bears danger, especially to Christians as a minority. This can happen through the burdens and biases of Christians to vote. Through descriptive literature methods of biblical perspective with contextual interpretation alongside political reviews and literature, this paper tries to answer the question of how a Christian should vote for their future leader amidst the pressure of identity politics. The Bible can be a clear guideline to show that such political events and methods had already occurred in the Old Testament and New Testament eras. The wisdom contained in the Proverbs that was intended for future young leaders, as well as the wisdom of Jesus Christ, can help shape the answer on how a Christian should vote for their future leaders. This paper finds that Christians as minorities should try to be objective following biblical standards and the quality of a leader, such as righteousness, multiple councils, servanthood, and accountability, rather than drowning in misconceptions of defensive and subjective votes based on religion-ethnicity sameness or popular opinion.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Erastus Sabdono, Lonato Hedianto, Martina Novalina, Andri Andri, Philipus Sunardi
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References
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Ardipandanto, A. (2020). Dampak politik identitas pada Pilpres 2019: Perspektif populisme [The impact of identity politics on President Election 2019: Populism perspective]. Jurnal Politica Dinamika Masalah Politik Dalam Negeri dan Hubungan Internasional, 11(1), 43–63. https://doi.org/10.22212/jp.v11i1.1582
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Biblica Inc. (2011h). Genesis 41:41. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
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Biblica Inc. (2011k). Matthew 20:26-28. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011l). Matthew 22:21. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
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Biblica Inc. (2011n). Proverbs 29:2. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011o). Romans 13:4. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Carruthers, J. (2020). The politics of Purim. In The politics of Purim: Law, sovereignty and hospitality in the aesthetic afterlives of Esther (p. 16). Bloomsbury.
Chatterjee, I. (2012). How are they othered? Globalisation , identity and violence in an Indian city. The Geographical Journal, 178(2), 134–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4959.2011.00427.x
Chia, P. S. (2020). Analysis of the effectiveness of Jesus’ parable: A cognitive psychology approach. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 29(3), 272–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/10656219.2020.1835593
Crouch, M. (2012). Indonesia’s Blasphemy Law: Bleak outlook for minority religions. Asia Pacific Bulletin, 146, 1–2. https://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/indonesias-blasphemy-law-bleak-outlook-minority-religions
Das, R. (2020). Identity politics: A Marxist view. Class, Race, Corporate Power, 8(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.25148/crcp.8.1.008921
Dionne, K. Y., & Turkmen, F. F. (2020). The politics of pandemic othering : Putting Covid-19 in global and historical context. International Organization, 70(S1), E213–E230. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818320000405
Dunham, K. C. (2019). Structure and theology in proverbs: Its function as an educational program for novice leaders in Ancient Israel. Bulletin for Biblical Research, 29(3), 361–388. https://doi.org/10.5325/bullbiblrese.29.3.0361
Ellis, J. M., Rowley, L. L., Nellum, C. J., & Smith, C. D. (2015). From alienation to efficacy: An examination of racial identity and racial academic stereotypes among black male adolescents. Urban Education, 53(7), 899–928. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/004208591560253
Finkbeiner, D. (1995). An analysis of the structure of Proverbs 28 and 29. Calvary Baptist Theological Journal, 11(2), 1–14. http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/20-Proverbs/Text/Articles/Finkbeiner-Prov28-29-CBTJ.pdf
Fukuoka, Y. & Na Thalang, C. (2014). The legislative and presidential elections in Indonesia in 2014. Electoral Studies, 36, 230–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2014.09.007
Godwin, L. S., & Adeniran, P. O. (2020). Disaster management in libraries and information centers: Biblical insights. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 25(4), 39–44. https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol.%2025%20Issue4/Series-7/E2504073944.pdf
Green, A. (2011). Power, deception, and comedy: The politics of exile in the Book of Esther. Jewish Political Studies Review, 23(1), 61–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41228556
Gusha, I. S. (2020). Exegesis of Romans 13 : 1 – 7 and its appropriation to the new dispensation of the Second Republic of Zimbabwe. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 76(4), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i4.6041
Hamid, A. (2019). Populism in the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election. Journal of Governance, 4(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.31506/jog.v4i1.4874
Hanan, D. (2020). Identity politics in The Indonesian General Elections. Jurnal Wacana Politik, 5(1), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v5i1.27710
Hekman, S. (1999). Identity crises: Identity, identity politics, and beyond. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 2(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698239908403266
Idialu, R. A. (2021). Righteousness as a precursor to national greatness in Proverbs 14:34 and its relevance for Nigerian socio-economic development. Asia-Africa Journal of Mission and Ministry, 23, 98–119. https://doi.org/10.21806/aamm.2021.23.06
Imron, A. (2016). Pengawas Pemilu harus paham asas penyelenggara dan penyelenggaraan pemilu [Election supervisors must understand the principles of organizing and administering elections]. BAWASLU. https://www.bawaslu.go.id/id/berita/pengawas-pemilu-harus-paham-asas-penyelenggara-dan-penyelenggaraan-pemilu
King James Bible Dictionary. (2022a). Strong’s H5971: People. https://kingjamesbibledictionary.com/StrongsNo/H5971/people
King James Bible Dictionary. (2022b). Strong’s H7812: To Bow Down. https://kingjamesbibledictionary.com/StrongsNo/H7812/down
Levin, C. (2021). Israel, the People of God, as theocracy. In Theokratie (pp. 65–84). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110686012-003
Liddle, R. W., & Mujani, S. (2007). Leadership, party, and religion: Explaining voting behavior in Indonesia. Comparative Political Studies, 40(7), 832–857. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414006292113
Mietzner, M. (2019). Authoritarian innovations in Indonesia: Electoral narrowing, identity politics and executive illiberalism. Democratization, 27(6), 1021-1036. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2019.1704266
Muhtadi, B. (2017). Rasionalitas pemilih Jakarta [The rationality of Jakarta voters]. Indikator. https://indikator.co.id/rasionalitas-pemilih-jakarta/
Nelwan, G. (2022). Identity politics and inter-religious relations: Analysing the 2020 Election in Manado City. Politicon, 4(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.15575/politicon.v4i1.14361
Nyabera, P. (2020). The trial of the Egyptian pharaoh. Christian Faith Publishing.
Peters, P. E., Okwueze, M. I., & Agbo, P. O. (2022). ‘To your tents, O Nigeria’: An exegetical study of 1 Kings 12:1–16. Verbum et Ecclesia, 43(1), a2536. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v43i1.2536
Sahide, A., Azhar, M., & Jatmika, S. (2022). The role of local elite in the transformation of intolerant values in Indonesia. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 9(12), 210-223. https://doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v9i12.4138
Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting. (2019). Exit Poll Indonesian Legislative and Presidential Election 2019. Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting
Saiya, N. (2023). The rise of theocratic democracy. Journal of Democracy, 34(4), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2023.a907688
Schröter, S. (2010). Christianity in Indonesia: Perspectives of power. Transaction Publisher.
Shapiro, M. B. (2022). Some traditional Jewish perspectives on antisemitism. In The Routledge history of antisemitism (pp. 399–407). Routledge.
Sierra, L. K. (2021). The God who condescends: Leadership in the Gospel of John. Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry, 18(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739891320930234
Suryadinata, L. (2019). Identity politics in Indonesia: The Meliana case. Perspective, 4, 1–8. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/20194-identity-politics-in-indonesia-the-meliana-case-by-leo-suryadinata/
Vaara, E., Tienari, J., & Koveshnikov, A. (2021). From cultural differences to identity politics: A critical discursive approach to national identity in multinational corporations. Journal of Management Studies, 58(8), 2052–2081. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12517
Widyawati, N., Windarsih, A., & Alamsyah, P. (2022). Discourse on ‘ Islam’ and ‘Kafir’ in 2019 Indonesia Presidential Election : The challenge of democracy in the digital era. Religion, Culture, and State Journal, 2(1), 62-82. https://journal.unram.ac.id/index.php/rcs/article/view/353.
Wolak, J. (2020). Conflict avoidance and gender gaps in political engagement. Political Behavior, 44, 133–156. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09614-5
References
Ahn, J. (2022). Joseph’s hyper-assimilation: A fourth generation’s hidden memory of collapse. Journal of Black Religious Thought, 1(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1163/27727963-01010001
Ardipandanto, A. (2020). Dampak politik identitas pada Pilpres 2019: Perspektif populisme [The impact of identity politics on President Election 2019: Populism perspective]. Jurnal Politica Dinamika Masalah Politik Dalam Negeri dan Hubungan Internasional, 11(1), 43–63. https://doi.org/10.22212/jp.v11i1.1582
Aspinall, E., & Mietzner, M. (2019). Southeast Asia’s troubling elections: Nondemocratic pluralism in Indonesia. Journal of Democracy, 30(4), 104–118. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2019.0055
Berman, J. (2006). Identity politics and the burial of Jacob (Genesis 50:1-14). Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 68(1), 11–31. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43725638
Biblica Inc. (2011a). 1 Kings 12:8. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011b). 1 Samuel 16:7. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011c). Esther 3:2. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011d). Esther 3:6. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011e). Esther 4:16. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011f). Esther 7:10. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011g). Exodus 1:8. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011h). Genesis 41:41. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011i). Genesis 46:34. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011j). Jeremiah 29:7. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011k). Matthew 20:26-28. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011l). Matthew 22:21. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011m). Proverbs 11:14. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011n). Proverbs 29:2. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Biblica Inc. (2011o). Romans 13:4. In The Holy Bible, New International Version. Zondervan.
Carruthers, J. (2020). The politics of Purim. In The politics of Purim: Law, sovereignty and hospitality in the aesthetic afterlives of Esther (p. 16). Bloomsbury.
Chatterjee, I. (2012). How are they othered? Globalisation , identity and violence in an Indian city. The Geographical Journal, 178(2), 134–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4959.2011.00427.x
Chia, P. S. (2020). Analysis of the effectiveness of Jesus’ parable: A cognitive psychology approach. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 29(3), 272–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/10656219.2020.1835593
Crouch, M. (2012). Indonesia’s Blasphemy Law: Bleak outlook for minority religions. Asia Pacific Bulletin, 146, 1–2. https://www.eastwestcenter.org/publications/indonesias-blasphemy-law-bleak-outlook-minority-religions
Das, R. (2020). Identity politics: A Marxist view. Class, Race, Corporate Power, 8(1), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.25148/crcp.8.1.008921
Dionne, K. Y., & Turkmen, F. F. (2020). The politics of pandemic othering : Putting Covid-19 in global and historical context. International Organization, 70(S1), E213–E230. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818320000405
Dunham, K. C. (2019). Structure and theology in proverbs: Its function as an educational program for novice leaders in Ancient Israel. Bulletin for Biblical Research, 29(3), 361–388. https://doi.org/10.5325/bullbiblrese.29.3.0361
Ellis, J. M., Rowley, L. L., Nellum, C. J., & Smith, C. D. (2015). From alienation to efficacy: An examination of racial identity and racial academic stereotypes among black male adolescents. Urban Education, 53(7), 899–928. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/004208591560253
Finkbeiner, D. (1995). An analysis of the structure of Proverbs 28 and 29. Calvary Baptist Theological Journal, 11(2), 1–14. http://faculty.gordon.edu/hu/bi/Ted_Hildebrandt/OTeSources/20-Proverbs/Text/Articles/Finkbeiner-Prov28-29-CBTJ.pdf
Fukuoka, Y. & Na Thalang, C. (2014). The legislative and presidential elections in Indonesia in 2014. Electoral Studies, 36, 230–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2014.09.007
Godwin, L. S., & Adeniran, P. O. (2020). Disaster management in libraries and information centers: Biblical insights. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 25(4), 39–44. https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol.%2025%20Issue4/Series-7/E2504073944.pdf
Green, A. (2011). Power, deception, and comedy: The politics of exile in the Book of Esther. Jewish Political Studies Review, 23(1), 61–78. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41228556
Gusha, I. S. (2020). Exegesis of Romans 13 : 1 – 7 and its appropriation to the new dispensation of the Second Republic of Zimbabwe. HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 76(4), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i4.6041
Hamid, A. (2019). Populism in the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election. Journal of Governance, 4(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.31506/jog.v4i1.4874
Hanan, D. (2020). Identity politics in The Indonesian General Elections. Jurnal Wacana Politik, 5(1), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v5i1.27710
Hekman, S. (1999). Identity crises: Identity, identity politics, and beyond. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 2(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/13698239908403266
Idialu, R. A. (2021). Righteousness as a precursor to national greatness in Proverbs 14:34 and its relevance for Nigerian socio-economic development. Asia-Africa Journal of Mission and Ministry, 23, 98–119. https://doi.org/10.21806/aamm.2021.23.06
Imron, A. (2016). Pengawas Pemilu harus paham asas penyelenggara dan penyelenggaraan pemilu [Election supervisors must understand the principles of organizing and administering elections]. BAWASLU. https://www.bawaslu.go.id/id/berita/pengawas-pemilu-harus-paham-asas-penyelenggara-dan-penyelenggaraan-pemilu
King James Bible Dictionary. (2022a). Strong’s H5971: People. https://kingjamesbibledictionary.com/StrongsNo/H5971/people
King James Bible Dictionary. (2022b). Strong’s H7812: To Bow Down. https://kingjamesbibledictionary.com/StrongsNo/H7812/down
Levin, C. (2021). Israel, the People of God, as theocracy. In Theokratie (pp. 65–84). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110686012-003
Liddle, R. W., & Mujani, S. (2007). Leadership, party, and religion: Explaining voting behavior in Indonesia. Comparative Political Studies, 40(7), 832–857. https://doi.org/10.1177/0010414006292113
Mietzner, M. (2019). Authoritarian innovations in Indonesia: Electoral narrowing, identity politics and executive illiberalism. Democratization, 27(6), 1021-1036. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2019.1704266
Muhtadi, B. (2017). Rasionalitas pemilih Jakarta [The rationality of Jakarta voters]. Indikator. https://indikator.co.id/rasionalitas-pemilih-jakarta/
Nelwan, G. (2022). Identity politics and inter-religious relations: Analysing the 2020 Election in Manado City. Politicon, 4(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.15575/politicon.v4i1.14361
Nyabera, P. (2020). The trial of the Egyptian pharaoh. Christian Faith Publishing.
Peters, P. E., Okwueze, M. I., & Agbo, P. O. (2022). ‘To your tents, O Nigeria’: An exegetical study of 1 Kings 12:1–16. Verbum et Ecclesia, 43(1), a2536. https://doi.org/10.4102/ve.v43i1.2536
Sahide, A., Azhar, M., & Jatmika, S. (2022). The role of local elite in the transformation of intolerant values in Indonesia. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 9(12), 210-223. https://doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v9i12.4138
Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting. (2019). Exit Poll Indonesian Legislative and Presidential Election 2019. Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting
Saiya, N. (2023). The rise of theocratic democracy. Journal of Democracy, 34(4), 66–79. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2023.a907688
Schröter, S. (2010). Christianity in Indonesia: Perspectives of power. Transaction Publisher.
Shapiro, M. B. (2022). Some traditional Jewish perspectives on antisemitism. In The Routledge history of antisemitism (pp. 399–407). Routledge.
Sierra, L. K. (2021). The God who condescends: Leadership in the Gospel of John. Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry, 18(1), 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739891320930234
Suryadinata, L. (2019). Identity politics in Indonesia: The Meliana case. Perspective, 4, 1–8. https://www.iseas.edu.sg/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/20194-identity-politics-in-indonesia-the-meliana-case-by-leo-suryadinata/
Vaara, E., Tienari, J., & Koveshnikov, A. (2021). From cultural differences to identity politics: A critical discursive approach to national identity in multinational corporations. Journal of Management Studies, 58(8), 2052–2081. https://doi.org/10.1111/joms.12517
Widyawati, N., Windarsih, A., & Alamsyah, P. (2022). Discourse on ‘ Islam’ and ‘Kafir’ in 2019 Indonesia Presidential Election : The challenge of democracy in the digital era. Religion, Culture, and State Journal, 2(1), 62-82. https://journal.unram.ac.id/index.php/rcs/article/view/353.
Wolak, J. (2020). Conflict avoidance and gender gaps in political engagement. Political Behavior, 44, 133–156. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-020-09614-5
