By Tim Thornton
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| Bell-shaped stupas of Borobudur Photo Credit: Sid Thornton |
Along the equator in Southeast Asia is a vast archipelago of over 17,000 islands known today as the country of Indonesia. With the world's fourth largest population, Indonesia is home to hundreds of people groups and languages that have their roots in a variety of ancient cultures.[1] The
island of Java holds many antiquities that give us insight into the past of one such ancient culture.
Although not as ancient as the Middle East or
Europe, the remnant of ancient artifacts and structures on Java are a testament
to the intelligence of ancient peoples as well as evidence that all the peoples
of the earth were once dispersed from the tower of Babel as Biblical history
clearly states.[2]
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| Image credit: Lonely Planet |
Javanese
History
Secular paleoanthropologists suggest that the
primate ancestors of the Southeast Asian people moved to and evolved on Java. The meager evidence for this hypothesis is fragments of humanoid bones found throughout the island—one partial skeleton is known as
the infamous ‘Java Man’.[3]
God’s Word, however, leaves no room for the evolution
of apes to man. And there is hard archaeological evidence that confirms that
humans, made in the image of God, were dispersed at Babel and traveled to the
Indonesian islands possibly soon thereafter.
Considering the evidence that ancient people
traveled worldwide (See chapter 7 in The
Genius of Ancient Man), it is possible that some used boats to reach Java
as early as 2000 BC. From all indication, these people
made their way from India and China perhaps in more than one migration.
Hinduism and Buddhism were introduced to the island either from migrating
peoples or through trading between 1000 BC and 500 AD.
Ancient Indian Sanskrit inscriptions on rocks found
throughout Java suggest that there were kingdoms on Java a few centuries after
the time of Jesus Christ. Dynasties and kingdoms rose and fell as the centuries
went by, but the evidences of these ancient civilizations are still visible
today.[4]
Borobudur
The largest
Buddhist building in the world, Borobudur is also known as “the world mountain”.[5]
Built by the Sailendra dynasty around 800 AD, its massive symmetrical,
multi-tiered structure, as well as its ornate reliefs and statues testify to
the intelligence of the ancient people who built it.
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| The massive pyramidal structure of Borobudur Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons |
Its structure is similar to that of a step pyramid. It
was built around the same time the Mayan pyramids were being erected and 300
years before the construction of Cambodia’s famous Angkor Wat temple. The building is said to represent the levels
of “enlightenment”—each tier symbolizes the next step in a Buddhist reaching
the state of “formlessness”.[6]
Prambanan
Near Borobudur is a very large Hindu complex that
was built around the same time. Prambanan contains magnificent temples constructed with large stone blocks. Like
Borobudur, the Prambanan complex has multiple concentric squares of small
monuments surrounding a larger monument in the center. Borobudur’s structure is
multi-leveled; leading up to one large monument. Prambanan’s monuments, on the
other hand, are all on the same plane around three massive structures in the
center. Most of the monuments at Prambanan are not fully reconstructed, but it assumed that all of them used to house some kind of a deity; the
three in the middle are dedicated to the Hindu trinity: Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu.
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| The massive central spires of Prambanan http://nexttriptourism.com/prambanan-temple-is-the-most-beautiful-in-the-world-riview/ |
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| Large, precisely cut stone blocks make up the whole Prambanan complex Photo credit: Sid Thornton |
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| An artist's sketch of the remarkably symmetrical complex http://www.borobudurpark.com/temple/prambananTemple |
Each of these central temples was skillfully
designed to look higher than they actually are. These are part of a large main
complex known as “Loro Jonggrang” that is surrounded by 240 temples and other
smaller complexes with equal extravagance in architecture and art. One of these places, Ratu Boko, is a magnificent palace of an ancient Javanese
king.[8]
All of these sites are found in a natural plain in
Southern Java that is covered in a thick layer of volcanic ash and debris. Many
of the monuments here had to be excavated from the ground and
reconstructed, and it is assumed that hundreds and even thousands more of these
have yet to be uncovered.
Candi
Sukuh
Built in the 15th century, this curious
temple bears a remarkable resemblance to
the Mayan monuments. It is a stone ziggurat that seems to represent a mountain.
Reliefs and statues found there are strikingly similar to those of 8th
century Javanese temples. From all indication it was a place of fertility
worship not much different from the ancient temples of the Greeks and Central
and South Americans.[9]
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| The ziggurat-like Candi Sukuh Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons |
Other notable monuments on the island of Java
include: Candi Mendut, Candi Ceto, Candi Arjuna, Candi Kidal, and Candi
Penataran. These are only a handful of the many monuments built to honor gods,
spirits, kings, and animals throughout Java.
Many of these monuments have been restored to their
original shape and brilliance, and it is amazing to think that considering the
frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in Southern Indonesia, some of the ancient
structures still stand. The ability to construct such strong buildings
without modern machinery eludes our understanding.
A
Word on Temples
“Candis” (pronounced ‘Ch-ahn-dee’) or temples have
been built for centuries on Java, the most prominent ones being constructed
between 7th and 10th century AD. These structures are not
unique though. Since the tower of Babel,
the first known man-made religious monument, the “temple” has been a place of
worship for many pagan religions throughout history.But in reality they are all
merely counterfeits and perversions of what God originally instituted.
In the Bible, the Temple of
the Lord was a very important place. It was at the Temple where sacrifices were
made for the “purifying of the flesh” (Hebrews 9:13) and where God-fearing
people would worship the Lord. At the same time the Jews honored the living
God, the One True God, the pagan nations around them constructed temples for their
gods (Judges 9:46, 2 Chronicles 32:21, 36:7).
The Lord ordered the Israelites to destroy such
temples and tear down the high places (Leviticus 26:30, Numbers 33:52,
Deuteronomy 12:2). It is ironic then that today, in a world fascinated with
antiquity, some have fought to restore such places. But they won’t last forever—Praise
the Lord that His kingdom is everlasting! “Unless the Lord builds the house,
they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1).
Holy
Mountains
Indonesian
people generally have respect for mountains. Shrines and graves of ancient
kings and even village rulers dating back to the 15th century have
been found on the tops of high peaks. Mount Lawu, located in Central Java, is
considered by locals to be the holiest mountain in the world.. Indeed, people
travel far distances to climb to its 10,000 ft. high summit to fast and pray to
their ancestors' spirits. Interestingly enough, there are at least ten ancient
complexes of stone terraces and walls on Lawu’s top. The largest terrace is
about 330 feet long and 65 feet wide. These structures have been given
estimated construction dates around the time of Christ![10]
Conclusion
Each of the aforementioned ancient structures of
Java are all evidence that the ancient people were truly intelligent, just as
God’s Word implies. The construction of monuments in the shapes of mountains
and on top of mountains testifies to the spread of ideas from the Tower of
Babel to Asia. The people of Java are descendants of Adam and Eve, not the
product of evolution.
But all these ancient monuments are products of Satan’s counterfeit
kingdom— perversions of God’s perfect created institutions. Unfortunately, many
Indonesian people today have bought into Satan’s lies and worship the spirits
of their ancestors, animals, and even rocks and trees rather than the Creator
of the universe.
“Professing to be wise,
they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an
image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed animals
and crawling creatures” (Romans 1: 22-23).
In ancient times, the people mixed such animism with
Hindu and Buddhist influences. Although these belief systems are contradictory,
they are from the same counterfeit kingdom. Syncretism, the combining of
multiple contradictory beliefs, has been a part of Indonesian culture for
centuries. Today, in the world’s largest Muslim nation, most Indonesians still
hold on to their animistic beliefs. They hold two authorities that could not
mix if they were to live out their beliefs.
In reality there is only one true authority: the God
of the Bible. And He presents salvation as a free gift to any who would believe
in Jesus Christ His Son as the perfect atoning sacrifice for all mankind’s sin.
There is no neutral ground: "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
[1] "Indonesia Facts." National
Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web.
16 July 2013.
<http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/indonesia-facts/>.
[2]
Read Genesis 11:1-9 for the historical account of the tower of Babel. Chapters
8-9 in The Genius of Ancient Man give
evidence for the dispersion at Babel by presenting examples of commonalities in
ancient architecture and culture worldwide. And as described in chapter 4,
these commonalities are actually counterfeits of God’s original good creation.
[3]
For a Biblical perspective on the discovery of ‘Java Man’, read “Who Was Java
Man?” at http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/cm/v13/n3/java-man
[4]
Oey
[5] "Temple." Art Asia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15
July 2013. <http://artasia.www2.50megs.com/Indonesia/temple.htm>.
[6] "Borobudur, Prambanan & Ratu
Boko." Borobudur,
Prambanan & Ratu Boko. Borobudur Park, 2011. Web. 14 July 2013.
<http://www.borobudurpark.com/temple/borobudurTemple>.
[7] "Prambanan Temple Compounds." - UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
N.p., n.d. Web. 15 July 2013. <http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/642>.
[8] Oey, Eric. Java: Garden of the East. [Hong
Kong]: Periplus Editions, 1995. Print.
[9]
(Oey)
[10]
(Oey)
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