This document discusses how and why Western civilization became secular-liberal. It argues that the trauma of Christian hegemony, problems with interpreting biblical texts, and theological issues within Christianity contributed to its secularization. Several historians and theologians are cited arguing that secularization was a consequence of biblical faith's impact on history. The document also discusses the various conflicts, divisions, and atrocities within Christianity throughout history between Catholics and Protestants and between religious and political authorities. It suggests these events weakened Christianity's dominance and influence over politics and society, paving the way for secular liberal values.

1. MENGAPA BARAT
MENJADI SEKULAR-LIBERAL?
Oleh:
Adian Husaini
Ph.D. Candidate di ISTAC-IIUM
(*Analisis lebih jauh dan referensi: lihat, Adian Husaini, Wajah
Peradaban Barat:Dari Hegemoni Kristen ke Dominasi
Sekular-Liberal, (Jakarta:Gema Insani Press, 2005)

2. Arend Theodor van Leeuwen:
Kultur sekular adalah hadiah Kristen
kepada dunia.(Christianity’s gift to the
world).
(Lihat, Mark Juergensmeyer, The New Cold War?, (London:
University of California Press, 1993)

3. Owen Chadwick:
“Liberal=free from restraint. The liberal
state… must be the secular state”.
(Owen Chadwick, The Secularization of the
European Mind in the Nineteenth Century, (New
York: Cambridge University Press, 1975).

4. Mengapa Barat Sekular-Liberal?

Trauma sejarah hegemoni
Kristen

Problema teks Bible

Problema teologi Kristen

5. Bernard Lewis:
Sejarah Kekristenan banyak diwarnai
perpecahan (skisma) dan kekafiran (heresy);
dengan konflik antar kelompok yang berujung
pada peperangan atau persekusi... kehidupan
toleran hanya mungkin dilakukan jika
kekuasaan Gereja untuk mengatur politik
dihilangkan, begitu juga campur tangan
negara terhadap Gereja.

6. Lord Acton:
All power tends to corrupt; absolute
power corrupts absolutely. (Surat
kepada Bishop Mandell Creighton,
1887)

7. Zaman Pertengahan Peradaban Barat:
The Dark Ages of Europe, The
Medieval Ages, Keruntuhan
Romawi Barat-Renaissance (4761400-an)

8. Renaissance:
“Rebirth” (kelahiran kembali). Barat merasa
hidup kembali, setelah ‘mati’ selama sekitar 1.000
tahun hidup di bawah cengkeraman kekuasaan
Gereja, yang dipenuhi berbagai penyimpangan.

9. Pertumbuhan Kekuasaan Gereja
•Edict
of Milan, 313 M
•Edict of Theodosius, 392 M
•Pope Gregory I (590-604), the creator of the
political power of the popes)
•Pope Leo III, 800 M, mengangkat
Charlemagne sebagai ‘Emperor of the Romans’

10. Konflik-konflik Paus vs Raja:
•Pope
Gregory VII vs Henry IV
•Raja Henry VIII (1491-1547) –
Lahirnya Gereja Anglikan

11. Konflik-konflik Katolik-Protestan:
Martin Luther: “Antichrist is the Pope and
the Turk together. A beast full of life must
have a body and soul. The spirit or soul of
Antichrist is the Pope, his flesh and body
the Turk.”

12. The St. Bartholomew’s Day
Massacre (1572):
Diperkirakan 10.000 orang mati.
Selama berminggu-minggu jalanjalan di Paris dipenuhi dengan mayatmayat laki-laki, wanita, dan anakanak, yang membusuk.

13. Perebutan Tahta Inggris:
Konflik berdarah perebutan tahta
Inggris dari Queen Mary (Katolik) ke
Elizabeth I (Protestan).

14. Inquisition:
Most of us would agree that one of the most evil of
all Christian institutions was the Inquisition, which
was an instrument of terror in the Catholic Church
until the end of seventeenth century. Its methods
were also used by Protestants to persecute and
control the Catholics in their countries. (Karen
Armstrong)

15. anti-clericalism
(Beware of a women if you are in front
of her, a mule if you are behind it, and
a priest whether you are in front or
behind).

16. Scott Peck:
“Sekali kata ‘religion’ disebutkan di dunia Barat,
ini akan membuat orang berpikir tentang: …
inquisisi, tahyul, lemah semangat, paham
dogmatis, munafik, benar sendiri, kekakuan,
kekasaran, pembakaran buku, pembakaran dukun,
larangan-larangan, ketakutan, taat aturan agama,
pengakuan dosa, dan kegilaan.”

17. Friedrich Gogarten:
Gogarten
Secularization is the legitimate consequence
of the impact of biblical faith on history.

18. Harvey Cox:
Far from being something Christians should
be against, secularization represents an
authentic consequence of biblical faith.
Rather than oppose it, the task of Christians
should be to support and nourish it.

19. Richard Elliot Friedman,Who
Wrote the Bible?
(It is a strange fact
that we have never
known with
certainty who
produced the book
that has played a
central role in our
civilization)

20. Richard Elliot Friedman:
Five Book of Moses… adalah teka-teki
paling tua di dunia (It is one of the
oldest puzzles in the world).

21. Prof. Bruce M. Metzger, guru besar
Perjanjian Baru di Princeton Theological
Seminary :
“The Text of the New Testament: Its
Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration”
(Oxford University Press, 1985).

22. Prof. Bruce M. Metzger:
Dua kondisi yang selalu dihadapi oleh
penafsir Bible, yaitu (1) tidak adanya
dokumen Bible yang original saat ini, dan
(2) bahan-bahan yang ada pun sekarang ini
bermacam-macam, berbeda satu dengan
lainnya. (A Textual Commentaary on the Greek
New Testament”, United Bible Societies, 1975)

23. Bruce M. Metzger:
(the way is open for the possible edition of
another book or epistle to the New
Testament canon). Bruce M. Metzger, The
Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin,
Development, and Significance,
(Oxford:Clarendon Press, 1987)

24. Prof. Alphonse Mingana (1927):
The time has surely come to subject the text
of the Qur’an to the same criticism as that
to which we subject the Hebrew and
Aramaic of the Jewish Bible, and the Greek
of the Christian scriptures
(masanya sudah tiba untuk mengkritik alQuran
sebagaimana Bible Yahudi dan Kristen)

25. Oxford Concise Dictionary
of the Christian Church:
 Critical
study of the Bible: “It sets out from
the belief that an ancient writing must be
interpreted in its historical perspective and
related to the circumstances of its
composition and its meaning and purpose
for its author and first readers.”

26. Variasi Teks Bible:
Kitab 1 Raja-raja 11:1
*Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia (2000) : “Ada
pun Raja Salomo mencintai banyak perempuan
asing. Disamping anak Firaun ia mencintai
perempuan-perempuan Moab, Amon, Edom,
Sidon, dan Het.”

27. Variasi Teks Bible:
Kitab 1 Raja-raja 11:1
*The Living Bible : “King Salomon
married any other girls besides the
Egyptian princess. Many of them came
from nations where idols were worshipped
– Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon and from
the Hittites.”

28. Variasi Teks Bible:
Kitab 1 Raja-raja 11:1
Bible King James Version menulis: But
King Solomon loved many strange
women, together with the daughter of
Paharaoh, women of Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and
Hittites.”

29. Variasi Teks Bible:
Kitab 1 Raja-raja 11:1
The Bible Revised Standard Version:
“Now King Solomon loved many foreign
women; the daughter of Pharaoh, and
Moabites, Ammonite, E’domite,
Sido’niah, and Hittite women.”

30. Variasi Teks Bible:
Kitab 1 Raja-raja 11:1
Vulgate: “rex autem Salomon amavit
mulieres alienigenas multas filiam
quoque Pharaonis et Moabitidas et
Ammanitidas Idumeas et Sidonias et
Chettheas.”

31. Mark Twain:
“It’s not the parts of the Bible which I
can’t understand that bother me, it’s the
parts that I can understand.”

32. News Week (6 Februari 2004 ):
“But the Bible can be a problematic
source”.

33. Variasi Teks Bible:
2 Samuel, 11:2
LAI (2000): “Sekali peristiwa pada waktu petang,
ketika Daud bangun dari tempat pembaringannya lalu
berjalan-jalan di atas sotoh istana, tampak kepadanya
dari atas sotoh istana itu seorang perempuan sedang
mandi; perempuan itu sangat elok rupanya”.

34. Variasi Teks Bible:
2 Samuel, 11:2
King James Version: “And it came to pass in
an evening tide, that David arose from off his
bed, and walked upon the roof of the King’s
house: and from the roof he saw a women
washing herself; and the woman was very
beautiful to look upon.”

35. Variasi Teks Bible:
2 Samuel, 11:2
The Living Bible: “One night he couldn’t get
to sleep and went for a stroll on the roof of
the palace. As he looked out over the city,
he noticed a women of unusual beauty
taking her evening bath.”

36. Variasi Teks Bible:
2 Samuel, 11:2
Revised Standard Version: “It happened,
late one afternoon, when David arose from
his couch and was walking upon the roof
of the king’s house, that he saw from the
roof a women bathing; and the women was
very beautiful.”

37. Dr. C. Groenen ofm:
“seluruh permasalahan kristologi di dunia
Barat berasal dari kenyataan bahwa di dunia
Barat, Tuhan menjadi satu problem”.

38. Dr. C. Groenen ofm :
“iman tidak tergantung pada pemikiran dan
spekulasi para teolog. Yesus Kristus, relevansi dan
kebenaran abadi-Nya, akhirnya hanya tercapai
dengan hati yang beriman dan berkasih. Yesus
Kristus, Kebenaran, selalu lebih besar dari otak
manusia, meski otak itu sangat cerdas dan tajam
sekali pun.”

39. Thomas Aquinas:
“… deum esse trinum et unum est solum
creditum, et nullo modo potest
demonstrative probari” (That God is three
and one is only known by belief, and it is
in no way possible for this to be
demonstratively proven by reason).

40. St. Augustine (de Trinitate):
“Credo ut intellegam” (Aku percaya
supaya aku bisa mengerti)

41. Tertullian:
Credo quia absurdum!” (Aku beriman
justru karena doktrin tersebut tidak
masuk akal). ‘absurdum’=
irrational, senseless, against
reason or common sense, clearly
false or foolish, and ridiculous.

42. Dr. C. Groenen ofm:
“seluruh permasalahan kristologi
di dunia Barat berasal dari
kenyataan bahwa di dunia Barat,
Tuhan menjadi satu problem”.

43. Thomas Aquinas:
 deum
esse trinum et unum est solum
creditum, et nullo modo potest
demonstrative probari” (That God is three
and one is only known by belief, and it is in
no way possible for this to be
demonstratively proven by reason).

44. St. Jerome:
“De mysterio Trinitatis recta confessio est
ignoratio scientia” (Misteri trinitas hanya
dapat diimani, tidak dapat dipahami)

45. Matius 3:17:
Matius 3:17 "Maka suatu suara dari
langit mengatakan, "Inilah anakku
yang kukasihi. Kepadanya Aku
berkenan."

46. Syahadat Nicea:
“Kami percaya pada satu Allah, Bapa Yang
Mahakuasa, Pencipta segala yang kelihatan
maupun yang tidak kelihatan. Dan pada satu
Tuhan Yesus Kristus, Putra Allah, Putra
Tunggal yang dikandung dari Allah, yang
berasal dari hakikat Bapa, Allah dari Allah,
terang dari terang, Allah benar dari Allah
Benar, dilahirkan tetapi tidak diciptakan,
sehakikat dengan Bapa, melalui dia segala
sesuatu menjadi ada…”

47. Perubahan konsep syahadat Kristen:
•
•
•
•
Konsili Efesus,431, melarang perubahan apa pun
pada ‘Syahadat Nicea’, dengan ancaman kutukan
Gereja (anathema).
Konsili Kalsedon, 451, mengubah ‘Syahadat
Nicea’. Kutukan thd Arius dihapus.
Konsili Toledo III, 589, Gereja Barat menambah
frasa “dan Putra” (Filioque), pada penggal kalimat
“dan akan Roh Kudus … yang berasal dari Bapa”.
Konsili Vatikan II, 1962-65, mengganti kata
pembuka “Aku percaya” menjadi “Kami percaya”.

48. The Da Vici Code:
Jesus sebenarnya sempat mengawini Mary
Magdalena dan mewariskan Gerejanya
kepada Magdalena, bukan kepada Saint
Peter yang kemudian mendirikan Gereja di
Roma. Jesus pun punya anak dari Mary
Magdalena, yang – karena takut dikejarkejar murid-murid Jesus – maka melarikan
diri ke Perancis.

49. Gospel of Philip:
“And the companion of the Saviour is Mary
Magdalene. Christ loved her more than all
the disciples and used to kiss her often on
her mouth. The rest of the disciples were
offended by it and expressed disapproval.
They said to him, “Why do you love her
more than all of us?”

50. I say quite deliberately that the Christian
Religion, as organized in its Churches, has
been and still is the principal enemy of moral
progress in the world. (Bertrand Russel,
dalam Why I am Not A Christian)