Langham Scholar Herry Susanto, from Indonesia, is studying for a PhD in New Zealand, focusing on God’s redemptive plan for human and non-human creation. He particularly wants to help Indonesian churches address environmental issues from a biblical perspective, using Paul’s theology as a basis.
Herry is married to Lydia and they have two children, aged 15 and 7. He has been studying at Otago University in New Zealand since August 2022. Herry is a faculty member at Tyrannus Bible Seminary, Bandung, Indonesia.
During a recent webinar, hosted by Beacon Partnerships (a collaboration between Overseas Council and Langham in New Zealand), Herry explained that Indonesia is facing huge ecological problems such as deforestation because the country is a source of palm oil.
Addressing ecological problems
“Every year, we send smoke to our neighbouring countries like Malaysia or Singapore because of these plantations. It is something that triggered me to write on this topic.
“I also found especially in the Indonesian context we don’t have a profound theological basis for the Church to address ecological problems.
“It doesn’t mean there’s no conversation about faith and ecological crisis – we have some discussions about this but mostly we use Genesis 1 and 2 as the foundation for Christian ecological concern.
“I think we need something deeper: we need something that can connect Christian ecological concern with the work of Christ because since Christ is the important foundation for Christian faith so it’s important also to correlate Christian ecological concern with Christ.
Cosmic redemption
“So that’s why I come up with this topic cosmological redemption and eco theology in the Indonesian context that focuses on Paul’s letters, especially Colossians.”
Herry explained that his PhD will compare and contrast other philosophical ideas of cosmic redemption in the Indonesian context.
He also shared about the problem of ‘dualism’, particularly in evangelical circles: the idea that the physical world doesn’t matter as much as the spiritual. Herry hopes that this perspective will change, as discussion are had about the Bible’s connection between the spiritual and material (the ‘sacred and the secular’).
How to pray
Please pray for Herry as he edits his dissertation. Pray also that he will be a blessing to the Indonesian Church when they return.
Listen to Langham Australia’s Out of the Margins podcast episode with Herry Susanto talking about his research.