Ity through Scripture Songwriting in IndonesiaMatt Connor 1,two, and Matt Menger two,three, 1 2Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc., Orlando, FL 32862, USA Globe Arts, Dallas International University, Dallas, TX 75236, USA SIL International, Dallas, TX 75236, USA Correspondence: [email protected] (M.C.); [email protected] (M.M.)Abstract: Bible translation and indigenous hymnody have normally been crucial components from the localization with the Christian faith. In this study, we describe how nearby songwriters producing songs with lyrics primarily based on translated scriptures play a essential part within the approach of localization in Christian communities in Indonesia. We concentrate mostly on thirty-nine scripture songwriting workshops that we and our colleagues conducted over the previous six years in Indonesia, at the same time as ongoing interactions we had with communities in Ambon and Central Sulawesi. We commence using a literature assessment to establish the influences which shaped our songwriting workshops and our motivation for conducting them, and after that we describe the workshops themselves plus the course of action of musical localization that took location. All through the study, we highlight the role of local agency, the importance of fusion genres, along with the creation of exclusive Christian identities by means of the localization of music. Keywords and phrases: musical localization; fusion; hybridity; songwriting; bible translation; ethnodoxology; ethnoartsCitation: Connor, Matt, and Matt Menger. 2021. Strengthening Christian Identity by means of Scripture Songwriting in Indonesia. Religions 12: 873. https://doi.org/10.3390/ rel12100873 Academic Editors: John MacInnis and Jeremy Perigo Received: 12 August 2021 Accepted: 7 October 2021 Published: 13 October1. Introduction Most of the fifteen members in the songwriting group Pontong crammed into our modest, sweltering studio to record a current composition. Anez Latupeirissa, a church musician trained in Western hymnody, had lately returned from a trip for the remote island of Haruku. He had heard a standard marinyo calling the village with each other and was inspired to write a brand new song inviting Moluccans to worship. As the recording light turned from green to red, a retired Ambonese policeman began beating the tifa, a regular Moluccan hand drum. This was shortly followed by a piercing huele yodel by John Beay, a pastor who had served within the remote mountains of Buru. Latupeirissa began singing within a wealthy Western classical vocal style followed by steady electric guitar chords as well as a uncomplicated chorus in harmony, chanted by the rest of your Pontong members. The goosebumps raised on my arms, and I noticed tears brimming within the eyes on the musicians around me. This Vc-seco-DUBA manufacturer excellent mix of language, musical style, and creativity had led to a definitely hybrid and unique faith-affirming moment for everyone inside the room. Immediately after the last notes on the final huele died away, the members of Pontong had been silent to get a lengthy time, engulfed within a holy moment.1 This smaller songwriting group in Ambon, Indonesia, that I (Author 1) worked with in the story above is amongst the many groups that were born out of scripture songwriting workshops in Indonesia. During the past six years, we and our colleagues performed thirty-nine such workshops, -Blebbistatin Purity & Documentation representing more than one hundred languages, spread across most of the Indonesian archipelago. We in addition facilitated additional extended and in-depth function with songwriters and arts groups inside the Indonesian provinces of Maluku (Author 1) and Central Sulawesi (Author 2). Our prima.