Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire "Faith" claims another victim. Too bad he didn't trust science...

To me it's always sad to hear about people trusting non-existent super-natural beings - when they should be listening to scientists.

Here's the sad story - both for the leader - and his followers.

The lesson?

Never drink the cool-aid.

Even after an eruption alert was issued and most villagers on the slopes of Java's Mount Merapi had been evacuated, 83-year old Mbah (grandfather) Maridjan stayed put.

The spiritual "guardian" of the mountain, his battle to tame one of Indonesia's most active volcanoes ended on Wednesday when he was buried by the mountain's thick ash.

He was reportedly found dead in a prayer position in his house, as rescuers also dug out more than two dozen more victims in the area - many who had also refused to leave.

In the wake of the eruption, houses and fields were left blanketed in thick, white ash, while leaves had been singed off trees.

Villagers say they will mourn the loss of a respected elder who was as important to them as the mountain itself.

The mountain is seen as sacred in the region, seen as the home of ancient Javanese spirits.

Located on the outskirts of the city of Yogyakarta on Java Island, it regularly causes small eruptions in the area.

Mount Merapi is seen as sacred in the region.
For years Maridjan had led ceremonies at the volcano, dispersing rice or flowers in or around the crater in an effort to appease spirits.

Maridjan believed he had a duty to the late sultan of Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono IX, who had appointed him for this purpose.

If there were to be an eruption, many villagers believed Maridjan would be warned in a vision.

Local beliefs are a mix of Islam, Indonesia's most predominant religion, and those dating from the island's Hindu-Buddhist period.

One tradition is the annual Labuhan ceremony, an auspicious event where the palace makes offerings to spirits, including the Goddess of the South Sea, Kanjeng Ratu Kidul.

It was Marijan who helped ensure such rituals were upheld.

Now that he's no longer around, who's going to look after Merapi?� It is not the first time the old man had defied warnings from the authorities about the volcano.

In 2006, when Mt Merapi last erupted, Maridjan even went closer to the crater, to meditate.

At the time, he told one journalist: "I'm not afraid because it's my duty.

"I'm like a soldier - they are never scared," he added.

Perhaps it came as less of a surprise then, when this time, despite government warnings, Mbah Maridjan decided that it was important to stay.

One rescue worker said that Maridjan was adamant in his refusal to leave his home village of Kinahrejo, just 5km (three miles) from the crater.

"I'm so used to being at home, it's better for me to just stay here and pray," Maridjan reportedly told him.

A journalist meanwhile perished trying to warn the old man to leave, according to local reports.

Maridjan was not the only one who could not bring themselves to leave, and rescuers say they fear the death toll may rise.

"I keep thinking about what's happening up there, with my cows, my property," said Hadi Sumarmo, who has a farm in Srumbung, a village 5km from the crater's mouth.

"I just want to go back to check. If I hear sirens, I'll get out again quickly."

For many survivors, the region will not be the same without their spiritual protector.

"To us, Maridjan is as important as Merapi. Now that he's no longer around, who's going to look after Merapi?" Wanto, 56, a farmer, told AFP news agency.

"What happens if there's another eruption?"

But, according to the Jakarta Globe, it was not a shock to the Yogyakarta palace, who had been warned of Maridjan's fate from a premonition.

"We had known long before it happened that Mbah Maridjan would be taken by Merapi," the newspaper quoted Gusti Prabukusumo, the brother of the current sultan, as saying.

"Now that he's gone, we have to choose a new gatekeeper soon."

You are soooooo superior to the rest of us.

Thank you for enlightening us.

BMT

brian is a genius!

Like the global warming scientists. miles

BCBrain,

If your faith gets you through the daily grind, I have no objection, do you? Better to have faith and not need it than to lack faith and find out you needed it. Common sense works well when combined with faith. BLIND faith is another matter altogether and can be fruitless when other options are available. Maybe in this case it is just God's way of cleansing the gene pool.

A reguler Instine!

Come on, Brian. The scientific method can tell us only very little about the world in which we live and its history.

He preaches atheism like it's a religion.

What a hippocrit. laffin'.

Maybe God wanted him to die?

Do you really believe that? If you do, how do you get through your average day?

Brian,
Don't wait 'till the eleventh hour to realize you need to talk to God. Those that do usually die at 10:30.

I really like that quote...

Did you hear it before, or is that an original?

Brian, you are SUCH an azzhole.

I've heard it before.

I guess I'm a little glad folks like Columbus, Galileo, and Copernicus DIDN'T listen to scientists.!

just watched an interesting entertainment snippet on the history channel...said columbus was in search of a lower-cost spice route to the far-east.

he must of been a republican?

Come on, that's a pretty weak incite, !

At 83 it is likely he has more experience with the volcanoe & mountain than most, including you and the scientists. Your own post states his faith carried him through at other times.

At 83 it is likely his faith has been tested more than most.

At 83 he might have known something about his health.

At 83 maybe he was just tired of taking care of the mountain.

At 83 maybe he realized his duty was done, and it was time to take up milking cows, in another world of course. (that scenario stands only if the cows perished of course)

At 83 not knowing his beliefs and faith personally, maybe faith was telling him it was time to reincarnate, as a cow of course. (see graph preceding this one)

At 83 maybe he realized his strength and faith needed youth to tame the mountain. And who knows, just maybe his faith and prayer did tame the mountain.

At 83 due to his faith and fulfillment of duty, perhaps he had a premonition about those who perished with him we know nothing about now that he has passed.

Whole lot of scenarios we can invent about this man and event, other than he drank Kool-aid.

....just funning ya'!

I imagine that the scientists could invent a real potent cool aid. Prolly make some folks believe in neverlution!

Our buddy Brian must be "god" if he "knows" God doesn't exist. Talk about "blind faith". God doesn't apparently fit into his world view therefore He doesn't exist. Must be nice to be the center of the universe. Still wish him well and a good hunting season.
The beauty of true faith (not an animistic witch doctor) is that it's not incompatible with with "science" but realizes that each will eventually complement the other. But those who blindly trust in "science" will follow blindly as an archeologist makes a "missing link" out of a pigs tooth as the early evolutionists did. But since they were "scientists", they were the voice of absolute truth....right???
I think Brian's biggest arguments actually lie with the thousands of scientists in medicine, biology, chemistry, physics etc who have a genuine belief in God. Who wouldn't want to discover the mysteries of God's creation and answer previously unanswered questions.
I rather think it is part of being made in the image of God that drives us to exploration in any number if scientific endeavors, as well as to "create" things out of what the world has given us. Science, art and knowledge is simply a manifestation of Gods characteristics put into man. Creativity and the quest for knowledge is a natural manifestation of being created by an Intelligent Creator that stamped his immage in the human soul.
The problem for Brian is that if he acknowldges there may even be a "God", then that could imply he may have some responsibility to recon with the same. But for someone who wishes to answer to no one but himself, athiesm is the "easy way out" and provides even an illusion of being "intellectually superior". Everybody needs to choose for themselves what to put their trust in, "but for me and my house, we will trust in the Lord". I see no conflict with science, intellegence, or truth in coming to this conclusion.