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A review by davehershey
Silence by Shūsaku Endō
5.0
“From the deepest core of my being yet another voice made itself heard in a whisper. Supposing God does not exist. . . This was a frightening fancy. If he does not exist, how absurd the whole thing becomes” (72)
Why is God silent?
The world is filled with injustice and brokenness, pain and suffering. The question of evil and suffering has always been the biggest question for any Christian, or for any person of any faith. Those of us who persist in faith, if we are honest, are frequently haunted with this question. I would argue if you are not haunted by it, you have not yet taken it seriously.
This book tells the story of a priest in Japan, wrestling with this question. There is a lot of background here, and my copy had a helpful introduction to set the historical context. Also, there is a 2016 movie based on the book. I remember that movie being released but I never saw it. I may have to now.
Along with the theme of silence, another theme that runs throughout is the dichotomy between strong and weak. Early on one of the characters says men are born into two categories, strong and weak. One character who frequently shows up is weak by his own admission. He is a Japanese Christian who apostatizes, seeks forgiveness and then betrays the priests again.
Rodrigues is the priest at the center of the story. He is searching for his teacher who, rumor has it, denied faith in Christ to avoid martyrdom. Rodrigues desires to be strong yet wrestles with God’s silence. He wonders if he is weak. His faith is shaken when he sees Christians get martyred and it is not as glamorous or honorable as he expected. It is just death:
“A man died. Yet the outside world went on as if nothing happened” (130)
When he finally meets his teacher he learns why the man apostatized:
“The reason I apostatized . . . Are you ready? Listen! I was put in here and heard the voices of those people for whom God did nothing. God did not do a single thing. I prayed with all my strength; but God did nothing” (179)
“Christ would certainly have apostatized to help men” (181)
It is one thing to suffer yourself. It is another to allow others to suffer. Take the question of nonviolence. I believe to follow the teaching of Jesus is to act nonviolently. When I imagine hypothetical situations, I imagine it would be easier to resist using violence to save myself than it would be to save others. Would I use violence to save my child, or any child? That would be a much greater test than if it was merely my own life in danger. This is the genius of the book: Rodrigues is most challenged when it is others, not himself, who suffer.
By the end of the book then, Rodrigues realizes there are neither strong nor weak. The idea that the strong (or those who appear strong) will be challenged while the weak are not is upside down. He realizes the weak are made to suffer. He realizes to apostatize is not the worst thing. He actually sees a vision of Christ, telling him to apostatize:
“And then the Christ in bronze speaks to the priest: ‘Trample! Trample! I more than anyone know of the pain in your foot. Trample! It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world. It was to share men’s pain that I carried my cross” (183)
Why is God silent? The best answer we might give is that God suffers with us; this is the truth of the incarnation:
“ ‘Lord, I resented your silence.’
‘I was not silent. I suffered beside you.’” (203)
Of course, while Rodrigues has this revelation in the book, we still struggle with God’s silence in the real world. Its truly a brilliant, thought provoking book.
Why is God silent?
The world is filled with injustice and brokenness, pain and suffering. The question of evil and suffering has always been the biggest question for any Christian, or for any person of any faith. Those of us who persist in faith, if we are honest, are frequently haunted with this question. I would argue if you are not haunted by it, you have not yet taken it seriously.
This book tells the story of a priest in Japan, wrestling with this question. There is a lot of background here, and my copy had a helpful introduction to set the historical context. Also, there is a 2016 movie based on the book. I remember that movie being released but I never saw it. I may have to now.
Along with the theme of silence, another theme that runs throughout is the dichotomy between strong and weak. Early on one of the characters says men are born into two categories, strong and weak. One character who frequently shows up is weak by his own admission. He is a Japanese Christian who apostatizes, seeks forgiveness and then betrays the priests again.
Rodrigues is the priest at the center of the story. He is searching for his teacher who, rumor has it, denied faith in Christ to avoid martyrdom. Rodrigues desires to be strong yet wrestles with God’s silence. He wonders if he is weak. His faith is shaken when he sees Christians get martyred and it is not as glamorous or honorable as he expected. It is just death:
“A man died. Yet the outside world went on as if nothing happened” (130)
When he finally meets his teacher he learns why the man apostatized:
“The reason I apostatized . . . Are you ready? Listen! I was put in here and heard the voices of those people for whom God did nothing. God did not do a single thing. I prayed with all my strength; but God did nothing” (179)
“Christ would certainly have apostatized to help men” (181)
It is one thing to suffer yourself. It is another to allow others to suffer. Take the question of nonviolence. I believe to follow the teaching of Jesus is to act nonviolently. When I imagine hypothetical situations, I imagine it would be easier to resist using violence to save myself than it would be to save others. Would I use violence to save my child, or any child? That would be a much greater test than if it was merely my own life in danger. This is the genius of the book: Rodrigues is most challenged when it is others, not himself, who suffer.
By the end of the book then, Rodrigues realizes there are neither strong nor weak. The idea that the strong (or those who appear strong) will be challenged while the weak are not is upside down. He realizes the weak are made to suffer. He realizes to apostatize is not the worst thing. He actually sees a vision of Christ, telling him to apostatize:
“And then the Christ in bronze speaks to the priest: ‘Trample! Trample! I more than anyone know of the pain in your foot. Trample! It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world. It was to share men’s pain that I carried my cross” (183)
Why is God silent? The best answer we might give is that God suffers with us; this is the truth of the incarnation:
“ ‘Lord, I resented your silence.’
‘I was not silent. I suffered beside you.’” (203)
Of course, while Rodrigues has this revelation in the book, we still struggle with God’s silence in the real world. Its truly a brilliant, thought provoking book.