I happened to watch the movie Silence quite recently and it raised quite a few questions. A friend of mine also had some doubts so I mailed her attempting to answer it and decided to post it here as well. Please note that this is written for someone who has already watched the entire movie otherwise it may not make sense.
Dear friend,
Happened to see the mail and I thought I would share my views with you. I am sorry this is so long and I do hope you will read till the end.
I loved this movie so much that I actually watched it twice. The first time I watched it I was left feeling disturbed. Disturbed because I could fully understand the struggle that Rodrigues went through and at the same time it didn't agree with my Christian beliefs that God would give permission to apostasy. I could not bring myself to accept that these people would end up losing their salvation when they were tortured so terribly in order to do so. Especially considering the fact that if put to the same test a good majority of us would fail.
The only consolation for me at that time was that the movie was a work of fiction. So imagine my horror when I realised that both individuals existed in real life. Fr Ferreira and Fr. Rodrigues (Giuseppe Chiara). Their stories are very much the same as the movie except for a few essential differences.
Kichijiro was a perfect example for this dilemma and he makes a very good point. He says that at another time, many years back he could have lived and died as a good Christian. He questions why he was born at a time when there was persecution and asks where is the place for a weak man in this world. And he is right.
Martyrdom is indeed a glorious thing, it takes a tremendous amount of courage and more importantly faith to be willing to die for our beliefs. But we are all created differently. We differ with respect to our talents and attributes and our strengths. What is easy for someone else might not be easy for me and I believe that God takes this into account. If martyrdom were an easy thing to do and everyone who believed was capable of it the church would not give such great importance to those who died as martyrs. They are revered and canonized in most cases only because we recognize the cost of what it takes to be willing to die for the faith.
Secondly to believe that one would lose their salvation for apostasy is a reductionist theory. I say this because we need to take all the factors into account. Hanging in the pit was a method of torture devised by the Japanese and it was especially cruel and drawn out and painful. They were tied tightly to restrict blood flow and a slit was made in the neck to ensure that blood drips out instead of pooling at the top of their head and rendering them unconscious. Those who were subjected to this kind of torture would hang in a limbo, in a state between life and death in extreme pain from anywhere between three to nine days. It was a method of torture that could break the bravest man. And this is what Fr. Ferreira was subjected to for 5 hours before he gave in and renounced the faith in public. Imagine the physical strain. Imagine the psychological strain. He was probably not even in a position to make a rational decision. An apostasy under such circumstances, can it be considered true apostasy?
Remember that Ferreira did not apostatize instantly. He was ready and willing to die for Christ. It was only after 5 hours of torture that he gave in and renounced in public. Later accounts say that he never stopped believing though and was always remorseful and repentant for the rest of his life, wondering if God would forgive him. And it is said that he eventually dies as a martyr.
But I believe even if he didn't die as a martyr he would not have lost his salvation.
As humans we know that an innocent man who is forced and beaten by the police to admit guilt is not actually guilty. We disregard such a testimony because we know it happened under duress and people will say anything to make the pain stop. If we humans can understand this can the God who created us and know our hearts not understand?
What is true apostasy? True apostasy is the absolute renunciation of God, the turning away, to give him up entirely. True apostasy is to stop believing. True apostasy is rebellion and it happens in the heart. But here we only see two men who wanted and willed to die for God but succumbed to torture. They lived the rest of their lives repenting and never stopped believing. They said something that they never meant just to make the torture stop.
Both priests came to Japan with the intention to evangelize. Fr. Ferreira spent 30 years in Japan doing much good work for the kingdom of God. Is all this disregarded because of his apostasy which was not a true rebellion? Is God someone who forgets all the efforts and the good that we have done just because of a moment of weakness at a particular point in time?
Does He turn his back on the repentant sinner? We know that He does not. We believe in a merciful God.
We also know that put to the same test we would probably fail. I would not last a second of torture. Do I get to go to heaven because I was never tested? Do they get damned only because they had the misfortune to undergo persecution?
This is why I understood the part where Jesus asks him to step. It was an infinitely hard moment for me, and I was struggling with it. But God knows our struggles, He knows our limits. And I believe that even if he didn't take any pleasure in the act of apostasy itself (our denial of God is always a very painful thing because He loves us) He understands why we do what we do when we are weak. Perhaps if we had a stronger relationship and a greater faith we would not have succumbed. And He gradually brings us to such a place.
I would not last in torture now. My relationship with Christ is not strong enough at this point of time but I hope and pray that eventually the relationship will grow to a point that I would be willing to even die for Him. And I have faith that He will bring me there. If I was tested now I would fail. But I also believe He would understand.
Matthew 22:37 says Yeshua said to him, “You shall love THE LORD JEHOVAH your God from all your heart and from all your soul and from all your power and from all your mind.” That is the key. From all your power or in other words your strength. Your strength which is different from mine and everyone else.
Fr. Ferreira's whole strength was the 5 hours he lasted in the pit. He truly did love the Lord with all his mind, with all his soul, with all his heart and with the power that he had. So he did not fail the commandment. He did everything within his power at the time. And eventually ended up dying as a martyr(although I am unsure if the source is reliable but I would like to believe that.)
With all the power endowed upon the church I still think no one in the church can tell with absolute certainty what the limits of God's mercy is. Only God knows and we trust in His infinite mercy. We cannot say that anyone is damned to hell or has lost their salvation. God alone judges.
Just a random addition after finding out that both Fr. Ferreira and Fr. Rodrigues were in fact real people I spent the whole night in a sort of delirium constantly praying that I wish I could know if they were in heaven.
Happened to see the mail and I thought I would share my views with you. I am sorry this is so long and I do hope you will read till the end.
I loved this movie so much that I actually watched it twice. The first time I watched it I was left feeling disturbed. Disturbed because I could fully understand the struggle that Rodrigues went through and at the same time it didn't agree with my Christian beliefs that God would give permission to apostasy. I could not bring myself to accept that these people would end up losing their salvation when they were tortured so terribly in order to do so. Especially considering the fact that if put to the same test a good majority of us would fail.
The only consolation for me at that time was that the movie was a work of fiction. So imagine my horror when I realised that both individuals existed in real life. Fr Ferreira and Fr. Rodrigues (Giuseppe Chiara). Their stories are very much the same as the movie except for a few essential differences.
Kichijiro was a perfect example for this dilemma and he makes a very good point. He says that at another time, many years back he could have lived and died as a good Christian. He questions why he was born at a time when there was persecution and asks where is the place for a weak man in this world. And he is right.
Martyrdom is indeed a glorious thing, it takes a tremendous amount of courage and more importantly faith to be willing to die for our beliefs. But we are all created differently. We differ with respect to our talents and attributes and our strengths. What is easy for someone else might not be easy for me and I believe that God takes this into account. If martyrdom were an easy thing to do and everyone who believed was capable of it the church would not give such great importance to those who died as martyrs. They are revered and canonized in most cases only because we recognize the cost of what it takes to be willing to die for the faith.
Secondly to believe that one would lose their salvation for apostasy is a reductionist theory. I say this because we need to take all the factors into account. Hanging in the pit was a method of torture devised by the Japanese and it was especially cruel and drawn out and painful. They were tied tightly to restrict blood flow and a slit was made in the neck to ensure that blood drips out instead of pooling at the top of their head and rendering them unconscious. Those who were subjected to this kind of torture would hang in a limbo, in a state between life and death in extreme pain from anywhere between three to nine days. It was a method of torture that could break the bravest man. And this is what Fr. Ferreira was subjected to for 5 hours before he gave in and renounced the faith in public. Imagine the physical strain. Imagine the psychological strain. He was probably not even in a position to make a rational decision. An apostasy under such circumstances, can it be considered true apostasy?
Remember that Ferreira did not apostatize instantly. He was ready and willing to die for Christ. It was only after 5 hours of torture that he gave in and renounced in public. Later accounts say that he never stopped believing though and was always remorseful and repentant for the rest of his life, wondering if God would forgive him. And it is said that he eventually dies as a martyr.
But I believe even if he didn't die as a martyr he would not have lost his salvation.
As humans we know that an innocent man who is forced and beaten by the police to admit guilt is not actually guilty. We disregard such a testimony because we know it happened under duress and people will say anything to make the pain stop. If we humans can understand this can the God who created us and know our hearts not understand?
What is true apostasy? True apostasy is the absolute renunciation of God, the turning away, to give him up entirely. True apostasy is to stop believing. True apostasy is rebellion and it happens in the heart. But here we only see two men who wanted and willed to die for God but succumbed to torture. They lived the rest of their lives repenting and never stopped believing. They said something that they never meant just to make the torture stop.
Both priests came to Japan with the intention to evangelize. Fr. Ferreira spent 30 years in Japan doing much good work for the kingdom of God. Is all this disregarded because of his apostasy which was not a true rebellion? Is God someone who forgets all the efforts and the good that we have done just because of a moment of weakness at a particular point in time?
Does He turn his back on the repentant sinner? We know that He does not. We believe in a merciful God.
We also know that put to the same test we would probably fail. I would not last a second of torture. Do I get to go to heaven because I was never tested? Do they get damned only because they had the misfortune to undergo persecution?
This is why I understood the part where Jesus asks him to step. It was an infinitely hard moment for me, and I was struggling with it. But God knows our struggles, He knows our limits. And I believe that even if he didn't take any pleasure in the act of apostasy itself (our denial of God is always a very painful thing because He loves us) He understands why we do what we do when we are weak. Perhaps if we had a stronger relationship and a greater faith we would not have succumbed. And He gradually brings us to such a place.
I would not last in torture now. My relationship with Christ is not strong enough at this point of time but I hope and pray that eventually the relationship will grow to a point that I would be willing to even die for Him. And I have faith that He will bring me there. If I was tested now I would fail. But I also believe He would understand.
Matthew 22:37 says Yeshua said to him, “You shall love THE LORD JEHOVAH your God from all your heart and from all your soul and from all your power and from all your mind.” That is the key. From all your power or in other words your strength. Your strength which is different from mine and everyone else.
Fr. Ferreira's whole strength was the 5 hours he lasted in the pit. He truly did love the Lord with all his mind, with all his soul, with all his heart and with the power that he had. So he did not fail the commandment. He did everything within his power at the time. And eventually ended up dying as a martyr(although I am unsure if the source is reliable but I would like to believe that.)
With all the power endowed upon the church I still think no one in the church can tell with absolute certainty what the limits of God's mercy is. Only God knows and we trust in His infinite mercy. We cannot say that anyone is damned to hell or has lost their salvation. God alone judges.
Just a random addition after finding out that both Fr. Ferreira and Fr. Rodrigues were in fact real people I spent the whole night in a sort of delirium constantly praying that I wish I could know if they were in heaven.
Next morning I received the following verse:
Romans 15:13 New International Version (NIV)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And the whole day I kept getting signs reaffirming to hope. I really believe they both are in heaven and I've been asking for their intercession ever since :) Sorry again for the long, drawn out mail, it is a result of weeks of reflection and doubts and struggles but I really love what this movie taught me. I was wondering if anyone else was going through the same.
Romans 15:13 New International Version (NIV)
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And the whole day I kept getting signs reaffirming to hope. I really believe they both are in heaven and I've been asking for their intercession ever since :) Sorry again for the long, drawn out mail, it is a result of weeks of reflection and doubts and struggles but I really love what this movie taught me. I was wondering if anyone else was going through the same.
Hope this helped!
Love,
Pratibha
Love,
Pratibha
