Evaluating the God Talk in Endo's Silence and the God Talk of Discrimination Against Blacks

People from all different backgrounds, including members of the religious community and academics, have generated important interpretations of how God works over the years. People now find it difficult to agree with their interpretation of how God works, which is unfortunate. However, the general public has come to agree on a number of points regarding God's work. When comparing the ways God works in Shausaku Endo's novel Silence to the lives of black people in the majority of Western nations, for instance, commonalities can be found. In the novel, God appears to let various acts of evil, such as betrayal to occur for the sake of passing a message. A similar observation is made in the case scenario of the white discrimination against the blacks. In the Bible, several inferences can be drawn to show that God does not oppose slavery which is a form of discrimination against others. The paper examines various ways which can be interpreted in a similar manner, through which God functions in Endo’s novel Silence. The essay will focus on assessing how the God-talks in the two study areas illuminate each other.

Overview of the Symbol of God Functions in Silence

McInerny described Silence as “one of the most unsettling novels a Catholic could read.” The novel provides an insightful narration of experiences of Portuguese Jesuits who faced persecution and martyrdom in Japan during the seventeenth century. In the novel, Endo posed to his readers the picture of the most difficult moral dilemmas that could only be imagined. The key themes that emerged in the picture include the apostasy and persecution. However, the most critical observation made from the novel is the aspect of God letting the characters to apostatize and sin.

The theme of God’s silence when He passes His people during the persecution moments is clearly evident in the novel. One of the ways which manifests the symbol of God's functions in the novel is the creation of an environment enabling evil acts to occur with an intention of passing out a message. The chronology of events that led to the persecution of Jesus Christ was prophesied. The setting for Christ's persecution was deliberately choreographed because the act had to occur to cleanse the sins of the world. A similar environment is created in the novel evident from the choice of location where the story was set. Endo narrates the occurrence of the persecutions in the seventeenth-century Japan where Christianity was hugely embraced than China. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of Portuguese Jesuits to keep the Christianity light burning in the country, the religion has now been outlawed. Japan was appropriate for the story because it did not keep the religion at heart and, therefore, paving way for persecutions.

The second manifestation of how God works in the novel is the way God passes silently during the moment of the death of a martyr. The persecutions in the 17th century Japan occur without difficulties, thus creating jitters among the critics who question whether God exists and, if He exists, how then He not intervenes during the persecution of his people. However, the case scenario as can be viewed in light of God’s strategy to communicate to Christians. In most of the Christian persecutions recorded in the Bible including that of Jesus Christ, God does not interfere with them because He intends to pass an important message to His people.

Thirdly, Endo appears to showcase how God operates by testing the faith of the Christians. The Japanese authorities give Father Sebastian Rodrigues an option of trampling on the fumie and renounce his faith to save himself and other Christian converts. A voice believed to be that from Christ advice him to tramp on the fumie. He tramples on the fumie but a few minutes later, a cock crew and a voice. The faith of the Judas, the disciple of Jesus, was also put to test and he denied Jesus. The denial incident was prophesied by Jesus and the fact that Judas denied him, the act sent the message to Christians of remaining truthful and faithful to God.

Overview of the Symbol of God Functions in the Experiences of the Blacks

For many years, the blacks have been subjected to discrimination by the Whites and as evidently illustrated through the historical scenes of slavery. The first batch of slaves landed in America through ships in 1619. The blacks, mostly from Africa, formed a great percentage of the slaves shipped to the U.S. Slavery came later to be known as a “peculiar institution.”

The most intriguing theological argument about slavery is that the Bible remains unclear regarding the act. A significant number of Christians, especially the early church leaders approved slavery and supported it on an account of different biblical inferences. Since the messages in the Bible are considered one of the ways through which God communicates to His people, inferences made from the Bible express the position of God regarding matters such as slavery and discrimination. In Genesis chapter nine verse twenty-five, Noah cursed Canaan, his grandson, for seeing his father nude. “Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.” Still in the Old Testament, the book of Exodus chapter 21:20 states that the slave is considered the property of the owner. In the New Testament, the book of Matthew 10:24 reads that just like the disciple cannot be above the teacher, a slave can also not be above the master. There are numerous other readings referring to the aspect of slavery including First Peter 2:18 that state that slaves are required to consent to their masters’ authority regardless of them being gentle or harsh.

The various biblical accounts citing slavery show that God does not oppose the subjection of people to slavery. Therefore, the discrimination of the blacks in terms of slavery in the past and partly in recent times has been let to pass from the understanding of the bible. However, God allows discrimination of the blacks with the sole reason for communicating something. First Peter 2:18 states,

“…For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval.

Illuminations of God-Talk of Silence and God-Talk of Discrimination of the Blacks

When comparing the ways through which God would interpret the scenes in Silence and the various discriminatory acts against the blacks, it is evident that common grounds on the interpretations of the ways God functions can be reached. In both scenarios, there is clarity on the point that God allows certain sinful things to occur so that the Christians can draw lessons from them. In Endo’s Silence, an environment that enables the persecutions of Christians is created by setting the story in Japan, a nation that seemed to have embraced the religion but ended up outlawing it. God created several scenarios that would make it possible for persecutions to occur according to the bible. Even after performing a significant number of miracles and good deeds, the people still ended up crucifying Jesus. The necessity for the event was critical and it had to happen because of the already pre-determined purpose of saving humanity from sins. Purposively, God has also let the blacks suffer at the hands of whites through discrimination majorly in the form of slavery. Through suffering their faith in God is strengthened.

The test of faith by God occurs through persecutions and suffering as illustrated in the incidences of Silence and historical injustices to the blacks respectively. People must experience hardships to prove their trust in God. In the Bible, God allowed Job to be tested by Satan to prove his faith and loyalty. The endeavor was challenging because Job lost all his property and his health deteriorated. However, he maintained a good standing and proved to be “blameless” before the eyes of the Lord. Similarly, in Silence, God tested Father Sebastian Rodrigues with the trial of trampling on the fume to save himself and others. The character renounced his faith by trampling on the fume hence bringing the factor of betrayal which was choreographed in a similar case of Judas in the Bible.

Rodrigues confessed that it was not his will to renounce his faith. To him, God is merciful because He let him live. The message of the God of mercy is also observed in the discrimination incidences of the blacks. The whites discriminating against the blacks are referred in the Bible as masters. God has accorded them the authority to be served by their slaves but not discriminate them. Those discriminating their slaves have been let to live despite their acts so that they can play the role of the betrayer in the lives of Christians. God uses the white masters specifically to communicate the message of the relevance of suffering to harden the Christian's stand-in Christ.

Conclusion

The essay has insightfully addressed two questions regarding the symbol of God’s functions in two circumstances: Silence and Black experiences of discrimination. From the assessment of the manifestations of God’s functions in the novel Silence and black sufferings in terms of discrimination, several conclusions can be deduced. First, though the circumstances in the two cases are different, they both incorporate the aspects of pain and suffering. Second, God uses the incidences to communicate to Christians – those present during the occurrence of incidences and those to be born in future. God achieves His objective in several ways. He makes the environment suitable for the suffering to occur as evident in the Silence. He also tests the faith of the Christians through the persecutions and suffering. Moreover, He uses certain individuals to do evil things to further His objective. In the case of Silence, Endo chose the Japanese authorities and Father Sebastian Rodrigues while in the case of blacks’ suffering, God chose the white masters.

Bibliography

Cline, Austin. “Slavery and Racism in the Bible.” ThoughtCo. March 08, 2017. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-bible-race-and-slavery-3893539

Endo, Shusaku, and William Johnston. 1988. Silence. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.

McInerny, Daniel. “The Sinister Theology of Endo’s Silence.” The Catholic Thing. July 14, 2014. https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2014/07/14/the-sinister-theology-of-endos-silence/