Comments on: Grace in Silence

By: Philip Yancey

Philip Yancey — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 21:04:02 +0000

In reply to Eunice. Wonderful comment, and isn't the Inquisition an ironic counterpoint! I suggest reading Endo's book, and also Silence and Beauty by Makoto Fujimura. The issues you raise are the very ones at the heart of the story. --Philip

By: Eunice

Eunice — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 19:13:03 +0000

I’m confused about ‘faith’ and ‘torture’, and ‘denial’ on so many levels. In this case, I see irony in the fact that the same tactics were being used by the Spanish Inquisition to force adherence to that ‘faith’. The term ‘faith’ and ‘denial’ are so subjective that they are hardly worth suffering for, as this movie shows. I treasure the story of Peter and the crowing rooster, because I see that Peter was staying as close to Jesus as he could get (which was his habit). He always acted before he thought and was immediately remorseful when his enthusiasm led him astray. ‘Denial’ isn’t the end of the story.

By: Deb

Deb — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 05:28:28 +0000

I came back to read this one and the concept of the logic that speaks in our ears and makes it acceptable to step on the fumie…..

I am undone.

Trying to give grace, is so much of my focus, that I find it excruciating the number of times I held my tongue and wondered if I dishonored God by the silence.

I often wonder how close I would come to crossing a line for the sake of peace.

Culture has torn me to shreds. Culture present. Culture past. Culture about to come. The culture in the church. The culture outside of the church. The culture in Christian movies particularly.

Culture is filled to overflowing with faulty logic from everybody’s direction.

I didn’t watch this movie and if I had read this review, I would have…. [pyasst]

By: David Graham

David Graham — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 01:00:24 +0000

Forgot to post this link for interested readers:

http://www.booksandculture.com/articles/1996/janfeb/6b103b.html?paging=off

By: David Graham

David Graham — Mon, 03 Apr 2017 00:56:20 +0000

I hope to be able to see the movie this year. I’ve read “Silence” and thought that Endo effectively portrayed the theme that humans have struggled with for eons: God’s silence. I wonder how many Christians in the Soviet Gulags that Solzhenitsyn wrote of struggled with this issue? Of course, these disturbing questions (“Is God unfair? Is God silent? Is God Hidden” as “Disappointment with God” phrased them) arise around the globe and down through the ages. I hope the movie will be just as provocative as Endo’s book was. Thanks for dedicating a blog to this book (and this theme).

By: Greg Denholm

Greg Denholm — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 08:37:13 +0000

In reply to Philip Yancey. Wow, I love this! A thoughtful conversation with my favourite author ever, who just happens to be on the other side of the planet (I'm in Adelaide, Australia). I certainly do see a parallel between Peter’s betrayal and that of Garfield’s character, Fr. Sebastião Rodrigues. However, without wanting to question Jesus’ grace (of which I need plenty), I wonder whether the words ascribed to him in the film—he urges Sebastião to step on the plaque apparently as an expression of reliance rather than apostasy—ring true. When Peter denied knowing his Lord for the third time, Jesus looked straight at him, whereupon he ran away into the night in shame and bitterness of soul. There hadn’t been any re-framing of his denial. Though it was born of a very natural desire for self-preservation that we can all understand, it was nevertheless an act of disloyalty and cowardice that necessitated later restorative words from Jesus (John 21). In light of this, is it legitimate to cast Sebastião’s apparent repudiation of Jesus as an act of obedient faith—an admission of weakness and thus an opening of the way for Jesus’ power to be made perfect in him (2 Cor 12:9)? No one who saw Sebastião step on the plaque had his insight into its re-framed meaning, so it cannot have been an act of witness in its context. Moreover, the many Christians before Sebastião who suffered the torturous consequences of not stepping on the plaque might have appreciated a timely word from their Lord too.

By: Philip Yancey

Philip Yancey — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 04:19:18 +0000

In reply to Don Allison.

I don’t equate the mark of the beast with the fumie. God judges the heart, and to me the movie makes clear that the priest had not forfeited his heart. As for the quote, “there is nothing…” I don’t believe that’s mine. –Philip

By: Don Allison

Don Allison — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 19:28:30 +0000

Rev 14:9-12 jumped to my mind as I read Endo’s book. Is taking the “mark of the beast” similar to stepping on the fumie? Philip, I have learned so much about the beautiful grace of God from reading your books. If it is true that, “there is nothing that I can do to lose my salvation, b/c there was nothing I did to “earn” it”, how do you deal with this passage in Revelation?

By: Philip Yancey

Philip Yancey — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 04:35:01 +0000

In reply to Greg Denholm. We should be disturbed--and yet how is Garfield's character different from Peter and the other disciples? I sense grace underlying the betrayal, and the final scene seems to bear that out. I hope you spend some time on Mako Fujiumura's site, silenceandbeauty.com. --Philip

By: Greg Denholm

Greg Denholm — Sat, 11 Mar 2017 02:21:42 +0000

I saw the film on the strength of your recommendation, Philip, and have now re-read your blog post. I was devastated when Andrew Garfield’s character stepped on the plaque. So much more to say but I need time (and silence) to process it. Perhaps that’s why there are so few responses to this blog post?