I think perhaps the title of the
film, Silence (2016) ought to have
been “The last Priest” because the main character, Rodrigues, is the last
remaining Roman Catholic priest in Japan. His inner struggle is the core of the
narrative, and of the theological/ethical dilemma to be resolved. The movie is
set in Japan in 1640-1641. A Buddhist inquisitor, Mokichi, is torturing and
killing Christians, who must step on a stove carving of Jesus as proof of committing apostasy (i.e.,
renouncing their faith). Taking it as proof, Father Rodrigues torments over
whether to apostasy in order to save the Japanese Christians whom Mokichi is
having killed serially until the priest renounces his faith. I submit that the
assumption of proof rests on dubious grounds, so Rodrigues is actually faced
with a false dichotomy.
When Fathers Garupe and Rodrigues
arrive in Japan, Mokichi is already torturing and killing priests as well as
lay Christians. As a Buddhist priest, he is a hyprocrite, for Buddha’s main
object was to end suffering. The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are
geared to the cessation of suffering. To be sure, Mokichi assumes that the
peaceful ends justify his hypocritical means, but the amount of the film
devoted to the suffering tells the audience that Mokichi is fine with
inflicting suffering on an ongoing basis. The Buddha would have hardly
recognized his follower. Jesus’ line to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” would
likely apply.
By the time Rodrigues is
captured, the inquisitor has decided that his old strategy of killing priests
had not worked. So the last priest in Japan is spared, though not of undergoing
the agony of severe suffering. Mokichi tells Rodrigues that the suffering of
the Japanese Christians will end only when the last priest puts a foot on the
stone carving of Jesus. The Buddhist priest is misleading in telling the
Catholic priest, “You are responsible for their suffering.”
I fault Rodrigues for
uncritically believing that he is not only causing the deaths, but also would lose
his faith by being disloyal to Jesus merely by stepping on a stone carving.
Mokichi is responsible for the torture and deaths because he orders it.
Furthermore, stepping on a stone that has a carving that looks vaguely like
Jesus does not count as the renounciation of a faith, unless, perhaps, that
stone is treated as an idol, which is apostacy.
All of the Christians in the film erroneously treat the carved engraving as an
idol because they assume that by touching it in a culturally-derogatorily way,
their own faiths will somehow be lost. A person can step on a stone and still
retain beliefs and values, especially if they are valued as intensely as
Rodrigues does in the film.
Rodrigues places a very high
value on imitating Christ, especially in regard to the Passion story in the New
Testament. It is almost as if the young priest wants to die because then he would be imitating Jesus. In watching
the film, I had the sense that Rodrigues is even prodding Mokichi to resort
back to killing priests so the last priest would feel the satisfaction of
following Christ, going even as far as assuming an identity with Jesus. While drinking at a stream, Rodrigues’s reflection, which are through the priest's point of view, goes quickly back and forth between a picture of Jesus’ face to his own. It is then that Rodrigues is
captured. It is also from about that point that he looks like Jesus (i.e., long hair
and a beard).
The identity does not hold, even
in how Rodrigues would want to die if murdered. Jesus chose to die to redeem humanity
from its distance from the Father due to prior sins. Humanity would not be redeemed
from Rodrigues voluntarily or involuntarily being a martyr. The assumed for identity would thus constitute self-idolatry.
Furthermore, Rodrigues seems to reduce following Christ to dying as he does in the New Testament. Baptizing, preaching, hearing confessions are other ways, as are valuing and practicing self-giving love (i.e., agape). This sort of love can be practiced by universal benevolence, or neighbor love, rather than only or even primarily in being willing to give up one’s life for one’s faith.
Rodrigues does not have to give
up his life; the Buddhist priest tells him as much. I would add, however, that
Rodrigues does not have to give up his faith by stepping on a stone. The faith
is in his heart, not on his foot or in the stone. That is to say, the stone
does not have to be, and should not be, treated as if it were an idol having a religious
significance. Rodrigues need not go through his internal turmoil as Mokichi
continues to torture and kill Christians until Rodrigues relents and steps on
the stone. In fact, common sense as well as Jesus’ teaching and example in
preempting the suffering of others (e.g., the prostitute) should easily occur
to a priest or any disciple for that matter. Step on the stone and people won’t
suffer and die—doesn’t seem like a difficult choice as long as the Christian
values Jesus’ teachings and lived-out (rather than dying) example. It is not
necessary that Christians suffer; it is not something that Jesus demands, for
he willingly suffers to take away the taint of sin.
Therefore, in being all too
willing to die for his faith, Rodrigues overstates his own value in that
regard, and is too willing to end his life too early. This is a criticism that
Nietzsche makes of Jesus, but in that case the question of Jesus’ young age at
death is relevant in the extent to which Christ vicariously sacrifices himself
on the Cross—a sufficient sacrifice being necessary to appease the Father, who
is offended by sin. Nietzsche seems to deemphasize this vicarious satisfaction in
favor of the good Jesus does while alive on Earth. Ironically, in putting such
an emphasis in faith with identifying with Jesus in dying, Rodrigues misses the
opportunity to pay more attention to what Jesus preaches and does in his
ministry as a basis for faith. In other words, valuing and attempting to
practice universal benevolence, including to one’s detractors and enemies, can
be a solid basis—more so than a stone—of faith. Not even the last priest can
save humanity from its sins by dying in imitation of Christ.
