God’s Silence and Scripture: Is The Scorsese Movie Blasphemous?

But Jesus kept silent and the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God." — Matthew 26:63

By John Yoest Published on February 11, 2017

Director Martin Scorsese’s movie about the persecution of 17th century Japanese Christians, Silence, has everything for this sight and sound generation: blood, shock, crucifixion, the unknown, struggle and a surprise ending.

Silence has it all except good reviews. No one really likes it. Not the critics; not the box office. We can understand the reservations of unbelievers. But faithful Christians also panned the movie.

Why?

The title points us to a central crisis point for the lead characters, two Portuguese Jesuit priests, Father Rodrigues and Father Garupe, who travel to Japan in search of their mentor-priest who has gone missing. Once there they encounter brutal persecution, prompting questions on determining God’s will for us, especially when we hear conflicting advice. Or hear nothing at all. We look for a sign, to explain sin, to bear suffering, to achieve salvation.

The movie gets none of this right. We should look for answers to big questions in Scripture. What does the Bible say? We should follow the tradition St. Luke wrote in Acts 17:11b, where the Bereans “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”

Sign

Trying to discern God’s will is a timeless human challenge, faced in every age. So how did Jesus answer?

In the movie, under threat of torture and death, the Japanese force Christians to renounce their faith by stepping on an image held holy by the Catholic Church. The protagonist-priest, Father Rodrigues played by Andrew Garfield, hopes to receive some sign — and certainly not silence — on what he should do. The Japanese intensify his torment by torturing others if he refuses to renounce his faith. Looking for an answer, Rodrigues rages against God’s silence, searching for a sign.

Trying to discern God’s will is a timeless human challenge, faced in every age. So how did Jesus answer?

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Matthew 12:38-40.

The only response Jesus offers is the Risen Christ from an empty tomb. There is no other sign than Himself, as St. Paul said to the Corinthians: “Jesus Christ and him crucified.” (1 Cor. 2:2)

Sin

Silence insists that the viewer question the nature of sin. Is stepping on an icon a line the believer cannot cross?

Are those who deny the gospel message damned? Some Christians in the movie refuse to step on the icon; others, including eventually Father Rodrigues, make the fateful step. Silence subtly endorses his decision. The movie ends strongly implying that he remained a man of faith.

The Bible however leaves little room for this interpretation:

Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33

There is a simple two-step process for eternal salvation. Romans 10:9 provides a first-class conditional statement to enter the Kingdom of Heaven,

[1] If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and

[2] believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,

[then] you will be saved.”

Is Father Rodrigues blasphemous in Silence?

Yes.

The Priest makes it known through a direct action that Jesus is not his Lord. Whatever is in Father Rodrigues’ heart — here the movie is murky — it is not sufficient.

Suffering

The Bible is not silent on suffering.

The Japanese finally break Father Rodrigues by showing him the suffering of others. He becomes convinced that ending their suffering, ending their persecution, justifies denying his faith. He becomes convinced that his silence saves them.

But the Bible is not silent on suffering. In fact St. Paul himself suffered greatly, and asked the Creator to remove the affliction. The Apostle records God’s answer in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The movie’s title may refer to the inscrutable silence of God. But it is ultimately Father Rodrigues’ silence in the faith of the Inquisitor’s question: “Are you a Christian?” that defines the film. By remaining silent, the fallen priest does not heed Matthew 10:39, which reassures us, “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”

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