When reading I mainly took notice of certain things that were continuously brought up and acknowledged along the way by Father Rodrigues, so I’ll share some insights with that I suppose.
The father tends to acknowledge silence often. First, physical earthly silence, but then he always brings it back to his faith. Whenever he encounters a village he notices how quiet it is, or how all of a sudden the area around him would become void of all sound and life. He would then relate it to how God is always silent, especially when they need a saviour—When trouble seems to have its fill. For instance when Ichizo and Mokichi are taken by the samurai cowboys and then put to death by water, where was God in that?? He follows a rational Christian thought process of “This is all for God’s greater purpose. His plan is supreme and their sacrifice was not in vain.” But he also reaches a crucial point even for a man of his spiritual ranking, he can’t help but step briefly on the question “What if God DOESNT exist??” He then acknowledges how God’s non existence would make everything they’re doing much less than pointless.
I also noticed and found it interesting that when he gets to a new village or even when he’s in a village he’s resides in for a solid time he seems to look ~down~ over it, taking in all of its natural beauty, and the people (or lack thereof). I have no further insight but I feel like there’s something I’m missing when it comes to him looking ~down~ over the villages.
And I shall end with a quote that stuck out to me and kind of seized my heart:
“Should our religious habit be made of silk or of cotton”
It’s a simple phrase but I like how it questions how we as a people hold our belief system. Shall we treat it the same as a fabric that, for a time, on those of high standing could use to accent their bodies, or the fabric that was mainly worn by peasants??
I commented on Cody’s and Cade’s posts.
The father tends to acknowledge silence often. First, physical earthly silence, but then he always brings it back to his faith. Whenever he encounters a village he notices how quiet it is, or how all of a sudden the area around him would become void of all sound and life. He would then relate it to how God is always silent, especially when they need a saviour—When trouble seems to have its fill. For instance when Ichizo and Mokichi are taken by the samurai cowboys and then put to death by water, where was God in that?? He follows a rational Christian thought process of “This is all for God’s greater purpose. His plan is supreme and their sacrifice was not in vain.” But he also reaches a crucial point even for a man of his spiritual ranking, he can’t help but step briefly on the question “What if God DOESNT exist??” He then acknowledges how God’s non existence would make everything they’re doing much less than pointless.
I also noticed and found it interesting that when he gets to a new village or even when he’s in a village he’s resides in for a solid time he seems to look ~down~ over it, taking in all of its natural beauty, and the people (or lack thereof). I have no further insight but I feel like there’s something I’m missing when it comes to him looking ~down~ over the villages.
And I shall end with a quote that stuck out to me and kind of seized my heart:
“Should our religious habit be made of silk or of cotton”
It’s a simple phrase but I like how it questions how we as a people hold our belief system. Shall we treat it the same as a fabric that, for a time, on those of high standing could use to accent their bodies, or the fabric that was mainly worn by peasants??
I commented on Cody’s and Cade’s posts.
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