'Silence' by Shusaku Endo

A Book Review: 'Silence' by Shusaku Endo. New York, New York. Taplinger Publishing Company, 1969 ISBN: 0800871863

This is a tremendout novel, and at times quite hard to remember its only a novel; its main character is fashioned after a true life missionery to Japan who was said to have recanted his faith during the persectuion of Christians. However 33yrs. later right before the priest died he strongly denied he had ever severed his relationship with his Lord. If you would like read some exciting reviews of this book go to amazon.com there are 62 of them. Endo asks some questions about faith that he leaves to the reader to decide. Questions such as 'is my faith built on church doctrine or a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Is there true spiritual freedom in what appears to the church to be apostasy? In Endo's novel it is in those moments of apostasy that Rodrigues comes to his fullest encounter with Christ. I am challenged by how Endo puts the act of martrydom in the context of not only dying for God, but acting also for the saving of others lives at the same time; a coupling of the two concepts we, who probably will never face physical martyrdom, often fail to consider. Am I at fault for judging my christian brothers and sisters? What purpose does doubt serve in my beliefs, my faith or does it serve me at all? In most of the book Endo has the main character, father Rodrigues, continually seeing the face of Jesus as the passion of Christ during his own trials and rather than associating with Christ the priest finds himself being convicted. A weak apostate named Kichijiro haunts Rodrigues clear up to the last pages; [sorry, I've given away a secret the Author is a genius at hiding until the last moments] he betrays the priest, and yet always seems to asking for confession in Rodrigues' times of trial. It's an exceptional novel, but don't read it if you've got your faith all figured out and spiritually arrived. If it doesn't convict the strongest of us to re-examine our relationship with Christ, it challenges all of us to desire Him more.