A Faithful Decision /// Emily Thullesen

Upon reading the end of Silence, readers are left questioning if Rodrigues made the right decision by apostatizing. There are many valid theological assumptions that can be made one way or another about his decision. However, I see inspiration in the obedience of Rodrigues. Even though his decision brought him pain and suffering, he was obedient to the point of death as Christ was for us. 

Even though his decision included trampling the image of Christ, he did so to save the other Christians. Situations like these often raise questions about morality versus what God wants us to do. It could not help but make me think about similar situations, such as people in the Bible lying in order to save brothers and sisters in Christ or how people during the Holocaust lied about hiding the Jews in order to save them. While keeping the faith is important, listening to God is crucial.

Even thought the decision may have been morally challenging, it was indeed faithful. While it does not make sense to us, listening to the voice of God shows faith in the confusion. Rodrigues demonstrated his faith by ultimately being obedient to God even if it was never how he dreamed of dying for Christ.

I commented on Haylee Lynd and Bug Olsen’s posts.


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