9 | Christ and Crisis by Charles Malik

Although it is very short (101 pages), this book took me a while to read mostly because I couldn't decide what book I wanted to read next! As you saw in my last post, I read Silence (while I was also reading this book slowly) and, as promised, I also started Milton Friedman's Free to Choose. Andrew convinced me to prioritize reading this book (he just read it, too), and I'm glad I did!

This is my second Malik book this year--that is, if you count the 50 page speech I read in January. :-) He is a very readable author who exudes Heideggerian thought in every page. Obviously, I love this! He is also a strong absolutist, devout Christian, and skillful philosopher. Can you tell that I wish he wrote more books?

CHRIST AND CRISIS | CHARLES MALIK



In Christ and Crisis, Charles Malik examines the state of the world insofar as it relates to Christianity. He sees the world as in crisis, as it is "somehow under the judgment of Christ." In his forward, Malik offers us the following thesis statement:

"...if you turn with all your heart to Jesus Christ, on your knees, in the Bible, in the communion of saints throughout history, in your moments of absolute contemplation, in the great tradition, and above all in the Church, it is more certain than any mathematical proof that He will show you, not only why the perplexity and the crisis and the wrong and the flaw and the awful uncertainty of the moment, but how to overcome, in Him, all this havoc of the devil. In the life of the spirit the first principle is freedom; thus there is nothing fatalistically determined here; everything depends on the "if you turn with all your heart to Jesus Christ." Nothing will be revealed to you, and Christ in the crisis will ever remain an impenetrable mystery to you, if not downright nonsense and irrelevance, until you freely comply with this tremendous 'if.'"

Malik is suggesting that only with a perspective set on Christ can one accurately understand and solve the crisis facing the world today. This may remind you of what we read in 1 Peter 2:7-8. For those who do not believe, Jesus is "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense," but for those who do believe Jesus is the "cornerstone" of faith and life. This theme is prominent throughout the work.

I don't know if I have anything to say about this book as a whole. He mentioned in the forward that he was writing seven meditations and in all honesty it is unclear to me how they flow together. So, instead of a synopsis, I will simply point out a few key passages that stood out to me.

In the first meditation, he goes into further detail about the crisis we are faced with: This crisis is, in its auxiliary components, political, militant, economic, scientific, intellectual, etc.; however, it is at its core a spiritual crisis. "It has to do with God, with how much men still acknowledge Him and how much they still over him." Knowing God, for Malik, opens ones mind to ultimate reality and allows one to reason more proficiently about any number of things.

I was encouraged by this section because, while he calls churches to action, he does not call churches to speak into politics, international conflict, science, etc. Instead, he calls churches to act in accord with their "sphere of competence." Malik explains,

"In the prevailing climate of materialism, secularism, and religious indifference they certainly are called to new heroic effort. They must keep the flame of the creative spirit burning. Let them attend to this properly, and everything else will follow. And the churches alone can fire the spirit to new heights of vision, daring and being. They alone can cause men to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all else then will be added unto them."

In a world obsessed with secular, materialistic problems, the role of the Church is to maintain her three duties: First, she convicts us of sin and helps us maintain a fear of the Lord. Second, she spurns us on in our use of spiritual weapons to fight against the devil and the evil forces of this world. Third, she testifies to the glory and gospel of Jesus Christ. No matter what is happening in the government, world wars, scientific advances, or economy, the Church must maintain this calling and trusts the issues of the world into the hands of God.

Much later in the book, he goes on to discuss the struggle Christians face in the crisis of the world. It is multifaceted: We struggle against worldly temptations, against memories of our pasts, against slothfulness, against our own great pride, against our regular idolatry, and against the devil himself. In a very Heideggerian manner, he writes that the human condition is one into which we are all thrown--this means that the life of the spirit "is a life of constant struggle." We are constantly at war against these six fronts, which attack us according to our very nature of being human persons.

The fifth meditation also made me remember Heidegger, particularly of his concept of Dasein. Malik introduces the chapter with a quote:

"In the spiritual life one must catch himself where he is and speak from there. It is silly to start from anywhere else. Other stands land you only in abstraction, remoteness, and insincerity. ... Therefore let your present spiritual state speak, and with its speaking I beg you to laugh. Don't strain at something distant and far away. You are not real as you do so. You have plenty right before you to speak from and about."

I thought this quote was a really interesting way to think about how one's being-in-the-world is related to one's spiritual life. We do not have to pretend to be someone else or have some alternate experiences to enjoy a fulfilling life of faith; instead, he writes, "nothing is closer to our life than faith in Jesus Christ." In other words, one can be no closer to one's true state than when one is exploring his faith in Christ. I think this is a really beautiful idea.

Moving on, in his sixth meditation, Malik poetically describes something that many years of world travel led me to believe as well.

"Just as every creature of God has a goodness and a being all its own, so no one of man's creations is devoid of some goodness, some truth. Every people, every culture, every outlook has something to say, no matter how much it may otherwise be pervaded with darkness and error."

This sentiment is beautiful!!! I feel like so often when I hear others discussing other faiths or other cultures, there is a decidedly negative slant given to them. What Malik is saying in this beautiful quotation is what Gadamer tells us in his Truth and Method: We must approach what is different with an attitude of openness and put our own prejudices and beliefs to the test. This is not to say that we instantly disregard our beliefs and take on whatever is foreign; instead, we are to seek what is good in what we hear from those whose beliefs and cultural practices differ from our own, so that our own understanding of what is true, good, and beautiful may be expanded! The world becomes a richer place.

This goes along with the central idea from his final, and shortest, meditation: unity in the Church. For the highest aspiration of any believer is "to be granted to see a measure of true unity realized in his lifetime." The only way we can experience this unity is by humbling ourselves and looking for the best in others with our hearts and minds turned toward the Holy Ghost's directing. This message was so encouraging to me! May Church unity become a reality in my lifetime!

There were many, many other helpful ideas put forward in this work. As you will see in my conclusion later, I definitely suggest that others read it for themselves for a stimulating mental and spiritual undertaking. Among the various and sundry themes of the novel, one of my favorite qualities was Malik's constant questioning. He rarely offered a solution from the get go; instead, he challenged the reader to consider for herself what a solution may be to the problem set forward. This is an uncommon but greatly appreciated practice!

Conclusion: I will probably review some of my notes in time. I would recommend to anyone who is wanting a thoughtful and slow read. 8/10.

8 | Silence by Shusaku Endo

I'm just going to stop apologizing (to myself) for being so behind on my reading/posting all the time. With everything going on in the world and in my life, I'm proud of myself for reading even 8 books already this year!

Silence is a re-read for me. I'm actually going to be discussing this book with two of my best friends soon! I first heard of this book when I started dating Andrew several years ago; his best friend wrote a paper on it, so he was telling me all about the book! Then, in 2016, we watched the Scorsese adaptation of it and I was hooked! Here's the trailer:

The movie blew my mind. I wasn't ready to talk to Andrew about it for at least a couple of days--much to his dismay! I read Silence for the first time in 2017 and my mind has been chock full of questions and ideas about faith and suffering since then. Perfect kind of book for this blog, right?

SILENCE | SHUSAKU ENDO



As you most likely picked up on from the movie trailer, Silence is a story about two Portuguese missionaries, Garrpe and Rodrigues, who go to Japan in search of their mentor, Father Ferreira. The story takes place in the 17th Century--a time of intense persecution of Christians in Japan, as we will soon see. However, as the story unfolds, it becomes obvious that Silence is really about the Christian faith, suffering, and the coming-of-age of sorts of Father Rodrigues, from whose perspective most of the story is told.

The two fathers, or padres as they are called more commonly in the novel, set sail for Japan via an obscure and indirect route through China. Portuguese ships are forbidden from entering Japanese waters, so they must find an alternative means of entrance. While seeking a ship bound for Japan, they encounter their first Japanese: Kichijiro. He proves to be both a blessing and a curse to the padres.

Throughout the novel, Kichijiro becomes an image of doubt and humanity. When we are introduced to him, we condemn him for being a drunk, an apostatizer, a coward...by the novel's conclusion, we are beginning to understand that we ourselves are Kichijiro.

Upon arriving on a Japanese beach, Kichijiro is the one who directs the padres to their first Christians. Garrpe and Rodrigues spend their first days and weeks hiding out in a hut outside of a secretly Christian village. In the evenings, one or two of the villagers will bring them a meal in exchange for having their confession heard or having their child baptized. The priests are torn between feeling like they are providing the villagers access to sacraments that have been unknown on the island for sometime and feeling like they ought to split up and find more Christians--and Ferreira.

After some time passes, the magistrate catches on to the uptick in Christian activity in the village and two mean are brutally martyred tied to stakes in the ocean. The martyr's recited a refrain from a hymn that is repeated throughout the novel:

We're on our way, we're on our way
We're on our way to the temple of Paradise,
To the temple of Paradise...
To the great Temple...

During the days of the martyrs' torment, Rodrigues spends a considerable amount of time reflecting on the silence of God during their suffering. He wonders,

"What do I want to say? I myself do not understand. Only that today, when for the glory of God Mokichi and Ichizo moaned, suffered and died, I cannot bear the monotonous sound of the dark sea gnawing at the shore. Behind the depressing silence of this sea, the silence of God. ... the feeling that while men raise their voices in anguish God remains with folded arms, silent."

While most of us probably haven't experienced suffering to this degree, haven't we all asked this question of God? "Where are You? Do You hear me in my suffering? Why don't You act in your omnipotence and omnibenevolence?" What I like most about this book is the honesty in the questions it asks. Many of us are afraid to voice this question and can breathe a sigh of relief what Padre Rodrigues asks it for us.

The martyrdom of Mochizi and Ichizo convinces the priests--and the villagers, for that matter--that they are putting the Christians in too much danger and must press on to other villages. Furthermore, Garrpe and Rodrigues decide they must split up, so they have a lesser chance of both being immediately caught as the only two priests in Japan.

At this point, we lose touch with Garrpe. Rodrigues finds himself alone in Japan and alone with his questions. He faces many more trials and is even betrayed by Kichijiro, ultimately winding up in a small prison with some Japanese Christians outside of Nagasaki.

In the prison, Rodrigues is again visited by Kichijiro, who asks for absolution and forgiveness from the priest. This leads Rodrigues into another incredibly interesting reflection: Why did Jesus say "What thou dost, do quickly" to Judas?

"What emotion had filled the breast of Christ when he ordered away the man who was to betray him for thirty pieces of silver? Was it anger? or resentment? Or did these words arise from his love? ... Christ wanted to save even Judas. If not, he would never have made him one of his disciples. And yet why did Christ not stop him when he began to slip from the path of righteousness? ... If it is not blasphemous to say so, I have a feeling that Judas was no more than the unfortunate puppet for the glory of that drama which was the life and death of Christ."

Again we have such an honest look into the mind of a faithful man. At the conclusion of the book, we see how Rodrigues grows in his understanding of Christ's relationship with Judas and this strange command to betray him quickly.

Later, Rodrigues is summoned from the prison to witness a strange and terrible event. On the journey, the interpreter that is with him barrages him with questions about the Christian concept of mercy compared with the Buddhist concept. Shouldn't a priest have pity on the flock and put their needs above his own? Enter the ethical dilemma of the novel: Should a priest apostatize so that Christians will not be tortured and killed? This is the question that Rodrigues wrestles with for the duration of the novel.

The question plays itself out before Rodrigues' helpless eyes: Three Christians are bound and taken out into the ocean on a boat. Garrpe is asked to recant his faith and fails to do so. The Christians are thrown overboard. As they sink, Garrpe struggles in the sea to save them and ultimately meets his own end as well. Rodrigues watches the whole spectacle from a distance, helpless to interfere.

Returning to the prison, the priest becomes utterly despondent. He endures many interrogations from the magistrate and ultimately faces his former mentor: Father Ferreira, now known as Sawano Chuan.  Sorrowfully to Rodrigues, the rumors about Ferreira were true--he had apostatized and taken on a Japanese life: name, spouse, children, occupation... The interrogations do not go as Rodrigues expects--rather than physical threats against his own body and life, he is faced with threats of others suffering in his stead.

In his cell, Rodrigues steps into the chair of the interrogator and brings his questions before God: How long will you be silent?

In the end, Rodrigues is faced with a choice. Three Christians are suspended upside down in a pit, blood dripping slowly from their temples to keep them alive. He can either apostatize and save them, or maintain his priesthood and let them perish slowly. He chooses mercy for the Japanese peasant Christians.

As he approaches the fume to trample and renounce his faith, he hears God. The silence is broken.

"Trample! Trample! I more than anyone know of the pain in your foot. Trample! It was to be trampled on by men that I was born into this world. It was to share men's pain that I carried my cross."

I'll spare you my commentary and simply ask the question that plagues my mind: What would I do? What do I feel and think is right in this ghastly scenario? Is it more loving and merciful to maintain faith as a person responsible to set an example of Christianity for his flock? Or is it more loving and merciful to demonstrate the self-dying of Christ in an act of apostasy?

More happens in the book, but I will leave you with Rodrigues' final reflections on this experience and the presence of Christ with him in his most dire moment:

[Christ to Rodrigues:] "Your foot suffers in pain. It must suffer like all the feet that have stepped on this plaque. But that pain alone is enough. I understand your pain and suffering. It is for that reason that I am here."

[Rodrigues to Christ:] "Lord, I resented your silence."

"I was not silent. I suffered beside you."

"But you told Judas to go away: What thou dost do quickly. What happened to Judas?

"I did not say that. Just as I told you to step on the plaque, so I told Judas to do what he was going to do. For Judas was in anguish as you are."

...

"He had lowered his foot on to the plaque, sticky with dirt and blood. His five toes had pressed upon the face of one he loved. Yet he could not understand the tremendous onrush of joy that came over him at that moment. ... Even now I am the last priest in this land. But Our Lord was not silent. Even if he had been silent, my life until this day would have spoken of him."

Conclusion: Have read multiple times and will probably continue reading again and again in the future. Literally everyone should read this provocative book. 9.5/10