CONTEMPT OF COURT James Nuechterlein (“Remembering Peter Berger,” October) feels that the 1996 First Things symposium on the judicial usurpation of politics was inappropriate because it cast doubts on the legitimacy of American political order. As it is, however, the problem is still with us. If . . . . Continue Reading »
Martin Scorsese’s recent film Silence, like the historical novel by Shūsaku Endō on which it is based, turns on an act of emotional blackmail. Inoue, a seventeenth-century Japanese magistrate intent on eradicating Christianity from his country, pressures a Jesuit priest named Rodrigues to . . . . Continue Reading »
The First Things Podcast, Episode 28. Featuring: Matthew Walther of the Washington Free Beacon, dispensing wisdom and champagne; and The Power of Silence, the new book by Robert Cardinal Sarah. Continue Reading »
Cardinal Sarah teaches us silence—being silent with Jesus, true inner stillness, and in just this way he helps us to grasp the word of the Lord anew. Continue Reading »
Silence by shūsaku endōforeword by martin scorsesepicador, 256 pages, $16 Silencea film directed by martin scorseseparamount, 161 minutes, $19.99 Vincent Shiozuka’s life was a failure. Raised Christian in Japan, he fled to Manila in 1614 to avoid the growing Christian persecution in his native . . . . Continue Reading »
In the end, Silence was too Christian for Hollywood and too Hollywood for Christians. Continue Reading »
The First Things Podcast, Episode 21. Also featuring: Special guest Leah Libresco Sargeant and lots of spoilers. Continue Reading »
Readers of First Thoughts will know by now that Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Silence by Shūsaku Endō was released in select theaters on December 23. The novel warrants the attention it is getting. Set in the 1640s at the end of Japan's “Christian Century” (1549-1639), Silence is a haunting journey through one priest’s struggles to remain faithful in the most challenging of circumstances. Continue Reading »
Beautifully filmed and acted, Silence is as powerful as it is ambitious. Continue Reading »
Shūsaku Endō’s Silence is now widely regarded as a modern classic. The initial reaction of Japanese Catholics, however, was largely hostile. Continue Reading »
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