I can't say I condemn Rodriguez of apostatizing in the end. I feel like I would do the same if I had been in his position. It was a difficult choice, to either remain resolved in your faith and allow people to suffer, or to renounce your faith to save them. I do believe that Rodriguez made the best decision he could have in his situation. In fact, I say it was the Christian thing to do in such dire circumstances. And even though he is no longer welcome in his own Church, he was not abandoned by God nor did he truly give up his faith. I think the Japanese, while cruel and knew what effect this would have to the Christian population of Japan, had a point about the trampling being a "formality." He kept his faith, despite trampling the icons. To the public he is an apostate, but they allow him to keep his personal faith just that-personal. They didn't mind the priests having a different faith then their own, but when they began spreading that faith it became an issue. I am not saying I agree with them, but I see where they may be coming from. All in all, I don't think this story could have ended any other way than this. Rodriguez would have either apostatized or the death and torture would have continued because of him. And in that, there was no other Christian option.
I commented on Jeremy's post.
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