Blind Obedience to His Leader
questioning and considering the consequences and the effects behind his action of obeying the command fully.
To begin this analysis, the writer will point out the cause of Silas’ blind obedience. As mentioned in the previous analysis, Silas has a very horrible past.
People are cruel to him and he always finds himself rejected by the people around him. It is Manuel Aringarosa who saves his life. Manuel Aringarosa is the first
and the only person who is really kind to Silas. He is not only his caretaker but also the only person who considers Silas a friend. Not only being a very good
person to Silas, Manuel Aringarosa also gives him name. Silas is the name that the priest gives after being considered a ghost – fleshless – by people for a very long
time. In a sense, it is Manuel Aringarosa who gives Silas flesh – an identity as a human being, education, and purpose of life. It is also Manuel Aringarosa who
builds Silas’ self confidence, teaches Silas to appreciate himself for what he is – an albino – and tells him that God will use Silas to do His work, just like He used
Noah of Ark, who was also an albino, to save all of life on the entire planet. Over time, slowly but surely, Silas begins to learn to appreciate his life. He learns to see
himself as precious; an angel and not a ghost. “My friend,” Aringarosa had told him, “you were born an albino. Do not
let others shame you for this. Do you not understand how special this makes you? Were you not aware that Noah himself was an albino?”
“Noah of the Ark?” Silas had never heard this. Aringarosa was smiling. “Indeed, Noah of the Ark. An albino. Like you, he had skin white like an
angel. Consider this. Noah saved all of life on the planet. You are destined for great things, Silas. The Lord has freed you for a reason. You have your
calling. The Lord needs your help to do His work.” Over time, Silas learned to see himself in a new light. I am pure. White. Beautiful. Like an
angel
p. 181. 41
Silas is blinded by his gratitude toward Manuel Aringarosa. His thankfulness toward Manuel Aringarosa soon makes Silas willing to obey all the
bishop’s words. He sees the bishop as equal to God, the one who had given him a new life, “It had been Aringarosa who gave Silas life in the first place... in that
small rectory in Spain, educating him, giving him purpose” p. 181. According to his belief, the bishop’s word is the same as the word of God; it must be obeyed
without reasoning or excuses. The bishop had seemed hopeful for the first time. “Silas,” he whispered,
“God has bestowed upon us an opportunity to protect The Way. Our battle, like all battles, will take sacrifice. Will you be a soldier of God?” Silas fell
to his knees before Bishop Aringarosa—the man who had given him a new life—and he said, “I am a lamb of God. Shepherd me as your heart
commands” p. 213.
After being a member of Opus Dei, Silas is taught the Bible. From the Bible, he knows exactly that there are three basic teaching in Christianity, those
are love, peace, and non-violence. Never having had any other education, Silas is uncritical; he strongly believes that this message should be protected from the
enemies of Christ, and anybody who “threaten God with force will be met with force” p. 34. His belief is also strengthened by the bishop request to be the
“soldier of God”; to perform the mission to save the power of Opus Dei. Silas’ unquestioning loyalty towards the bishop is recognized and used by
the Teacher when he manipulated Silas into killing all the top four members of the Priory – the Grand Master and the other three sénéchaux – in order to get
information about the location of the much pursued keystone. The bishop’s influence in Silas’ life is very powerful; therefore Silas is willing to do the
murders simply because Aringarosa had ordered him to obey the Teacher fully, 42
“The Teacher promised me there would be no killing, and I told you to obey him fully” p. 446.
In this case, Silas is blind obedient because although he actually knows that killing is strictly forbidden in his religion but still he ignores the fact that he is
breaking his religious law because all he cares about is that the bishop had ordered him to obey everything that the Teacher commanded, that it is therefore his duty
to obey the Teacher. He does not want to disappoint the bishop’s desire to make Opus Dei become more powerful, as if he does not want to disappoint God
himself. His blind obedience to Opus Dei, or to be more exact, to the bishop, gives
Silas a twisted understanding about God and the Laws of God. First, he understands that what he is doing is evil. As a Catholic, he knows exactly that
killing people is strictly forbidden and is also a great sin as it breaks the 10 Commandments of God. As a Christian he actually knows that the Law of God is
absolute, and yet, he breaks it by reasoning that he becomes sinful in the service of God, “His service to God today had required the sin of murder, and it was a
sacrifice Silas knew he would have to hold silently in his heart for all eternity” p. 106. Silas believes that he is doing the service for God because both the bishop
and the Teacher, his leaders whom he considered to be equal as God, said so. the bishop asks him to make any necessary sacrifice in the service to God and the
Teacher makes him believes that he has done “a great service to God” p. 14 by eradicating enemies of God. Therefore, Silas believes that God will justify his
actions because he is doing it for the sake of Opus Dei, the organization that 43
according to his belief still performs the truest value of Catholicism, which he feels is pleasing God tremendously. He thinks that the murders he made are in
accordance to God’s will because he treats religious goals – helping Opus Dei to save the true faith of Christianity by finding the Holy Grail – above anything else,
including the innocent lives. Killing people is, of course, breaking the laws of God. However, Silas believes that God can make exemptions in His rules and
judgments whenever God wills it. Therefore, even though he knows that his action is breaking the law of God, he still ignores it and believes that God will forgive
him and justify his actions because according to his understanding he must act just like what God commands and the action of obeying the command is definitely
right simply just because God has commanded it. God can simply change the moral rule simply by His will Hinman, 1994: 98.