Absorption of All the Group’s Belief
beliefs that Silas holds throughout the novel as the result of his interaction with the Teacher. The first one is that the enemies of God must be exterminated.
After becoming the member of opus Dei, Silas is taught the Bible by the bishop. He knows exactly the basic teaching of Jesus Christ is peace, love and
nonviolence. However, his fanaticism to Opus Dei prevented him from truly understanding the true meaning of the message and then he steps in to offer a
conclusion that this is one message that must be protected at all cost, even if he must murder and kill.
Jesus message is one of peace... of nonviolence... of love. This was the
message Silas had been taught from the beginning, and the message he held in his heart. And yet this was the message the enemies of Christ now
threatened to destroy. Those who threaten God with force will be met with force. Immovable and steadfast
For two millennia, Christian soldiers had defended their faith against those who tried to displace it. Tonight, Silas
had been called to battle p. 34.
He absorbs this group belief that in order to be a soldier of God he must exterminate those who endanger his faith, just like what some Christian soldiers
did in the past. The second belief is that performing murder for the sake of Opus Dei in
order to save the existence of The Way - the basic teaching in Opus Dei which consists of 999 points of meditation for doing Gods Work and feeling God’s
existence in everyday life – is a white sin and therefore forgivable. As a background, in the Novel, it is told that the Vatican will be revoking its sanction
of Opus Dei i.e. The Vatican will disassociate itself from Opus Dei. This revocation means that many of Opus Dei’s followers might lose their faith in the
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organization, as it will no longer be considered an official Catholic prelature. This will greatly endanger Opus Dei’s existence.
Silas’s attitude towards this situation is very extreme; he must do whatever is necessary to save Opus Dei, including murders. Silas knows that his action of
murder means breaking the law of God and it is definitely a great sin. However, he feels that it is all right, because the sin of murder that he is committing will be
forgiven as it is done for a holy purpose, and that is performing a mission from God to protect the existence of The Way, the true faith of Christianity, “I do the
work of God. The Way is in peril ” p. 311. This belief is taught and reinforced by
the Teacher, whom he sees as the highest leader, “the one who had assured him his actions were ordained by a higher power” p. 80. Silas believes that his final
goal of getting the Holy Grail will justify his action. Therefore God’s forgiveness is assured.
I must purge my soul of todays sins. The sins committed today had been
holy in purpose. Acts of war against the enemies of God had been committed for centuries. Forgiveness was assured p. 14.
The last group’s belief that he absorbs is that The Way is the only way to be close to God and it can be seen from his action of giving so much attention to
Corporal Mortification. His group’s belief emphasizes that the pain and the blood caused by Corporal Mortification ritual will bring believers close to God and
therefore will clean him from his sins. Corporal Mortification is a sacred ritual that requires its follower to
practice a kind of self-torture, which includes wearing a cilice – “a leather strap, studded with sharp metal barbs that cut into the flesh as a perpetual reminder of
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Christs suffering” p. 14, and doing the Discipline – a kind of self torture by using a heavy knotted rope to whip the body.
As one of the truest followers of The Way, Silas absorbs his group’s belief that the pain caused by the devices will remind him to Christ’s suffering and it
also “helped counteract the desires of the flesh.” p. 14. Pain is good, is the wisdom of The Way that is strongly believed by thousand of faithful servants of
Opus Dei, including Silas. He applies that wisdom fully in his life because he believes that the pain will bring him closer to God. He absorbs his group’s belief
that the more he can endure the pain caused by this sacred ritual, the bigger his faith. Therefore, he always wears the cilice longer than the requisite two hours.
Besides using cilice more, Silas also practices the Discipline harder than the requisite. Usually, the Practice of the Discipline does not cause bleeding, but Silas
practices using the devices until it causes bleeding because he believes that the pain and blood cause by this ritual will purify him from sin.
Five hundred miles away, the albino named Silas stood over a small basin of water and dabbed the blood from his back, watching the patterns of red
spinning in the water. Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, he prayed, quoting Psalms. Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow p. 34.
It is an enjoyment for Silas to perform this ritual. It really does cause pain, but he feels that the pain that he receives from the ritual will discipline his soul and
cleanse him from his past. He also considers this practice as a great service to God.
One mile away, the hulking albino named Silas limped through the front gate of the luxurious brownstone residence on Rue La Bruyère. The spiked
cilice belt that he wore around his thigh cut into his flesh, and yet his soul
sang with satisfaction of service to the Lord p. 12. 47
Furthermore, he believes that the measure of his faith can be gauged by measuring the amount of pain that he can endure. As he wishes to be one of the firmest, most
dedicated followers of The Way, he thus seeks to cause as much pain as possible during the ritual as a statement of his faith. As his pain and faith gets stronger, he
believes that he is further saved from his miserable past. It is for this reason that he puts so much appreciation to the corporeal mortification ritual.