Paul chose something he believed to be greater than God and that was his job. When his family was starving and he turned to the Church for help, he was only left disappointed. His job gave him the money and food his family needed to survive.
That bit of text regarding the church got me so fired up! When the Father said that he wasn't a charity I couldn't believe my eyes. As if there was any calling more important than the starving children of a widowed mother. That alone would have broken my faith if Paul and I switched roles.
Paul kept his faith for long time, even with all the troubles he went through. Through these events he did not receive any help through religious ways. He gave up hope and believed his job was his only help.
Because of all the things Paul experienced, it follows the trajectory of his narrative that by the end, he no longer has faith in God or in religion in the traditional sense. After the untimely death of his father, Paul turned toward the church, fellow Christians, and to the system for help and nothing ever worked out for him except the work he himself put into "Job."
I think Pauls loosing faith is a logical and necessary conclusion of his journey towards liberation. We have seen throughout the course of the book, which is his life, the hardship he went through. But up until the end he always turned to Christ. He always turned to Christ, as a good Christian should, not to seek immediate help but advice in the right direction. His path was never influenced by a higher power that may be. So for him to control his own faith he needed to liberate from the power that was once guiding him.
I would not particularly say it was logical and necessary that Paul lost his faith, and this is coming from someone who isn't religious at all. The reason I say this is because I could have seen it going another direction, in fact, often people turn more towards God and faith when they hit rockbottom, the fact that Paul did not was actually a great surprise in the story. The book is called Christ in Concrete. The amount of times I've read "Jesu," or "Christ," or religious connotations, I honestly did not expect Paul to have reached that conclusion, but it was my favorite part. I felt my face form into a jaw-drop when he picked up his mother's crucifix and told her not to pray to God anymore and then shattered it.
After spending your entire life of hardship encountering the inconsistencies of religion it is entirely logical that one would lose faith. To me it had never seemed like any of the male characters truly believed in God. Their God was Job. It was the force over them dictating their destinies. Sometimes it would bless them other times it would damn them. A very god like position. The greatest point of contention to this idea however is the death of Annunziata. Either she died as a message from god to punish Paul or she died because the concept of Christianity and religion she represented had died within the book. Perhaps what the book was trying to say that the Christ or God that the women of the old country believed in did not, could not, will not exist again in the new world. Thus the title "Christ in Concrete".
When it comes to faith no one can tell you how to believe and what to believe in. Paul choose to go his own way and not be a follower. Through the book we notices much of Paul loosing faith, some parts were very noticeable and others weren't so obvious. But him loosing faith was what he choose to do and that is how society is.
Paul losing faith was in a way predictable. He went though so many hardships being so young and I think that after his father and Nazone died he was left empty. He lost his father and his godfather in such a short amount of time. I feel that he felt alone and that not even God would heal his wounds.
Agreeing with Leslie, Paul losing his faith was predictable. Paul had endured circumstance in which nothing ever got better, it only got worse. I understand why he questioned his faith in every way. The way I see it, he had faith and felt as if it was failing so he gave up completely.
I believe that Paul losing his faith had to be part of the character development. It would have been surprising if he ended up becoming a minister. When your surroundings make you feel like you are not worthy of God, it is hard to make yourself believe so. From losing your father, to seeing your Godfather's life being swept before your eyes and still believe that God is on your side, it is extremely difficult.
Throughout his life, Paul believed in Christ from what he was told. Religion was a big part of his Italian background and he devoted himself to Christ. After a dream he had with his father in it, he realized that his devotion was all for nothing. He was giving himself to Job just as he did to Christ. He realized that his life would never get better no matter how much he prayed it would. This caused him to lose his faith in God in making things better and blessing the good with a better life. Therefore, this was a necessary ending to this book.
One of the most moving parts to me was at the very end when Annunziata told the kids to follow Paul. "Love. love love love". Not that I think she lost her faith, but she seemed to move her faith to Paul. She didn't tell her kids to follow Christ. She didn't say anything religious, instead she directed them to Paul. It really only made sense that Paul lost his faith. To him God wasn't tangible and a help at all. The only thing real to him was his hardwork and love for his family
When it seems like all hope is lost and you are forcibly coming to terms with your belief as you stare death in the eyes, options are very limited. I felt as though he had just given up since he was moments away from death and just abandoned his belief in God and went down the heavily burdened path of his Job.
Paul chose something he believed to be greater than God and that was his job. When his family was starving and he turned to the Church for help, he was only left disappointed. His job gave him the money and food his family needed to survive.
ReplyDeleteThat bit of text regarding the church got me so fired up! When the Father said that he wasn't a charity I couldn't believe my eyes. As if there was any calling more important than the starving children of a widowed mother. That alone would have broken my faith if Paul and I switched roles.
DeletePaul kept his faith for long time, even with all the troubles he went through. Through these events he did not receive any help through religious ways. He gave up hope and believed his job was his only help.
ReplyDeleteBecause of all the things Paul experienced, it follows the trajectory of his narrative that by the end, he no longer has faith in God or in religion in the traditional sense. After the untimely death of his father, Paul turned toward the church, fellow Christians, and to the system for help and nothing ever worked out for him except the work he himself put into "Job."
ReplyDeleteI think Pauls loosing faith is a logical and necessary conclusion of his journey towards liberation. We have seen throughout the course of the book, which is his life, the hardship he went through. But up until the end he always turned to Christ. He always turned to Christ, as a good Christian should, not to seek immediate help but advice in the right direction. His path was never influenced by a higher power that may be. So for him to control his own faith he needed to liberate from the power that was once guiding him.
ReplyDeleteI would not particularly say it was logical and necessary that Paul lost his faith, and this is coming from someone who isn't religious at all. The reason I say this is because I could have seen it going another direction, in fact, often people turn more towards God and faith when they hit rockbottom, the fact that Paul did not was actually a great surprise in the story. The book is called Christ in Concrete. The amount of times I've read "Jesu," or "Christ," or religious connotations, I honestly did not expect Paul to have reached that conclusion, but it was my favorite part. I felt my face form into a jaw-drop when he picked up his mother's crucifix and told her not to pray to God anymore and then shattered it.
ReplyDeleteAfter spending your entire life of hardship encountering the inconsistencies of religion it is entirely logical that one would lose faith. To me it had never seemed like any of the male characters truly believed in God. Their God was Job. It was the force over them dictating their destinies. Sometimes it would bless them other times it would damn them. A very god like position. The greatest point of contention to this idea however is the death of Annunziata. Either she died as a message from god to punish Paul or she died because the concept of Christianity and religion she represented had died within the book. Perhaps what the book was trying to say that the Christ or God that the women of the old country believed in did not, could not, will not exist again in the new world. Thus the title "Christ in Concrete".
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to faith no one can tell you how to believe and what to believe in. Paul choose to go his own way and not be a follower. Through the book we notices much of Paul loosing faith, some parts were very noticeable and others weren't so obvious. But him loosing faith was what he choose to do and that is how society is.
ReplyDeletePaul losing faith was in a way predictable. He went though so many hardships being so young and I think that after his father and Nazone died he was left empty. He lost his father and his godfather in such a short amount of time. I feel that he felt alone and that not even God would heal his wounds.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with Leslie, Paul losing his faith was predictable. Paul had endured circumstance in which nothing ever got better, it only got worse. I understand why he questioned his faith in every way. The way I see it, he had faith and felt as if it was failing so he gave up completely.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Paul losing his faith had to be part of the character development. It would have been surprising if he ended up becoming a minister. When your surroundings make you feel like you are not worthy of God, it is hard to make yourself believe so. From losing your father, to seeing your Godfather's life being swept before your eyes and still believe that God is on your side, it is extremely difficult.
ReplyDeleteThroughout his life, Paul believed in Christ from what he was told. Religion was a big part of his Italian background and he devoted himself to Christ. After a dream he had with his father in it, he realized that his devotion was all for nothing. He was giving himself to Job just as he did to Christ. He realized that his life would never get better no matter how much he prayed it would. This caused him to lose his faith in God in making things better and blessing the good with a better life. Therefore, this was a necessary ending to this book.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most moving parts to me was at the very end when Annunziata told the kids to follow Paul. "Love. love love love". Not that I think she lost her faith, but she seemed to move her faith to Paul. She didn't tell her kids to follow Christ. She didn't say anything religious, instead she directed them to Paul. It really only made sense that Paul lost his faith. To him God wasn't tangible and a help at all. The only thing real to him was his hardwork and love for his family
ReplyDeleteWhen it seems like all hope is lost and you are forcibly coming to terms with your belief as you stare death in the eyes, options are very limited.
ReplyDeleteI felt as though he had just given up since he was moments away from death and just abandoned his belief in God and went down the heavily burdened path of his Job.