The Power and the Glory seems to have a subversive take on sin. According to Catholicism, sin always leads one away from God—sometimes in small ways, sometimes in large. The Church says that, as a rule, if one wants to be restored to a right relationship with God and avoid hell, they must confess to a priest with a contrite heart. Greene flips this notion on its head and presents us with a priest who's not fully contrite and cannot confess to another cleric, yet ultimately does the Lord's work with periodic heroism and grace. Is Greene standing on heretical ground? We wonder what the Pope would have to say about this.
Questions About Sin
- Why does the priest tell the half-caste that the betrayal of friends is worse than theft and murder?
- How do the priest's known sins affect his ministry?
- Why does the half-caste perpetually insist on his innocence?
- How do the priest and the lieutenant differ in their understanding of suffering?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
The lieutenant wants to make a world free of sin.
Sin can be beautiful.