The God Stealer: The Dynamics of Tradition and Modernization

The following lines are excerpts from Friedrich Nietzsches The Parable of the Madman
from his work entitled, The Gay Science (1882).
Where has God gone? he cried. I shall tell you. We have killed him - you and IGod is
dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we, murderers of all murderers,
console ourselves? That which was the holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet
possessed has bled to death under our knives Must we not ourselves become gods
simply to be worthy of it?
These lines speak of the death of God in the hearts of modern men and how as they turn
more to science they grow more indifferent to the concept of faith and religion. [2] In Francisco Sionil
Joses The God Stealer, we see the constant push and pull, and the eventual clashing of two
seemingly opposing ideas, tradition and modernization, which is analogous to the struggle between
faith and science in The Parable of the Madman.
In The God Stealer we see Sam Christie, a foreigner, who with his collection of rare
traditional items, such as a Grecian urn, a samurai sword, a Siamese mask and eventually an Ifugao
God, as the depiction of a modern man, indifferent to the sacred ways of tradition and one who,
through his indifference and money, became powerful enough to reduce a god to a mere novelty
item. Philip Latak on the other hand is the more profound representation of the modern man
because being the Filipino, we expect him to be the one who upholds and respects tradition and the
religion that comes with it. However, he has chosen convenience over tradition. He goes on to say,
during a conversation with Sam Christie, and his brother Sadek, that everyone knows the terraces
are good for the eye, but they cant produce enough for the stomach.[2] Although he is proud of his
ethnicity, he no longer has any respect for tradition and their religion as seen in the way he calls the

ways of the village doctor Mumbo Jumbo stuff and in the fact that he offered and actually did
steal his grandfathers idol. Unlike Sam who was initially disturbed by Philips idea of stealing his
grandfathers god for him shows how far Philip has gone down the road of blatant disregard for
tradition and religion. The fact that Sam was disturbed meant that despite his indifference, he still
recognizes the importance of tradition to those who follow it.
The other side of the equation, as one might put it, are the characters who are for tradition
and who realize its importance. There are three characters who show and defend, in their own way,
the importance of a tradition and religion, namely Sadek, Reverend Doone, and Philips
Grandfather. Sadek believed in the importance of family. He believed in the tradition that family
must come first and all else follows. He was the epitome of the humble yet proud man of the Ifugao.
He toils on the terraces all day for his family and for his grandfather and this reality was enough for
him. He is like the good son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son and Philip was the prodigal son. His
regard for family is seen in the way he acts as mediator between Philip and their grandfather. He also
tells Philip off for being too absent to the point that his relatives, particularly his nieces and
nephews, dont even know him. Sadek can be likened to Narayan Ghodme of Victor Barnouws
Incense in the Lab.[3] They both put family above all else. It is their religion. Reverend Doone, the
missionary, believed in the importance of faith and/or religion in the life of a person caught up in a
fast changing world. In his conversation with Sam about the soul he cites examples of men who
have lost their soul, he says:
In the city people are corrupted by easy living, the pleasures of senses and the flesh, the
mass corruption that is seeping into the government and everything. A generation of soulless
men is growing up and dictating the future.[2]

Reverend Doone speaks of how modernization and the convenience of technology has bred
a generation of people with no purpose. The importance of tradition and religion is the fact that it
gives a higher purpose to living a life that is otherwise meaningless. Reverend Doone goes on to
praise the humble life of the mountain people, and says that despite the poverty experienced by the
people in the mountains, their lives are more peaceful and purposeful. Finally, Philips grandfather,
being a chieftain, believes in the tradition and religion of the Ifugao people more than anything. This
is his only reality. A world with nature gods, who govern all events that occur in his life. His faith is
immovable like the mountain that he lives in. He is steady as the beating drum as Pocahontas father
would put it. He has lived all his life fighting to keep the ways of his ancestors alive and when his
grandson Philip chooses to abandon these beliefs, he was devastated not only because he was losing
a grandson but also because he failed in keeping tradition alive in Philip. He loved Philip very much
as seen in the way he forgives Philip immediately when he arrives. In one scene he thanks the gods
that Philip has returned and that he can die now that his grandson has returned. He also initially
rebukes the presence of Sam, because he was American and he says that they took everything away
from him.[2] He was depicted in the story as a stoic and ancient looking man which matches his
ancient ways perfectly.
It is only towards the end of the story that we clearly see the struggle between tradition and
modernization when Philip steals his grandfathers god. This act causes the death of his grandfather
and him being trapped by his own misdeeds. The successful stealing of the idol and the death of
Philips grandfather symbolizes the triumph of modernization over tradition. The death of a
chieftain also symbolizes the death of tradition unless a successor is available. Philip stole the idol
either to spite the gods and his grandfather or he stole it to prove that he was free of this belief
system and that the gods had no power over him. Even though he said he stole it for Sam, he did it
for his own personal satisfaction. Sam was always from the beginning just an observer. He was an

outsider that was why he was indifferent, but he was never irreverent like Philip. We can also look at
the death of Philips grandfather as the triumph of tradition and/or religion over modernization.
Because the death of Philips grandfather may be thought of as the consequence or punishment of
the gods on the stealing of the idol. In the end Philip had to stay in the mountains because he
became his grandfathers successor and he will forever bear the guilt of the death of his grandfather.
If I am correct Philip became the new chieftain of their tribe. The very act that he thought would
free him from tradition was the one that chained him to tradition instead. Philip was always clear
that he preferred the city life than the life in Ifugao and all signs pointed to him turning down the
position of chieftain, but he accepted it probably because he blamed himself for the death of his
grandfather. In the end he chased away the only connection he had left with the modern world
Sam. Sams only fault was his indifference and the fact that he put a price on gods which are
supposed to belong to no one and everyone at the same time. In the end, Sam lost a friend and
Philip lost his freedom. This is the consequence of their disregard for tradition.
In Victor Barnouws Incense in the Lab the same premise is seen. It is a struggle between
science and faith or modernization and tradition. In Incense in the lab conflict was avoided because
of compromise. The compromise being the recognition that one belief is no more important than
another and everyone had the right to believe in something freely. In the God Stealer, the characters
refusal to accept this simple truth lead to devastating losses. In conclusion, in order to be able to live
a holistic life, tradition and modernization should not be seen as opposing forces but rather forces
that complement each other.

References
[1] http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/philosophy/friedrich_nietzsche_quotes.html
(Date accessed: November 19, 2014)
[2] Jose, F. S. The God Stealer. Philippine Literatures: Texts, Themes, Approaches. Espana, Manila:
University of Santo Tomas Publishing House.
[3] Barnouw, Victor. Incense in the Lab.