Leap of Faith
For this week, I my class watched a film to aide our discussion on faith. The movie was Leap of Faith.
The movie is about a con artist (Jonas Nightengale) who was forced to stop over a small town because of an engine problem. It was a poor town deprived of a good life, jobs for the people and the rain needed for their crops (corn). Nightengale was able to tell what the problems of some of the attendees and “heal” them. He did it with the help of his cohorts who were able to overhear the complaints of the attendees and radio it to him. The “fellowship” was quite a show. His group was able to put on a show with lots of light, music, “miracles” and left hope in the hearts of the people that wasn’t there when Nightengale’s group came.
But his scamming almost came to an end when sheriff Will Braverman found out about his being a criminal. Nightengale was able to save his “reputation” when he claimed that:
“Who can lead you off that crooked road? You need a real sinner!”
His activities continued until Boyd, a local boy who witnessed his parents died in an accident that left him crippled, believed that Nightengale can make him walk again. How can he (a fake faith healer) make a crippled boy walk again? Because of the boy’s strong faith, he was able to walk again. It was an event that triggered Nightengale to change, to stop being a con artist. He packed his things, and hitched a ride from a passing truck.
While he was talking to the driver, it suddenly rained after a long time of drought. The people rejoiced because of the two miracles that happened that night, the crippled boy being able to walk again and the rain. When they looked for Nightengale, they found out that he already left his motel room.
The movie tells us what faith should be all about. Here was a man who became criminal at a young age of 15, became a fake healer who cashed in on the hopelessness people feel by giving them a good show with lots of light and music. He manipulated people by using their faith to convince them to make “donations” for them to be saved. Until the impossible happened. What made the boy walk was faith, pure faith. Faith is more than knowledge. It’s also more than belief. It is about trust. It’s all about entrusting everything to the Lord.
