Faith and Film at Film Alley

Here is the list of movies we will examine in the class, along with some key questions the films raise.

(Note: Movies are subject to change if circumstances warrant.)

February 2

• A Classic Film:  Leap of Faith (1992)

From IMDb: “Fake faith healer Jonas Nightingale is stranded in a small town where he finds he can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”

This film is in the sub-genre of movies directly about religion or the church. In movies like this, the filmmaker makes direct assertions about Christians and their behaviors as a church. In many of these films, the propositions of the filmmaker are not so kind to Christianity.

In other films, the filmmaker’s assumptions on the surface may seem to be spot-on, but only in a less conventional examination can subtle but deviating assertions about faith and Christianity be recognized.

Unfortunately, not all of what we call “Christian movies” are exempt from theological imperfection—perhaps made more insidious for us when our guard is down. Sometimes, it is better to watch a raw story of flawed sinners who stumble upon grace rather than a squeaky-clean “Christian” movie and give a pass to the inferior Gospel it promotes.

No doubt, Leap of Faith is a movie made for audiences with a broad range of religious views. It advances the audacious proposal that sinners, rather than the pious, are better at saving sinners.

Diving deep, this movie challenges us with the questions it raises:

1. Do the sins of the preacher, one who is simultaneous saint and sinner, somehow disqualify the Gospel they preach? Must all ministers of the Gospel be perfect?
2. How must one live to be considered a genuine Christian, not found to be an imposter in the eyes of our family, friends, and neighbors?
3. Think about the various spiritual and religious influencers on television and on social media. Are their follower’s spirits lifted by their entertaining and engaging presentations or do they ultimately suffer harm from them?
4. How is the traveling evangelist redeemed in this movie? Who redeems him?
5. In John 5:6, Jesus asks the helpless paralytic, “Do you want to be healed?” Consider if this question was necessary. Does faith play a role in health and healing?
6. Should the Christian trust present day faith healers? Similarly, must the patient believe in medical science for it to work its magic?
7. In John 4:48, Jesus speaks with an air of disappointment when he complains, “Unless you people see signs and wonders . . . you will never believe.” Must we be made well before we believe? Further, is sound physical health the same goal as wellness or wholeness?

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” — 1 Timothy 1:15b

“We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way . . . in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors.” 2 Cor. 6:3-4a,7-8.

Respondent: Rev. Dr. David Kluth

Dr. Kluth will be responding for the third straight season. Previously, he helped unpack Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and The Breakfast Club.

Kluth has a degree in Communication and has been a professor and administrator at several universities. Currently, he is known as a popular Bible class leader at Zion Lutheran. He earned a Master of Arts in Mass Communication/Media Studies from the University of Minnesota, a Master of Divinity from Concordia Seminary St. Louis, and a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in instructional technology & design from Nova Southeastern University.

March 2

A Mystery:  Caddo Lake (2024)

From IMDb: “When an 8-year-old girl disappears on Caddo Lake, a series of past deaths and disappearances begin to link together, altering a broken family’s history.”

Mysteries are certainly one of the most popular movie genres. It challenges the viewer to think outside the box and to open the mind to the impossible and unthinkable. Caddo Lake is such a mystery—challenging the viewer to consider time travel, which requires a mental reordering of the events in the film. Solving or accepting the mystery will lead to a more profound understanding of the relationships among the characters.

The Bible often reveals a preconfigured Christ. In addition, we can read about the re-appearing of the previously ascended Christ to Saul on the road to Damascus. Imagine how Peter, James, and John struggled in their unimaginable encounter with Moses and Elijah on the mount of Transfiguration. How was it possible for them to appear now? What did their appearance in the present do to recast past events and store insight into events yet to come? How might it have changed their relationship with Jesus?

On a less conventional level, Caddo Lake challenges the viewer to travel back and forth in cinematic time. Can the mysteries of the present help the Christian better understand the past and project themselves into the future? Can past events help interpret or even determine what happens today and tomorrow? How will our knowledge of what is to come help reimagine our lives for the present?

Diving deep, this movie challenges us with the questions it raises (possible spoilers):

1. M. Knight Shyamalan is known for the award-winning movies Signs, The Sixth Sense, and The Village. What thematic thread is common among these three (and perhaps his less known works)?
2. Consider why the mystery in this movie manifests itself when the water in the lake is low. How might this serve as a metaphor for life?
3. Re-examine those events in scripture where God manipulates time. What conclusions can you make about God’s use of His supernatural power to control time?
4. In this movie, one character travels across time and ends up saving another character’s life. How is this reminiscent of Christ’s mission on earth?
5. Consider how coming to a new understanding of past events can help one interpret or even determine what happens today and tomorrow. How is hope carried on the wings of time?
6. Mainstream Christianity does not recognize reincarnation in God’s creation. As a metaphor, however, the idea still has some appeal. What note would you write to yourself in the future? Or, write to yourself in the past?

“This is what the Lord says, ‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.’” — Isaiah 43:16,18-19

Click here to read some spoilers—some clues to help unravel this movie mystery.

Respondent: Dr. Jacob Youmans

Dr. Youmans has served as the Director of the DCE (Director of Christian Education) program at Concordia University Texas, since 2009. Prior to that, he served as a Youth and Family Minister in Hawaii and California.

He has authored four books, including Talking Pictures, which demonstrates how one can use movies to teach the faith to teenagers. He also was a contributor to Movies From the Mountaintop, an anthology on faith and films that also featured insights from Rob Lowe and Mark Wahlberg.

April 6

• A Timely Movie:  Inside Out 2 (2024)

From IMDb: “A sequel that features Riley entering puberty and experiencing brand new, more complex emotions as a result. As Riley tries to adapt to her teenage years, her old emotions try to adapt to the possibility of being replaced.”

Like the first Inside Out story, the sequel explores the sense of belonging and self-identity in a young person—a story made relevant and poignant in light of the trends in society today.

This new story addresses a new phase in Riley’s life; she has grown into puberty. Very few movies satisfactorily deal with this traumatic transition, much less any film that explores the drama from a narrowly Christian perspective. Even scripture seems to be relatively silent on the topic—there is not much help for the young person trying to make sense of their suddenly changed world. Or is there?

Inside Out 2 is more than just a movie for a young person. On a less conventional level, it is for the new or immature Christian who must deal with unexpected changes and unfamiliar feelings standing in their way as they embark on their journey of faith.

Diving deep, this movie challenges us with the questions it raises:

1. This movie could belong to the genre we might call, Adolescent Girl Stories Full of Complex Interpersonal Drama and Conflict. Consider how this one might fit that genre and how it may be different from others in that classification.
2. Society today sets the bar high for young people, insisting that they can do anything one sets their minds to do and to be whatever they chose their identity to be. How might we put this bold optimism into the context of what the Gospel says about vocation, ambition, success, and failure.
3. Riley quickly loses traction as she struggles to keep what the filmmaker and society call the sense of self. How often can a similar confusion be recognized in the life of the growing disciple?
4. Must one burn bridges, so to speak, when they join a new team? Consider the conundrum of a new believer.
5. It is not unusual today that a child like Riley is away at a sports camp when she faces this identity crisis. Her parents seem mostly unaware of the internal competition she is facing within her soul. Consider where and how these life lessons best should be learned and interpreted.
6. Consider if or how the roles of parents have changed in a day of all the school, club, and sports opportunities children enjoy outside of the home? What is missing?
7. As you continue your journey in life, using the sports metaphor, what is it like to discover that you are not yet fully ready to be in the game? From a Biblical perspective, what should be our response?

“Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” — Hebrews 5:13-14

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. . . . Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” — Philippians 2:3-4, 12b-13.

Respondent: Dr. Denise Patrick

Dr. Patrick is a seasoned expert with over 30 years of experience in business and academia, specializing in executive coaching, leadership development, and change management. Her consulting work spans Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, small businesses, and government agencies. Dr. Patrick is passionate about helping leaders refine their communication and interpersonal skills to achieve transformative growth.

Currently, she serves as an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of Texas at Austin, teaching in the Moody College of Communication. She also holds a faculty position at Baruch College, City University of New York, where she has taught in the Executive MBA and MPA programs. Dr. Patrick is deeply committed to empowering leaders to create meaningful connections and lasting impact. (Read more about Dr. Patrick.)

May 4

• A Popular Movie:  The Rookie (2002)

From IMDb: “A Texas baseball coach makes the major league after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.”

On a conventional level, this inspiring movie should be familiar in many ways, not only in the locations where it was filmed, but also in the relatable story of a husband who tries to fulfill all his life’s callings and duties at once—in a new career, as a husband, and also as a son and father.

The story is also a notable exploration of the expectations fathers have of their sons (or parents of their children) as well as the bold faith the son has in the father (the child in the parent).

On a less conventional level, sports movies often remind us of the obstacles one must overcome to, so to speak, make it to the big leagues. It can also serve as a metaphor for how we gauge our abilities as disciples with the vocational calling to serve in his kingdom. Are we ever ready? Conversely, are we ever past our prime? Are we blessed by what it takes?

Diving deep, this movie challenges us with the questions it raises:

1. Are we ever ready to fulfill a calling from God? Or our we content to stay in the minor leagues? And how will we handle it if we blow it? What if we suffer an injury?
2. Morris became a major league player in an unconventional way. How might God be leading you toward something in a less than conventional way?
3. If your career and life are following a Plan B path, what was your Plan A? How was God’s hand evident in that change?
4. How can one perform our multiple calling at the same time in different arenas? What must we give up, and to what must be held tightly? Where has this stress caused a break in your life?
5. The role of the relief pitcher is to come into the game and hold the lead, often with runners already on base threatening to steal the win. Consider how often you have been confronted with a seemingly impossible task, one that you were unsure of how it would work out. What do you do in those threatening moments?
6. Consider Jimmy’s students, his son Hunter, and for Lorri, his wife. What life lessons do they take away from his success? Likewise, what is your take—how do you benefit from the rookie’s story?
7. The Catholic Church recognizes four patron saints for impossible causes. In what impossible causes do you still maintain hope? How should one pray for such things?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” — Hebrews 12:1-2a

Respondent: Scott Linebrink

Scott Linebrink is a former major league pitcher, having played for 15 seasons with teams like the Astros, White Sox, and San Diego Padres. Recently, he has served as Brand Ambassador for Water Mission, a faith-based organization providing clean water resources globally for communities in need. He is continually active promoting Christian living among current and retired professional althletes.

DISCLAIMER: MOVIES SELECTED MAY CONTAIN ROUGH LANGUAGE AND DEPICT SEXUAL SITUATIONS.

Series Curator

The Faith and Film Series is led by Dr. Philip J. Hohle, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television-Film from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Arts in Speech Communication from Texas State University, and a Ph.D. from Regent University in Communication Studies. A member of the Society for the Cognitive Study of the Moving Image, he has presented how audiences interpret the movies they watch in the U.S., Finland, and Spain. He has also published two books and several articles on viewer response theory. Currently, he teaches at The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Southeastern University.