An awe-inspiring cinematic moment

DR ERROL N BENJAMIN

I SHARE with you and your readers an awe-inspiring cinematic experience in viewing the Christian-based film entitled Do You Believe? by Pure Flix Films on YouTube recently.

Although I come from a Presbyterian/Hindu background, I am not a “religious” person per se, but as a seasoned critical thinker, having lectured on the subject at the tertiary level for many years, the sense of the rational would often come into play with regard to universally held religious tenets.

Like Lord Krishna’s words of wisdom in the great Hindu epic The Bhagavad Gita, that Arjuna’s devotion to him should be uncompromising and absolute, only to realise my lack in attempting to be humanly “rational” about what is essentially a divine message about the pathway to self-realisation through absolute devotion to the original source from whence you came, at least from a Hindu point of view.

Likewise, being sceptical about the idea of “faith” or “belief” in the Christian sense in something or someone without the necessary knowledge or “evidence” for same, again attempting to be “rational, misleadingly so, about a highly personalised experience which defies such rationality.

But this film had a profound impact on my thinking for at its centre is the idea of “belief” – “Do you believe?” – and what it is to believe, in this case The Cross, the idea being dramatically introduced in the movie by a mysterious figure bearing a wooden cross on his shoulders, putting the question to the main player in the movie, the priest, who himself, before this meeting, would have been contemplating on the huge lighted cross he saw as he drove by and the kind of faith it should inspire, leading to forgiveness and redemption.

And the combined effect of his thinking on the subject and the question posed to him by the mysterious figure bearing the cross would be the inspiration for the sermon he would preach afterwards that “faith (belief in the Cross), if not accompanied by action, is dead” (the Book of James 2:17).

And that believing or having faith is not merely an idea of mere belief in Christ and drawing comfort and sustenance from such a thought in itself, but further, inculcating that spiritual energy into your spirit, driving you to action to demonstrate your love for your fellow man in ways which are manifestly possible.

And guess who would form part of the congregation: the 12 people in the movie whose lives would intersect to give dramatic, cinematic representation to the idea of faith and belief as “love in action”:

The priest and his hesitant wife, both finding redemption through love and care for an abandoned pregnant girl.

The couple grieving over a lost daughter and finding sustenance in accepting a homeless mother and child into their own home.

The “criminal” who would atone for his wicked life, drawing inspiration from a equally wicked colleague who found the “amazing grace” that would save a “wretch,” like him.

The soldier tormented by the memory of not being able to save a buddy in battle who came to save him, now being able to save the fireman whose gratitude gave him the redemption that he craved.

Joe who would further compromise his immune system by giving his home to the homeless mother and child.

And I can go on to talk about the others but the lack of space forbids. Perhaps you can go the link on YouTube and see the entire movie.

I write of this movie and its theme of faith translated into manifest love for your fellow man, not merely because of its spiritual appeal, but more so because of its relevance to this country which is hurting in so many ways – people being infected and dying by the hundreds because of covid19, people losing their jobs and without the means to sustain themselves, children suffering irreparable psychological damage because of a lack of proper schooling, the migrants and the poor at your doorstep at every turn, inter alia.

We need such a renewal of our faith not merely to believe, with such belief hiding under a bushel, but for such faith to manifest itself into real action, reaching out to touch the lives of those in need. And further, although the message of this movie is essentially Christian, it can be a priceless metaphor for the beliefs which undercut all religions, inspiring a kind of faith that can be translated into action, for the good of all mankind.