I think the best movie scene about the nature of faith is not in a ‘Christian movie.’
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade opened on May 24th, 1989, and was immediately beloved. It was a typical Hollywood adventure, with zany humor and exciting chases. Sean Connery was perfect as Indy’s grouchy father. Harrison Ford showed why he was one of the great movie stars.
And, it contains my favorite illustration of what Biblical faith actually entails.
Here is the scene if you need a refresher.
For an hour and a half of runtime, we have seen Indy overcome many hardships. He has pursued the Holy Grail across the world, survived constant danger, and is so close to the goal. (Interestingly, we never get the montage of him researching in libraries and studying, because that would make a boring movie, but a more accurate depiction of following Jesus on a daily basis.)
All he knows is that a book is telling him to take a "leap of faith." He is looking at a wide chasm of darkness, with no obvious way to get across, and his only instructions are to ignore what his own eyes are telling him. The book says to take a step—and there is nothing to step on.
This scene forces me to ask myself, "Am I willing to take a step the Lord wants me to take even though I cannot see how it could possibly work?"
What makes this the best faith depiction in a blockbuster is its meticulous construction, and the emotional weight it carries. We aren’t manipulated with preaching. We don’t get a simplistic “conversion scene”—the worst trope in a faith-based movie.
What we get is a masterfully made adventure story that builds up to this moment with a series of clues and challenges that gradually strip away Indy’s reliance on logic. When he finally stands at the edge of the chasm, his father lays dying in the temple entrance, and the audience is aware of the stakes. The tension is palpable, and the silence that accompanies his tentative step is magnified by the way he holds his hand across his heart to calm himself.
Faith is not a passive state. It is an active, often terrifying, decision to believe in what you cannot see. To trust that the God who owns you knows what He is doing, and even if you die, it was for His glory, because you were obedient.
I also love how it makes Indy, known across two previous movies for his rugged individualism and pragmatic approach to everything, surrender to a higher power and trust in something beyond his control. This posture of surrender is where we should always find ourselves. Even the most skeptical and self-reliant man must finally break like a wave upon the Rock of Ages.
Praise and Arrows.