Wow! I was simultaneously shaking with the heebie-geebies and doing a victory dance at the end of “Signs and Wonders.” This episode really worked you body and soul!
“"Snakes?! Why'd it have to be snakes?" (“Raiders of the Lost Ark)
That's the first thing I thought. “"Why snakes?! " I hate snakes. I always have. I have lived my entire life in the South where cottonmouths and water moccasins abide. I grew up near a bay and a river. But, I live in fear of the slithery things; I cannot stand snakes! Therefore, I watched much of this episode while peeking from behind a pillow, especially at the end when the snakes were leaping at Mulder and out from his clothes. How did David Duchovny stand that?! I can’t stand to even touch the nasty things! The man deserves an award from Steve Irwin (the gator guy)!
That explains the heebie-geebies. Why did I do a victory dance? I have been waiting a long time for Mulder to have a test of his faith. In Signs and Wonders Rev. O’Connor, the fundamentalist minister, kept telling Mulder to listen to his heart (or soul, as he just pointed to Mulder’s chest and told him to “be smart down "here"). It took Mulder a while to do this.
Mulder has always been intuitive, except in religious matters. When religion and faith enter the picture, Mulder follows logic or, quite often, defers to Scully. After all, Scully has had her faith tested numerous times and has professed her belief in God. Mulder has professed his belief and faith in the truth. We saw that put to the test when he faced down Rev. Mackey aka The Devil.
Mulder thought he failed the test, because the snakes attacked him and made him ill. Scully said he must have passed the test because he was alive. Does faith prevent evil from harming us? Or does faith allow us to prevail in spite of evil? Whatever the answer is, I believe we now have a Mulder who is exploring his faith/beliefs-- a faith and belief he didn’t really know he’d had. I'm left wondering what Scully's role was? Did she stop Mackey from killing Mulder; was she the reason Mulder "passed" the test? Or, had Mulder already prevailed before she entered?
I was so relieved that this episode dealt with such a sensitive issue with great respect. It can be all too easy to treat fundamentalists as caricatures: less intelligent, gullible, and/or corrupt to the point of exploiting church members. Instead, Signs and Wonders tells the story of a strong faith vs. a ho-hum religious attitude. I was upset when O’Connor was being portrayed as a murderer and incestuous father. But, I realized it was still early-on in the story and something else was going on. I thought it was Gracie. I never suspected Rev. Mackey, the minister who preached about a benevolent, loving God who wouldn’t hurt his beloved.
In catechism, we learned that God
is benevolent and loves His people. However, we also learned that there
is punishment for those who are not faithful. Faith requires a belief in
the unknown- a mystery. It requires one to go beyond him/herself; to challenge
him/herself. Looking back over the entire episode now, Mackey never did
call on the congregation to do any of this; O’Connor did all the time.
Mulder clearly pointed out to Scully that the Catholic Church’s teaching of transubstantiation (the changing of the communion wafer/bread into the body of Christ during the Mass) is very much like the Signs and Wonders church members' belief that poisonous snakes will not hurt them. Both beliefs are founded on passages from the Bible. The two churches’ just interpret the Scripture in different ways.
It’s all a matter of one’s faith.
Want to explore matters of faith (or snakes)? Try these: