ABSTRACT
God is understood to be not only immanent in creation leaving signs of her loving grace, but also above and beyond the world, judging the conduct of mankind. Such a religious imagination can be seen in Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider, in which he plays that mysterious stranger, “The Man with No Name,” who appears out of nowhere to side with the good and punish the bad. The religious imagination is actually very active in this movie, and centers upon a Christ-like figure who executes the biblically prophesied last judgment. In Pale Rider the stream of light from the heavens appearing right after Megan’s prayer for a miracle, seems to signify that God has heard and is somehow answering. The Pale Rider is much more the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, a Christ-like figure who has come to judge the conduct of humanity on judgment day.
