The place of gay and lesbian congregation and clergy within various Christian denominations has become an increasingly controversial issue in recent decades, and many conservative Christian leaders have justified church polices which limit the participation of homosexuals in the church (as well as support of legislation against gay marriage or civil rights for gays) by citing certain passages of the Holy Bible. But what do these passages really mean? How accurate is their translation from the
original holy texts? And have they been used outside of proper context to justify a political agenda that runs counter to Christian ideals of acceptance and forgiveness? For The Bible Tells Me So is a documentary which looks at the ongoing battle of gays and lesbians to celebrate their faith without denying their sexual preferences. The film includes interviews with a number of conservative Christian families as well as V. Gene Robinson, who became the first officially ordained Anglican bishop; political activist and spiritual leader Bishop Desmond Tutu; and Chrissy Gephardt, the openly lesbian daughter of Congressman Dick Gephardt. For The Bible Tells Me So was directed by Daniel Karslake, longtime producer of the PBS news and public affairs series In The Life. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Progressive clergy provide enough historical context to neutralize the handful of Bible verses prohibiting homosexual acts, but Karslake never confronts the broader issues of sexuality and procreation that bedevil even moderate Christians.
While the film is unlikely to sway anyone whose mind already isn't made up, it provides plenty food for thought in its examination of biblical doctrine on same-sex love and how it resonates to this day.
For the Bible Tells Me So doesn't follow the formula. That's just one of the reasons it works well as a film and a lesson about, as one open-minded preacher puts it, what the Bible "reads" about what it supposedly "says" about homosexuality.
Karslake reveals ways Scripture has been used to discriminate against homoexuality, and shows how inaccurate interpretations of the Bible cause widespread despair and the destruction of lives.
For the Bible ... serves very nicely as an educational tool and aid to discussion, and is supported by an impressive array of materials downloadable from the film's web site
Excessivamente convencional em sua estrutura e contendo sua parcela de graves tropeços (a seqüência em animação), este filme ainda assim merece aplausos pela eloqüência de seus entrevistados, pelo teor de sua mensagem e pela paixão com que a defende.
Daniel Karslake's doc on the extent to which Christian families have embraced their gay children does an admirably thorough job of assembling smart talking heads and personal archives.
One message rings clear throughout the occasionally muddled but always emotionally sweeping film: A true abomination is twisting the words of Scripture to match bigotry.
The film offers proof that religion and homosexuality need not be mutually exclusive: Good Christians can love and accept their gay brothers and sisters, and gay people can still be religious.
An informative, heartbreaking documentary about intolerance and manipulation, sadly and assuredly never to be seen by the people who need this info the most.
I really like that the movie shows the parent's religious struggles or acceptance more so than the child's point of view. This movie is all Fox News is not - it is fair and balanced. It helps me have tools for explaining myself as a gay man that has lost faith because of the church's reaction. But the sad thing
is.... the people that need to see this movie most... will not!
My first reaction was to write this off as preaching to the choir, but there are a lot of really admirable things about this documentary that I think could do a lot of good. Sure, you're not likely to get 90% of Christians to sit down and watch this, but the ones this movie is capable of reaching could certainly
benefit from it. It takes a fair, gentle hand to religion, not vilifying it but instead reaching a compromise with it; the sense of balance makes the movie almost universally watchable. The message it sends across is "we respect your beliefs, and now we ask us to respect yours," something that would do us a great deal of good.Poignant, informative and optimistic, For the Bible Tells Me So is a great watch for just about anybody.
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