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For the Bible Tells Me So

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Synopsis

Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate?
Winner of 9 Festival Awards nationwide, this provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that religious anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon an often malicious misinterpretation of the Bible. As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without feeling obliged to kill anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp (as a literal reading of scripture dictates).
Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child or family member.
Including interviews with respected religious figures such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.

3 Reasons To buy this film

These stories are real and heartbreaking.
Family is more important than anything, including religion.
Jesus' message was one of love; this film carries that message forward.

Review

Beautifully moving and very well edited, this film documents the use of a literal reading of the bible to harass glbt people and several family's reactions to this. Besides having intimate interviews with Crissy Gephardt and Gene Robinson, the first gay Episcopalian Bishop, there are revelatory interviews with: young gay man Jake Reitan and his family; Tonia Poteat and her Southern preacher parents; and Mary Lou Wallner whose story is particularly inspirational.

For all of you who have wrestled with biblical passages invoking the death penalty for homosexual sex, For the Bible Tells Me So will help you come to terms with your religion. Put simply there are thousands of rules in the Bible – all but the Ten Commandments are subject to change as the times do. A clip from "The West Wing" tells the whole story. Martin Sheen thanks a reporter for asking about the Leviticus quote. He then says that his Chief of Staff has a bad habit of working on the Sabbath. He asks the reporters who should put them to death? The state or federal governments? If someone wears mixed fiber clothing, who must excecute these people? The Bible is an evolving document, even the most literal Christian doesn't follow all the rules. Know your Bible and you can debate the points with lucidity. Wonderful film, highly recommended!

-- Scott Cranin

Product Format Information

DVD : $19.99

Availability: In stock and ready to ship
Close Caption: No
Region Code: 1
UPC: 720229913058
Catalog #: DV2589682

Studio : First Run Features

Languages: English (Primary)
Features:
Biographies and resources
Interview(s): New interviews
Director Dan Karslake talks with Bishop Gene Robinson

Keywords

Coming Out, Documentary, Family Life, Family Viewing, Marriage/Family, Queer, Queer Politics, Religion, Suicide, Teenagers

Genres

Documentary

Customer Reviews

A Must See

Amos Lassen wrote on 02/14/2011:

“For the Bible Tells Me So”
A Must See
Amos Lassen
“For the Bible Tells Me So” is one of the most heralded gay-themed films to come along in a very long time and it is already off to quite an auspicious start. The film has been collecting awards everywhere and was screened at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2007.
The religious right has been telling gay men that we are an abomination as is the love we feel for one another and we offer wonder how the Bible, a book about love, can be used to justify hate. These are the issues that director Daniel Karslake looks at in his marvelous film. What this film does is reconcile homosexuality with a literal interpretation of Biblical scripture. The film concentrates on the experiences of five very normal, very Christian and very American families (among which are the families of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson). Through the experiences of these families we learn how people of faith handle, or fail to handle, having a gay child. We get views and inspiration from people such as Rabbi Steve Greenberg, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard’s Peter Gomes and Reverend Jimmy Creech and we get words of comfort as words of scripture are reconciled with sexual identity.
“For the Bible Tells Me so” is a sober theological discussion which is surrounded by heartfelt personal stories. It will open hearts and minds of those whose beliefs are founded in the Bible and give them an alternative to a literal interpretation of the holy scriptures. It takes on a loaded topic and looks at it both emotionally and intellectually and the result is a movie that proudly allows us to shed tears as it uplifts our spirits. It is provocative and heartfelt and moving and unbelievably intimate. The film is valuable in that it encourages us and others to examine our beliefs with serious examination instead of by blind acceptance as well as to recognize matters of faith and understand how they can be co-opted by politics. It also shows how the Bible is used to explicitly sanction discrimination against homosexuals. As it boldly confronts the clash between religion and sexual orientation, it confronts the fulcrum of the objection to homosexuality by the religious right. The movie hammers away at those who do not believe that homosexuality and faith can come together and it digs deeply into the divide between those who take the Bible literally and homosexuals. The results we get both break our hearts and infuriate us but also inspire greatly.