For The Bible Tells Me So (2007)

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle Interntional Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without feeling obliged to kil anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp.
Through the experience 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. With commentary by such respected voices as Bishop 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. Product Description

An important documentary

For anyone who wants to understand the realities of the bible in regards to what it does or doesn't say about homosexuality - this is a must see video. Period. June 28, 2008

For Everyone

Everyone and anyone with who "thinks they know" what the Bible states about the homosexuality question will be enlightened by this well done video. June 27, 2008

Eye-opening, Mind-opening

Very well done! This documentary brings to light todays latest issue of bigotry from the Christian church. Just like women's rights, and slavery...the issue of homosexuality needs to be reviewed by the church according to what the Bible says..NOT by what the church's political agenda says.

I was throroughly impressed and enjoyed this documentary. Thank you for making it and opening the hearts and minds of so many. I pray that many will see it. June 27, 2008

A great tool for countering homophobia.

I share the sentiments of the many other positive reviewers.
I just want to mention that it's impossible to measure the damage done to gays and their families by Dobson's media empire and his perverse theology that teaches homophobia. Not only is it harming people here in the U.S. (including the heart-breaking story of one mother of a lesbian in the movie), but Dobson's anti-gay message is global and creates suffering worldwide Dangerous Living - Coming Out in the Developing World.
I visited "Focus on the Family" once, and was shocked by the literature that was crafted to create fear towards gays. It was not dissimilar to how Jews were once spoken about, or how immigrants are framed as threats to America (never mind that they pick our food, and take care of our children, and mow our lawns, etc). Time and again, elites and their media are dividing people, in order to more easily control them. It's a game as old as empire. Thankfully, we have DVDs like "For the Bible Tells Me So" to counter the divisive preaching of people like Dobson and Rod Parsley (who recently declared that "we get off on warfare"), and the propaganda of radio hosts like Dennis Prager and Rush Limbaugh.
Let's get this film shown in as many classrooms as possible. If you can, buy extra copies and donate them to second-hand stores, or send some copies to U.S. troops through projects like "Books for Soldiers." There are so many people, gay and straight, who would benefit from coming across this film. We can do a lot to bring it to the attention of people who may not have ever heard of it.

A couple other resources to counter enmity and confusion:
Small Town Gay Bar
Beyond Hatred
The Times of Harvey Milk 1984
Manufacturing Consent - Noam Chomsky and the Media - "Manufacturing Consent" is not gay-specific, but it exposes the forces behind the endless media disinformation campaigns.
Paragraph 175
The Laramie Project
Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community
Out of the Past: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Rights in America
Our House Winner of "Best Documentary" at both the New York and the LA Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals. June 24, 2008

Wonderfully moving film - a must see for anyone interested in this very timely and important topic

"For the Bible Tells Me So" is a wonderful documentary based on life experiences from a broad spectrum of those involved in the topic of gay/lesbian acceptance with the overwhelming dynamic of a religious background.

What impressed me the most about this film was the variety of scholars interviewed and the powerful explanations behind the historical and cultural context of the usual scriptures used by everyday persons of Judeo-Christian upbringing to discriminate and justify their prejudice toward gays and lesbians.

For anyone wanting to consider other viewpoints, or even challenge their own with regard to the topic of homosexuality and their faith, this film is a must-see. June 23, 2008

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