'For the Bible Tells Me So' premiered here at the Sundance Film Festival. Last night I had the opportunity to see it here in Salt Lake City.
For the last 300 hundred years the Bible has been used to justify discrimination, repression and injustice. This movie/documentary focuses on what the Bible says about homosexuality. As I have a Master's degree in Theology which required years learning the original languages of the Bible, I was apprehensive about the movie. Would this be another superficial discussion of the key passages? The conservative religious leaders of our times point to certain passages in the Bible to pound home their argument that being gay is a sin, and that no homosexual is welcome in the Kingdom of God. The movie plainly shows them making their case. Then, the movie actually looks at the texts. It was clear to me that a careful study has been made of them.
Still, a movie like this could be really boring. Fortunately, scripture, biology, and homosexuality are all brought together by focusing on 5 American Christian families.
The story of each family is presented through interviews, detailing how they have dealt with a son or daughter being gay. The families included Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of former Congressman (and Presidential candidate) Dick Gephardt, Jake Reitan, the son of a devout Lutheran family who came out when he was 16, and Gene Robinson, the first gay Anglican Bishop in the world.
While the potential was there for the movie to drag, they combined cartoons, excellent music, and real-life situations to move it along. It followed each family's story, and not all of them ended happily.
When the movie was over it received a standing ovation. The director, producers, and three of the families (including Bishop Robinson and Jake Reitan) were present and took part in a Q&A session.
The movie has been nominated for the Grand Jury Prize here at the Sundance Festival. As with all the movies being shown here, the cast and crew are hoping for a distribution company to buy the rights. If all goes well you may be able to see this gem of a movie in a few months. I highly recommend it for anyone trying to make sense of what the Bible says about being gay.
I rate it 5 out of 5 stars!
For the last 300 hundred years the Bible has been used to justify discrimination, repression and injustice. This movie/documentary focuses on what the Bible says about homosexuality. As I have a Master's degree in Theology which required years learning the original languages of the Bible, I was apprehensive about the movie. Would this be another superficial discussion of the key passages? The conservative religious leaders of our times point to certain passages in the Bible to pound home their argument that being gay is a sin, and that no homosexual is welcome in the Kingdom of God. The movie plainly shows them making their case. Then, the movie actually looks at the texts. It was clear to me that a careful study has been made of them.
Still, a movie like this could be really boring. Fortunately, scripture, biology, and homosexuality are all brought together by focusing on 5 American Christian families.
The story of each family is presented through interviews, detailing how they have dealt with a son or daughter being gay. The families included Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of former Congressman (and Presidential candidate) Dick Gephardt, Jake Reitan, the son of a devout Lutheran family who came out when he was 16, and Gene Robinson, the first gay Anglican Bishop in the world.
While the potential was there for the movie to drag, they combined cartoons, excellent music, and real-life situations to move it along. It followed each family's story, and not all of them ended happily.
When the movie was over it received a standing ovation. The director, producers, and three of the families (including Bishop Robinson and Jake Reitan) were present and took part in a Q&A session.
The movie has been nominated for the Grand Jury Prize here at the Sundance Festival. As with all the movies being shown here, the cast and crew are hoping for a distribution company to buy the rights. If all goes well you may be able to see this gem of a movie in a few months. I highly recommend it for anyone trying to make sense of what the Bible says about being gay.
I rate it 5 out of 5 stars!