For the Bible Tells Me So

It was enough for me to hear the demented ramblings of such a paragon of virtue like Jimmy Swaggart, to understand the whole evangelical, religious right. A dash of hard core nationalism and frantic flag waving, a little song, a little dance, easy answers to some of the hardest questions, and when you mix it all up- evangelical Christianity. These preachers calmly dismiss most of compassionate teachings of Jesus Christ, and dig into the Old Testament( by the way, the other people's holy book)randomly. Pick and choose few rules, mostly concerning the gay people, and there it is. They are the righteous, and we are sinners. It must be great to be that simple, to blindly follow the religious music man, and to be stunned when they fail to live up to their so high standards. My religion is much more complex, and it's a life long struggle to do good and be a better person. Good and very useful documentary.

The sad thing about For The Bible Tells Me So is that the people who need to see this most are the ones who will be forbidden by their church to watch this very timely documentary. But for those who do get to see it they will be inspired and uplifted.

As a gay 60 year old man who has lived in the last half of the last century I saw many marvelous changes at how Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgendered people have been viewed in American society and in the world at large. Growing up as I did in the fifties and sixties it would never occur to me to do something as courageous as young Jacob Reinert, not only coming out in Mankato, Minnesota, but bringing his parents into the fight for equality.

For too many still gay is something where emotion kicks in and reason just flies out the door. Why is it so, religion and those few bible verses put down for an ancient tribe to make sure they multiplied and dominate, have become the touchstones to justify all kinds of hatred and bigotry.

A distinguished group of religious scholars talk about how this came to be in western monotheist religions. There not names you know associated with Christianity or Judaism because there not on the air and in your pocket to stay on the air. They present quite a contrast with the bible thumpers where we see video going back as far as Billy Sunday.

The man who comes in for the most scorn is James Dobson, pop psychologist and big kingpin on the religious right. Young Jacob Reinert attempts to confront him, but the most moving story in the film concerned Mary Ann Wallner who listened to Dobson's advice about rejecting her lesbian daughter who later kills herself.

For The Bible Tells Me So makes it abundantly clear the political nature of the anti-gay religious right. GLBT people are the 'other' the straw villains you create to justify why the populace should empower your crowd. As Hitler did to the Jews, so the religious right has done to us.

My favorite moment in the film was when one of the scholars challenges these religious leaders to obey Jesus's commandment to sell all you have and give it to the poor and then you can follow him. Talk about selective Bible reading, can you see a Pat Robertson doing that? It can never be forgotten that these folks place different emphasis on certain bible verses as opposed to others.

My working life consisted in large degree of working at NYS Crime Victims Board as an openly gay investigator. I saw the most manifest examples of anti-gay hate, culminating in violence with serious injury and death. The religious right who keep talking about how our sin is so horrible are the ones who give justification to those who would do us bodily harm. I wish they could see their handiwork from where I sat for 23 years.

For The Bible Tells Me So, is an excellent documentary that will hopefully win an Oscar in that category next year. And this review is dedicated to the young people from Soul Force I met and broke bread with in my city this past spring. As long as there are people like these confronting the hate and getting the message out, I have no worries about a movement or its ultimate success.

My husband and I saw this movie at the urging of our priest who strongly recommended it as a must see film for everyone. Our church is one of the few Catholic churches in our area that fully supports the GLBT community and is trying to change church doctrine. We were both glad we went. The filmmakers point out how the misuse of the Bible by Judeo-Christian leaders has created not only an environment that leads to shaming but also condones "sanctified violence" projected toward gays and lesbians. The film also addresses the real reasons why people are afraid to admit homosexuality is real and normal. I was so moved by this film I feel if everyone was at least willing to see it then it would open a dialog desperately needed in our country.

I saw this documentary last night at Sundance not knowing anything about it other than the title and general subject. The film is a tremendously moving exploration of family, religion, love, and acceptance. It is an astonishing documentary. I had never felt so uplifted and hopeful that the various points of view on the issue of whether homosexuality is a choice or inborn, and whether gays should have the same rights in love and family matters as others, will now be addressed through intelligent and informed discussion rather than the black/white "I'm right/You're wrong" arguments we have been subjected to. I also learned a lot about the Biblical background of the religious arguments against homosexuality and counterarguments. The director masterfully does not attack or denigrate these religious views so that this film will appeal to a broad audience, and lets the words and actions of the various interest groups speak for themselves. The film was so powerful that when the film ended at 1:30 a.m. and the Q&A session began with the Director and two sets of the parents in the film present -- the Wallners and the Reitans -- no one left the theater until the Q&A ended some time after 2:00 a.m. If everyone in this country would see this movie and really think about its message, our country would be a much better place.

I attended the premiere of the movie, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO, at Sundance on January 21, 2007. It is a powerful movie that opens for discussion the impact of religious teaching on homosexuals in America. It gives support to those within the American public who know and deeply care for some gays in their lives and innately feel that God loves all his children and so should they. Every church congregation and Sunday School Class should see this movie as one audience and then have their own discussion. I believe the result would stimulate an acceptance not heretofore anticipated. The naturalness and obvious commitment of the films director and participants make the impact dramatically strong.