|
| For The Bible Tells Me So | 
 enlarge | Actors: Gene Robinson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Imogene Robinson, Victor Robinson, Isabella "boo" Mcdaniel
Studio: First Run Features
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $13.75
You Save: $11.20 (45%)
New (30) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $13.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  56 reviews
Sales Rank: 2193
Format: Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 913058
UPC: 720229913058
EAN: 0720229913058
ASIN: B000YHQNCI
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
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.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 51 more reviews...
 Disobedience to parents,eating shellfish and sex during menstruation are stoneable offenses,too.GAY? What's the Bible say? November 11, 2007
47 out of 54 found this review helpful
Thank God (literally) for film makers,recently, who have gone out on a limb against the tide of religious fundamentalist non-thinking, and bring sanity,perspective and common sense as well as Biblical understanding to issues that seem to keep plaguing America (and Afghanistan it seems!).I was privileged to catch this at the arthouse in town yesterday, and found myself absorbed in this hour-and-a-half documentary about how five Evangelical families,including Dick Gephardt's,face the issues of homosexuality in their families.Some people may not care about this subject and some may out and out refuse to go, but much like another recent documentary "No End in Sight" which tackled a very sensitive and divisive issue on the Iraq War,now "For the Bible Tells Me So" brings a similar understanding,very fair,balanced,level-headed and fact-wielding that should not be offensive or polarizing, but rather informative,illuminating and ultimately healing.This film is for the thinking and inquisitive and thoughtful film-goer.This film serves as an excellent comparison film to 2006's Oscar-nominated "Jesus Camp" which I tell my story in review.I can only hope that this Film Festival Audience Award winning documentary will hit your town.If not, get the DVD when it is released.
 For the Bible tells me. So? November 15, 2007
26 out of 37 found this review helpful
"For the Bible Tells Me So" is a compelling documentary about 5 Christian families struggling with their childrens' homosexuality. Archival footage is deftly mixed in, such as a 1967 CBS special called "The Homosexuals",a '50s Bible movie "Sodom and Gomorrah" ,a young Billy Graham preaching,as well as Anita Bryant being on the receiving end of a cream pie. There are religious figures such as Rev.Desmond Tutu and Harvard's chaplain, Peter Gomes,as well as the infamously adulterous Jimmy Swaggart saying he'd kill a man who'd proposition him.
Richard Gephardt&his wife come to accept their daughter,Chrissy, "outing" her before she said anything. However, their Catholicism is briefly mentioned and treated as a sidenote. On the other hand, the Baptist Popeats in North Carolina struggle with their daughter's lesbianism. They still disapprove of her lifestyle, but they no longer reject her as they once did. There are the Lutheran Reitans,who protest Focus on the Family, and the attempts to "change" their son Jake. A woman speaks of her daughter's suicide as impelling her to join Soulforce and PFLAG. Finally, there are the Robinsons from Kentucky,and their famous son Gene,the first openly gay bishop in the Anglican Communion. They speak movingly of their son's struggle,and their own.
"For the Bible Tells Me So" presents one side of the theological debate on homosexuality,despite being well-told (though the cartoon about the origins of homosexuality is jarring) Richard Mouw of Fuller Theological Seminary provides brief counterpoints. The evangelical organization Exodus International and the Catholic ministry Courage aren't discussed (though Dr. James Dobson's Love Won Out is mentioned)The opposing side is portrayed as murderous&hateful,and fundamentally (pun intended) irrational. The cards are stacked."For the Bible Tells Me So" reduces the Biblical prohibitions on homosexuality to boil down to custom and misogyny. As Gene Robinson puts it,a man acting like a woman in a sexual way challenges patriarchy. There could've been healthy debate in this documentary, leaving the viewer to decide. As a documentary,it is moving and well-done,complete with an ominous opening of Enya's eerie "Pax Deorum" accompanying homophobic pastors. Best Use of Enya's Music in a Motion Picture. The people speak for themselves. It could've been better,but it is still great.
Eye-opening, Amazing, Important December 12, 2007
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
I was blown away when I saw this film. Although I consider myself somewhat enlightened, I really had no idea how to answer the charge that the Bible, and Christianity in general, condemned gay and lesbian people. THIS FILM GIVES ME THE KNOWLEDGE AND THE LANGUAGE to explain to others (like my conservative in-laws!) exactly how the Bible speaks about homosexuality - and, very importantly, how to contextualize those written words for our modern age. More than any other documentary I can think of, including BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE or NO END IN SIGHT, here is a film that truly enlightens (and inspires and even entertains!) the viewer. More than highly recommended...I wish it were required viewing for everyone - and especially for older teens and all churchgoers. A must-see!
A Must See December 27, 2007
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
"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.
Better than I has expected December 29, 2007
14 out of 16 found this review helpful
I was not at all sure what I would see when I went to this film. I left with the knowledge and the resources I need to combat some of the stigmatism and condemnations the right wing nuts spew about homosexuality. I learned things about the scripture I had never known or thought about. While I am still on my own personal journey with religion I would strongly recommend this film for everyone! The gay population can leave this film with comfort that the "christian" views taught to us as children are not true in regards to our sexuality and the heterosexuals can leave understanding what a struggle it is for gays and how many have used religion and christianity to preach and promote hate!
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
