Film Review: For The Bible Tells Me So

The issue of Spiritual violence against those who are gay, and whether or not The Bible really is gay-friendly have both been touchy subjects for years.  Now, a 2007 documentary film brings those very issues to the forefront.  In his film For The Bible Tells Me So director Daniel Karslake attempts to answer that question, as well as examine the issue of Spiritual abuse endured by the gay community at the hands of Fundamentalist Christians.  According to Karslake and the various members of the clergy who appear in the film, the answer to that question is yes...The Bible really is gay-friendly.  Or at least that's what they set out to prove

I watched this film at the recommendation of a good friend, who found it to be a great comfort Spiritually, and thought that I would feel likewise; but in all honesty, I wasn't as impressed as he was.  While I do agree with their take on Biblical matters, I still felt that the film fell short in a number of ways.  Before I get into the reasons for my dissatisfaction, however, I would like to say that I could see what they were trying to express, and I wholeheartedly applaud them for their efforts; I think that any time someone even attempts to promote tolerance and love for all people, that is a truly wonderful thing.  The makers of this film definitely deserve credit for the fact that their intentions were properly focused. Unfortunately, I felt that even though they had their sights set on the right target, they simply failed to hit the mark.

I think the main beef that I had with this film is with the way that it was put together.  In an attempt to cover both sides of the issue, the director has intertwined footage of the clergy who attempt to make the case for a gay-friendly Bible with footage of the opposition loudly protesting the gay lifestyle, and spewing hatred in the name of God.  You can clearly see that his intention in doing this was to present an opposing viewpoint, and then refute it.  Sadly, I just didn't think that he effectively achieved that goal.

Then, to make matters even more confusing, he goes on to tell the stories of four different families who have dealt with these Biblical issues, and attempts to show how they overcame their misgivings about having a gay child, and learned that The Bible doesn't condemn homosexuality.  While the stories are sometimes heartwarming and sometimes tragic, for me, they only added to the film's already chaotic feel.  With all of this different footage running together, the end result just felt completely jumbled and disjointed.

Another thing that I felt was lacking here was that I expected there to be a much more in-depth study of The Bible passages in question.  However, they were barely touched upon, which was another crippling blow to the case that they were trying to present.  They didn't give a clear and logical reason why their interpretation should be believed over another.  The clergy who argue for a gay-friendly Bible came across sounding as if their word should be believed just because they said it was so.  I mean, let's face it...The Bible is a very volatile subject.  If you are going to tell someone that their interpretation of it is wrong, then you'd better be prepared to offer some pretty compelling proof that yours is right.  You can't make many of the claims they do, and just expect people to buy it without providing sufficient information to back up your statements...especially if you hope to change deeply ingrained beliefs that for most people, have been held since their earliest childhood; to me, this film simply did not succeed in doing that on any level.

I sat through this entire movie with one burning question on my mind.  I kept asking myself: “If I were a straight, staunchly conservative, Bible believing Christian, would these arguments be strong enough to convince me to change my views on the matter?”  Now remember: this is coming from a gay man who agrees with the viewpoints presented, but as much as I wanted to answer “yes” to that question, honesty just wouldn't permit me to do so.

The bottom line with a movie of this nature is that presentation is everything.  The movie had some great information to offer, but that information was incomplete, and was organized in such a haphazard way that it severely weakened their arguments on a number of issues.  To me, these basic flaws made their case far less convincing than it otherwise might have been.  They gave it a good try, and if I were rating the movie based on effort alone, I'd give it five stars; but as it is, I'm afraid the end result is only mediocre at best.