Colby-Sawyer Presents 'For the Bible Tells Me So,' Documentary about the Struggle for Christians with Homosexual Children
by Amber Cronin '10
NEW LONDON, N.H. - Colby-Sawyer College presents “For the Bible Tells Me So,” an insightful documentary on some Christians' conflict between reconciling their beliefs and homosexuality, especially when their children reveal same-sex preferences.
“For the Bible Tells Me So” will be shown Tues, Oct. 6, 2009 at 7 p.m. in Clements Hall of the Curtis L. Ivey Science Center. Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend.
Written, produced and directed by Daniel Karslake, an award-winning producer for the highly acclaimed PBS newsmagazine, “In the Life,” the film asks, “Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate?"
Among many awards and accolades, “For the Bible Tells Me So” is the winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival and was nominated for the Grand Jury prize at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. It reveals that church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost 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 kill anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp (as a literal reading of scripture dictates).
Through the experiences of five American families — including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson — we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. The families discuss the state of the parents' church attendance, their children's early years and coming out, and the parents' reactions and the changes in the family dynamic over time. (Bishop Robinson will speak at Sawyer Center on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at 7 p.m. To read more, visit the news release.)
Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Reverend Professor 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. Jim Slotek of Jam! Movies calls the 99-minute documentary a “thoughtful look at the complicated relationship between Christianity and homosexuality,” and Brian Orndorf of efilmcritic.com says it is an “informative, heartbreaking documentary about intolerance and manipulation.”
Amber Cronin '10 is a Colby-Sawyer College student who writes for the Colby-Sawyer College Communications Office.
Colby-Sawyer, founded in 1837, is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Students learn in small classes through a select array of programs that integrate the liberal arts and sciences with pre-professional experience. Visit us at www.colby-sawyer.edu.
Colby-Sawyer College, 541 Main Street, New London, N.H. 03257 (603) 526-3000
