December 17, 2007
by Toya Richards Hill

LOUISVILLE – Intimate stories of the journey of five gay and lesbian people and their parents, coupled with analysis of what the Bible says about homosexuality and how that has been interpreted, are the foundation of a new film being released nationwide.

For the Bible Tells Me So, produced and directed by Daniel Karslake, first premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and is now rolling out in cities across the country, including in San Francisco, Tulsa, OK, and Omaha, NE.

In early November, the film was shown at the Covenant Network of Presbyterians' conference in Atlanta, where viewers said they were touched by the poignant stories, including those of openly gay Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson and his parents, Imogene and Victor Robinson; and Chrissy Gephardt, the lesbian daughter of Jane and Dick Gephardt, former majority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives and presidential candidate.

Auburn Media, a division of The Center for Multifaith Education at Auburn Theological Seminary – which is in covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) – also is working on outreach for the film.

"For the Bible Tells Me So is about the intersection between scripture and homosexuality, and about how Christian families do (or fail to) come to understand their gay children," Pam Byers, Covenant Network executive director, shared in an email encouraging people to see the film. "We were very glad to have a chance to show this film at our Covenant Conference."

The five families portrayed in the 97-minute documentary represent a diverse group of Christians – from rural to white collar suburban to African-American – who have been rooted in the church and whose beliefs on homosexuality were shaped by it.

The experiences of each of the gay and lesbian people are weaved throughout the film, and a special emphasis is placed on the journeys their parents have made.

"I knew from the beginning that this was going to be a movie about families," said Karslake, a Christian and former fundraiser for New York's inter-denominational Riverside Church. "I wanted to make a pro-family film that had a different definition of that term."

Also, "I wanted to make a film that non-gay people across the country could identify with," he said, lifting up the parents in the film as possible connectors.

"I realized that what I was embarrassed about was that I was thinking totally of how she was having sex and not about her as a person," Brenda Poteat, an African-American minister from North Carolina whose daughter is a lesbian, said in the film.

"I had to realize that she (Tonia) was my daughter: she had the same personality, she enjoyed the same things that she did before I knew she was gay," she said. "Although I still do not approve of the lifestyle, it was a big burden off me, that I could relate to her better and I stopped trying to push her."

A central component of For the Bible Tells Me So also is how homosexuality is addressed in the Bible and how those scriptures have been interpreted.

Theologians such as the Rev. Laurence Keene, Rabbi Brian Zachary Mayer and the Rev. Susan Sparks analyze homosexuality and a literal interpretation of scripture.

"When people ask questions about homosexuality, almost always they follow with, ‘and what does the Bible really say about it?'" Keene, a Disciples of Christ minister, said in the film.

"When the term ‘abomination' is used in the Hebrew Bible, it is always used to address a ritual wrong- it neveris used to refer to something innately immoral. Eating pork was not innately immoral for a Jew, but it was an abomination because it was a violation of a ritual requirement," he insisted.

Karslake said for those who think it's a given that gays and lesbians will be condemned, "maybe there are other ways to look at it."

"I wanted make a film that really elevated the conversation ... to a higher level," he said. "There is a lot to know about the Bible. Maybe this isn't as cut and dry as most people think it is."

Presbyterian News Service