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MOVIES / ON DVD / FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
For the Bible Tells Me So

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For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)

98%
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80%
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98 %
Reviews Counted: 44 Fresh: 43  Rotten:1 Average Rating: 7.5/10
 
Consensus: A timely and poignant documentary.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Synopsis: 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? Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative,... 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? Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International 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 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 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. Informed 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. --© First Run Features [More]

Genre: Education/General Interest

Starring: Desmond Tutu, Steve Greenberg, Dick Gephardt

Director: Daniel Karslake
Screenwriter: Daniel Karslake
Producer: Daniel Karslake

DVD Info

Release:

Jul 2, 2009

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital - English

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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B+

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
07/16/08
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
04/03/08
Boxoffice Magazine
Ratings Image
4/5

Excessivamente convencional em sua estrutura e contendo sua parcela de graves tropeços (a seqüência em animação), este filme ainda assim merece aplausos pela eloqüência de seus entrevistados, pelo teor de sua mensagem e pela paixão com que a defende.

comment Comment
03/19/08
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
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3/6

Daniel Karslake’s doc on the extent to which Christian families have embraced their gay children does an admirably thorough job of assembling smart talking heads and personal archives.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/24/08
Melissa Anderson
Time Out New York
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3.5/4

One message rings clear throughout the occasionally muddled but always emotionally sweeping film: A true abomination is twisting the words of Scripture to match bigotry.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/17/08
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star
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3/5

A thoughtful look at the complicated relationship between Christianity and homosexuality.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/11/08
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies
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N/A

Progressive clergy provide enough historical context to neutralize the handful of Bible verses prohibiting homosexual acts, but Karslake never confronts the broader issues of sexuality and procreation that bedevil even moderate Christians.

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
01/11/08
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
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B+

The film offers proof that religion and homosexuality need not be mutually exclusive: Good Christians can love and accept their gay brothers and sisters, and gay people can still be religious.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/12/07
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
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4.5/5

A gut-wrenching depiction of what truly defines Family Values.

Full Review | comment Comment
12/04/07
KJ Doughton
Film Threat
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3/4

The movie's serious, wide-ranging look at a divisive subject is not guaranteed to settle disputes, only to prompt discussion.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/29/07
Michele Kenner
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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3/4

This is a compelling, thought-provoking portrait of a quiet challenge rising within America's churches.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/29/07
Jessica Reaves
Chicago Tribune
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B+

An informative, heartbreaking documentary about intolerance and manipulation, sadly and assuredly never to be seen by the people who need this info the most.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/01/07
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com
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N/A

The Bible Tells Me So

Full Review | comment 2 Comments
10/30/07
Les Wright
culturevulture.net
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2.5/5

If imperfect, the film is also necessary.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/27/07
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
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3.5/4

Daniel Karslake's remarkable documentary boldly takes on a loaded topic -- Christianity and homosexuality -- and examines it both intellectually and emotionally; the result may well leave you blinking away a few tears.

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
10/26/07
Moira MacDonald
Seattle Times
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N/A

A brisk, entertaining and even moving exploration of the sometimes frayed intersection where Christianity meets homosexuality.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/25/07
Stephen Hunter
Washington Post
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B

Could hardly be called even-handed, and it's certainly repetitive, but despite its failings it's still worth seeing--as so often, especially by those who probably won't.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/20/07
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
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3/4

You'll have plenty of ammunition next time you want to tell some Bible-thumper where they can stick their Leviticus.

Full Review | comment 1 Comment
10/20/07
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune
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3/4

Wallner's journey to acceptance, not the movie's slight forays into theology, will be what you remember about For the Bible Tells Me So. It's a powerful, positive film.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/19/07
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News
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3.5/4

Its main surprise is the compassion shown toward everyone, on all sides of the debate. It does not vilify those who vilify gays.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/19/07
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
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