For The Bible Tells Me So — Review

I posted this review to Amazon in a different form. Thus, it is designed to be read independently of my recent blogs. I am cross-posting here in case Amazon chooses not to publish it.

As a young man who regularly attended church and took an active part in the youth ministry, I was really disturbed when I began to suspect I might be gay. Everyone told us that homosexuality was never God's plan, and I had to silently deal with these strange feelings that I felt must be sinful.

Finally, early this month, I came to terms with it: I'm gay and I didn't know what that meant about my faith. My family was fortunately very understanding, and my sister's husband suggested I check out the documentary For The Bible Tells Me So, especially after a respected church member sent me some rather disturbing and condemning messages.

I watched it via Netflix alone, and it was really difficult to sit through in many places. I feel the producers were quite varied in their responses and selection of footage: we had the radical Bible-thumping Christians, while also looking at the stories of five Christian families who had gay children.

In the stories, I felt I met kindred spirits in them. A lot of their thoughts and fears mirrored my own, so it was wonderful to know that I was not alone in these feelings and wondering if being a gay Christian was even possible.

However, a downside to the even-handedness is that I didn't feel the question was answered clearly. Many interpretations of the Bible's few references to homosexuality are presented, no one interpretation being favored. Overall, I got the message that a passionate love for someone of your own gender is not evil, but the question of intimacy was certainly left ambiguous.

So, while it did help answer some of my questions and let me know I am not alone, I think I'll have to look elsewhere for more answers. A great starting point, I suppose.