So what does the Bible say about homosexuality? The verse thrown out most often is Leviticus 20:13 — "If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." An abomination that's some strong language. But what else does the Bible call an abomination? Even before homosexuality, Leviticus 11:10-11 says, "But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination." Holy cow, stop the church retreat and clambake!
Director Daniel G. Karslake looks at the conflict between conservative Christians and the LGBT community. He does so by interviewing families of gay children, as well as clergy and religion professors. One of the interviewees is Dick Gephardt, the former Democratic House Majority Leader, who talks about the coming-out of his daughter Chrissy and how that played into his run for president. Gene Robinson is the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church. The film looks into the waves his nomination as bishop caused and the backlash he had to deal with.
But the film also deals with average families and how they reacted to their children coming out. An African American family talks about their daughter's homosexuality with frank honesty on how they don't agree with her lifestyle. Her father said he always hoped his daughter wouldn't turn out a slut and his son a frag, but he laughs when she says he didn't expect it to turn out the other way around. Both her parents have found ways to rationalize her homosexuality with their religious views in order to stay in contact with her. Her mother seems to have a particular problem imagining her daughter's sex life. Really? What parent is comfortable imagining their children's sex life whether they're straight or gay?
A young man comes out in high school. When he tells his parents, they didn't know how to react really. They bought books and consulted psychiatrists to see if they could fix him. They're biggest worry was how others would treat their son. But the outspoken teen couldn't hide his identity. Over time his parents embrace his activism and stand side by side with him as he pushes for equal rights.
A young woman goes off to college, the first place she is comfortable to embrace her homosexuality. She comes out to her mother in a letter. Her mother writes back that she doesn't want to ever see her again, because the church told her so. The mother regrets this choice.
Some of the religious experts the film talks with take on the Bible verses against homosexuality directly. They claim that literalism vs. interpretation is where the problem lies. Translation plays a part as well. How can homosexuality and eating shellfish both be an abomination? Well upon the writing of the Old Testament, an abomination was anything that was against tradition. Others point to the story of Sodom and Gomorra as another example of God smiting homosexuals. Angels come to the door of a rich man and the rich man sends his guards to rape them. In context to the time, rape was common as a tool to humiliate one's enemies. The biggest sin the rich man committed was not letting a stranger into his house as a guest, which was the tradition of the times.
In an animated sequence, the film looks at the science of homosexuality. One fact that stuck out was that the more boys a woman has the more likely future boys will be homosexual. Scientists believe this is the case because a woman's immune system fights harder against the male baby as a foreign object and the more boys a woman has, the better her body gets at hitting the male child with female hormones.
The doc is both scholarly and emotional. The science and religious interpretation arguments are compelling, but those devoted to bigotry toward homosexuals will find ways to disregard them. It's interesting when the film does on the street interviews with people who believe homosexuality is wrong because of Bible, but really don't know what the Bible says about homosexuality. However, it's the personal stories of families dealing with their feelings on homosexuality that is hard to toss aside.
The film clearly makes the point that what the Bible says is taken selectively. Homosexuality is still on the no-no list, but might not be forever just like eating shellfish or pork, seeing your wife's menstrual flow, cutting the hair at the sides of your head or wearing mixed fabric trousers. Polyester-cotton blends should still be a sin, but you know traditions change.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
