An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.
We meet five Christian families, each with a gay or lesbian child. Parents talk about their marriages and church-going, their children's childhood and coming out, their reactions, and changes over time. The stories told by these nine parents and four adult children alternate with talking heads - Protestant and Jewish theologians - and with film clips of fundamentalist preachers and pundits and news clips of people in the street. They discuss scripture and biblical scholarship. A thesis of the film is that much of Christianity's homophobia represents a misreading of scripture, a denial of science, and an embrace of quack psychology. The families call for love.—<[email protected]>
The producers of this movie explore ways of discrediting traditional Biblical teachings concerning homosexuality. They uses anecdotes from families who are friendly or at least resigned to the concept of homosexuality and they gather testimony from liberal clergy who discuss the scriptures. These testimonials are typified by a preacher from the Disciples of Christ who stresses that cannot say what the Bible says; we can only say what it reads. Others profess that scriptures which describe homosexuality as an abomination are morally equivalent to dietary restrictions cited in contiguous but not contextual scriptures. Other arguments against scriptural teachings against homosexuality offer some tortured definitions of of words which deviate greatly from common and long accepted definitions. A good example of this involves the narrator's claim that "natural" actually means "customary." This would substantially alter the meaning and the long accepted view of the word in its context. The producers provide scant attention to opposing viewpoints; it is safe to say that any opposing viewpoints are merely token.
