Biblical literalism is reading the words in the Bible as if they have come directly from God’s mouth. They take the parts of the Bible they want to believe are true making them sure because it is something that they do not want to see. Biblical literalism is no analysis of the text which is nearly impossible. In the film For the Bible Tells Me So there are five families, three of which I will be discussing, each with a gay or lesbian child directly dealing with feelings and situations they would never have to. The underlying assumptions that all of the following families had in common is growing up and teaching their family the belief that the Bible was to be taken literally and whatever the Bible says it’s what goes or else you go to Hell
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This family has a history of pastors of the Lutheran church. The Reitans have three boys and one girl. Their son Jake says that for most of his life he believed everyone was Christian and could not believe it when he found out that everyone was not and immediately thought that everyone who was not Christian was going to Hell. Jake also expresses that he was afraid of even thinking about or questioning homosexuality from the moment it came up in church as such a negative thing. Jake realized early in middle school that he was homosexual. He only felt comfortable to come out to his sister sophomore year and the following year he told his parents at the age of 16. The father felt as though all of the dreams he had for his son were shattered but I believe it is the mother who truly understands that this is more than just biblical beliefs and that this is something real for her son as she says “I felt like I had let him down.” At the end of the film Jakes parents talk about how they felt when first when finding out that he is homosexual versus now. They use the example that if they had had a magic wand in the beginning they would wish for Their son not to be homosexual because of their beliefs and practices but now they would not even consider wishing that upon him ever. They now see that this is who Jake is and they have learned to love him more for it. What I do wonder is how this affected their view on the Bible and its word and if they are still reading the Bible for what it is or are they seeing it from every
This family has a history of pastors of the Lutheran church. The Reitans have three boys and one girl. Their son Jake says that for most of his life he believed everyone was Christian and could not believe it when he found out that everyone was not and immediately thought that everyone who was not Christian was going to Hell. Jake also expresses that he was afraid of even thinking about or questioning homosexuality from the moment it came up in church as such a negative thing. Jake realized early in middle school that he was homosexual. He only felt comfortable to come out to his sister sophomore year and the following year he told his parents at the age of 16. The father felt as though all of the dreams he had for his son were shattered but I believe it is the mother who truly understands that this is more than just biblical beliefs and that this is something real for her son as she says “I felt like I had let him down.” At the end of the film Jakes parents talk about how they felt when first when finding out that he is homosexual versus now. They use the example that if they had had a magic wand in the beginning they would wish for Their son not to be homosexual because of their beliefs and practices but now they would not even consider wishing that upon him ever. They now see that this is who Jake is and they have learned to love him more for it. What I do wonder is how this affected their view on the Bible and its word and if they are still reading the Bible for what it is or are they seeing it from every