Jesus loves me, this I know...

... for the Bible tells me so.

This evening I watched an excellent documentary (part of the Human Rights Film Night at USF) about homosexuality, Christianity, and the Bible, called For the Bible Tells Me So.

A few points taken:

-The Bible needs to be interpreted with an understanding of its context, not completely literally. If you take it literally, you'd better be sure you don't eat shrimp or pork and that you've given away all your material possessions to the poor (actually, those sound like pretty good ideas to me...).

-The Biblical arguments against homosexuality are pretty weak and can easily be interpreted differently or attributed to the historical context (i.e. not a message from God).

-Homosexuality Homophobia is deeply linked to misogyny. People can't handle men putting themselves in the position of women, "lowering" themselves to that level. (Update note: I wrote homosexuality the first time because I was not paying attention. My apologies.)

-The Christian call is to love.

This also gives me an excellent excuse to attempt to embed a YouTube video. Here's the trailer:

Human Rights Film Night

These films look great:

2008 Human Rights Film Night

March 10
Presentation Theatre
2350 Turk Blvd. at Masonic Ave.

5:00pm
Father G and the Homeboys

Father G and the Homeboys chronicles the lives of 4 Latino gangbangers as they redirect their lives in a wartorn area of Los Angeles known as Boyle Heights, at one time, the street gang capital of the world. For over 20 years, Father Gregory Boyle (Father G) and his non-profit organization, Homeboy Industries, have helped kids plan for their futures instead of their funerals.

7:00pm
For the Bible Tells Me So

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? 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 solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible.

This event is free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Center for Latino/a Studies in the Americas, the Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought, the Latin American Studies Program, the LGBTQ Caucus, and University Ministry.