Film

For the Bible Tells Me So

A documentary that uses real families—especially Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church—to examine how progressive Christians reconcile faith with LGBTQ+ identity. It's a patient, emotionally grounded rebuttal to fundamentalist Bible interpretation, made for people who love both church and queer folks, and those trying to understand why the two felt incompatible.

TMDb rating3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you want a documentary that lets a family's own conversations, not experts, carry the argument, and you're fine sitting with people still wrestling with their faith.

Skip it if you want a tightly structured policy analysis; this is looser and more personal, and if you already know the arguments on both sides, some stretches may feel repetitive.

What it asks of you: Expect ninety-eight minutes of interviews and sober argument, unfolding steadily, with few jokes and little relief.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Prayers for Bobby2009

A Lifetime film that transforms devastating into something redemptive: a mother whose faith-driven rejection of her gay son becomes the catalyst for her spiritual awakening and activism. Raw and purposeful.

But It's a tragedy wrapped in a TV-movie aesthetic, and the pacing can feel didactic rather than cinematic.

Prayers for Bobby poster

The Case Against 82014

An intimate documentary following the legal challenge to California's Proposition 8, with real stakes and real people. It's about law, yes, but also about what it costs to fight for the right to marry.

But Courtroom drama can feel procedural and slow if constitutional law doesn't grip you.

The Case Against 8 poster

Trembling Before G-d2001

Ultra-Orthodox Jews grappling with being gay in a faith that forbids it. It's quieter and more spiritually introspective than activist docs, focusing on individual conscience and community.

But The intimacy can feel claustrophobic, and there's no easy resolution—which is the point, but also why it's heavy.

Trembling Before G-d poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from For the Bible Tells Me So

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dogma1999

Both argue that faith is lived and questioned by real people, not dictated from above; both suggest the Bible is interpreted by humans with agendas, not received as pure truth.

Kevin Smith's comic-theological chaos: two fallen angels try to undo God's work, and a motley crew of humans and prophets must stop them. It's irreverent and genuinely funny, but also genuinely concerned with faith, redemption, and grace.

But The humor is crude and the theology is deliberately provocative in ways some find blunt. It also has some uncomfortable elements by 2024 standards.

Dogma poster
More like this (8)

Keep the Lights On2012

A narrative film about a long relationship between two men, one of whom is a closeted priest. It's tender and painful and asks how faith shapes desire and commitment.

But It's slow, sometimes abstract, and refuses to explain or resolve its emotional complexity.

Keep the Lights On poster

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson2017

A documentary about a Black trans woman and Stonewall pioneer, told with visual flair and genuine love for its subject. It's about resilience, visibility, and the cost of being first.

But It's also a murder mystery that never gets solved, which some find frustrating rather than poignant.

The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson poster

Disclosure2020

A clever, fast-moving history of how Hollywood has represented trans people, from the very beginning. It's smart about media and identity, and never gets preachy.

But It's criticism-forward rather than character-forward, so if you want emotional depth with your analysis, look elsewhere.

Disclosure poster

Paris Is Burning1991

The definitive documentary about New York's Black and Latino ballroom culture in the 1980s. It's joyful, tragic, and an absolute masterpiece of filmmaking and access.

But Some of the people interviewed later disowned the film for how they felt portrayed; it's worth knowing that complexity exists.

Paris Is Burning poster

As Good As You2015

A gentler doc about parents who were once opposed to same-sex marriage and how they changed their minds. It's about conversation and the possibility of genuine transformation.

But The gentleness can feel like it's asking too much credit for basic humanity.

As Good As You poster

The Watermelon Heist2003

A doc about a Black lesbian filmmaker and activist, told with humor and honesty. It's smaller-scale but full of love and specificity.

But Its scale and limited distribution mean you may struggle to find it, and the production quality is modest.

The Watermelon Heist poster

Come Sunday2018

Like For the Bible Tells Me So, it follows a respected religious figure who reinterprets Scripture to include rather than exclude, and the consequences of that shift.

A beautiful drama starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Carlton Pearson, a megachurch pastor who has a crisis of faith and comes to believe God doesn't condemn anyone to hell. Quiet, spiritual, about the cost of breaking with your community.

But It moves slowly and is built on internal struggle rather than external action; some find it remote.

Come Sunday poster

The Act of Killing2012

Both are about how ideology—religious, political—is used to justify harm, and both trust their subjects enough to show complexity rather than reduce them to villains.

An Indonesian documentarian asks the men who murdered over a million people to reenact their crimes. It's profoundly unsettling, complex, and about how ideology is installed into us and how conscience can be recovered.

But It's extremely difficult to watch and does not offer catharsis or justice. It's also three hours and demands total attention.

The Act of Killing poster

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