Gay bishop, his parents are featured in "For the Bible Tells Me So'

By Rich Copley rcopley@herald-leader.com

The Rev. Gene Robinson said the biggest compliment he could give filmmaker Daniel G. Karslake was recommending that his ­parents participate in the director's movie.

”I simply adore my parents, and if I thought he was in any way going to mock or belittle them, I wouldn't have touched this project with a 10-foot pole,“ Robinson said.

The project was For the Bible Tells Me So, a documentary dealing with homo­sexuality, families and religion.

The story of Robinson, a Lexington native who became the first openly gay Episcopal bishop in 2003, is part of the film, which focuses on several families and how they dealt with the fact their sons or daughters are gay.

The families include a mother whose daughter committed suicide because she felt rejected after she came out, parents still struggling with their daughter's sexuality, and a family in which the parents became anti-discrimination activists after their son came out and experienced violence and threats.

In addition to Robinson, the other ”celebrity“ participants were former U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, who was a candidate in the 2004 Democratic presidential primary. His daughter Chrissy came out before the primary and participated in the campaign.

The movie will be shown in Lexington for the first time Tuesday night at The Kentucky Theatre. The screening is presented by the Kentucky Conference for Community and Justice.

”The topic was right in line with our mission, which is "raising awareness and speaking out for the just, fair and equal treatment of all people by ­promoting respect, understanding and acceptance through advocacy, ­education and empowerment,'“ said Lucy Pett, a KCCJ board member.

She said the conference was surprised that the film, which is available on DVD, had not been shown in Lexington before, considering that Robinson is a native son.

”I am thrilled it is being shown there,“ Robinson said from New York, where he was promoting his first book, In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God.

The book, Robinson said, is a chance for him to ­present himself as a minister as opposed to a gay minister. In the book, Robinson says he looks at ministry to the poor and oppressed, and his core beliefs.

”At heart, I'm an evangelical,“ Robinson said.

Many Episcopals and evangelical Christians were outraged when Robinson was consecrated as the bishop of New Hampshire.

Many Christians believe the Bible expressly ­condemns homosexuality in several passages, particularly in the books of Leviticus and Romans, where it is called an ”abomination.“

The film explores those beliefs and interpretations by others who think that taking the passages as a blanket condemnation of homosexuality is misunderstanding them and taking them out of context. The film does take that side, but Robinson said it was important to him and the director that the movie present both sides of the argument.

Robinson recalled that Karslake initially impressed him by getting past extensive security surrounding him as controversy swirled around his consecration.

”It made me worry a bit about how good my security really was,“ Robinson said jokingly. After that, when he talked to Karslake, ”a little voice inside me said, "You can trust this guy.'

”First, he was very comfortable in his skin as a gay man. And he spoke about conservative voices with respect. I think there is a way of speaking about them without demonizing them.“

Robinson said the director originally was scheduled to speak with several conservative Christian leaders on camera, ”but they all pulled out when they found out the film would present both sides of the issue.“

In the end, only one conservative leader was interviewed for the film, and Karslake relied on stock footage of other ­preachers, including televangelist Jimmy Swaggart saying he would kill a gay man who approached him.

”There is nothing in Scripture that supports that,“ said the Rev. Donavan Cain, the pastor at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Paris. ”Maybe you don't agree with that person, but is that how you share the good news?“

Cain was a seminarian at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church when the film was being made, and he was part of a group that saw a version of it right before Karslake made the final cut.

”It forced you to sit and be quiet and listen to the issues,“ Cain said. ”It allows us to consider another perspective or to engage your own perspectives on a deeper level.“

Last week, Cain said he showed the film to a discussion group at St. Peter's.

”What I loved about the film was almost everyone who sees it could find someone on the screen to identify with,“ Robinson said. ”Ultimately, it's a movie about family values because in the end, a family's love comes through.“

In the case of Robinson, that would be his parents, Imogene and Victor Robinson.

Karslake spent a considerable amount of time in Central Kentucky, interviewing the couple about their journey with their son, from initially deciding not to tell any of their friends that their son is gay to being present at his consecration.

”The amazing thing to me was, he got them to talk about things they'd never discussed with me,“ Robinson said. Of Karslake, he said, ”My parents fell in love with him. They'll call and ask, "How's Dan?' before they ask about me. I'm saying, "Hello, I'm your son.'“