Kim Davis, the Rowan County Clerk in Kentucky was jailed (September, 2015) after she refused a mandate from the U. S. Supreme Court to issue a marriage license to gay couples in her county. Kim stated that she would not obey the U.S. Supreme Court because their ruling violated her religious beliefs. She would not and could not issue a marriage license to a gay couple and the State would not take away her religious liberty. When asked, on whose authority she was basing that decision, she said, “On God’s authority.”
I think Kim Davis is confused and wrong in her thought process, but I don’t totally blame her. The majority of the fault lies with a conservative fundamentalist religious body that taught her to read the Bible as she does. Kim was rightly jailed for disobeying a ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court. Kim Davis was jailed because of the religious system that mentally jailed her years before any of this happened. Kim is in the mental jail of biblical fundamentalism and has fallen to the sin of Biblical idolatry.
Kim has been schooled to believe that you can read the Bible in only one way—as literal, factual, and as a direct revelation of God. This leaves her only one option as to how to interpret and use her Bible. Modern historical biblical scholarship has shown us that while the scriptures contain truth and point us to the Divine, they also contain fallibilities, cultural customs we have moved beyond, and the scriptures have our human fingerprints all over them. But Kim has been taught that if you move beyond a literal reading of the Bible, then you might as well throw the baby out with the bathwater and be done with it—if scripture isn’t literally true, it’s not worth trusting. If you remove the lynchpin of literalism it’s all over. It’s an all-or-nothing game. Because Kim is in the jail of biblical literalism she had few options except go to a jail or be a lukewarm Christian.
I support Kim Davis for being bold and standing up for what she believes. I wish more Christians had such passion about living their lives by their sacred values. But Kim and those who support her are not being totally forthcoming, because they choose which verses of scripture to doggedly hold onto to, and which verses to ignore.
If a license was needed to get a tattoo would Kim Davis grant such a license? What about the verse in Leviticus (19:28). “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.” She would also not be able to take a job as a sales clerk at a clothing store. Why? Have you read Leviticus 19:19? “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.” By religious principle you could not sell blouses made of cotton and polyester blend, because then you would be helping people live a sinful lifestyle. I don’t know what blouses Kim wore when she worked at her job issuing licenses, but I’ll bet a lot of money that some of her clothing from her closet was a blend of two different materials. Did she complain or refuse to wear clothes of a mixed blend? No, because even though you are in the jail of biblical literalism and fundamentalism you let yourself in and out of that jail as you see fit.
Even Kim will pick and choose which verses of scripture she takes literally and which she does not. She is obviously taking Leviticus (18:22) literally and seriously enough to go to jail. “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.”
I feel sorry for Kim and those who follow pastors, Bible leaders, and evangelists who teach biblical literalism; for those leaders have put their followers into the jail of biblical fundamentalism which leads to the sad situation we have now. This is not anti-Christian bias. Kim is free to practice her religious faith as she sees fit as long as it does not interfere with the freedom of others —Kim’s neighbors—as that freedom is defined by our U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. If her religious principals and beliefs —which she is free to hold—are in conflict with executing the duties of her job she needs to be bold and quit; just as I might quit a job in which I was being called to do something which went against my religious principles.
Jesus came to loose those who are in bondage. Biblical literalism is a bondage from which people in this age and culture need to be liberated. I would like to have all the Kim’s of the world learn new ways to interpret our sacred scripture so we can all move forward into a deeper relationship with the Divine and each other.
Let’s end with one more line from Leviticus, so you don’t think that that book of the Bible is totally worthless. Leviticus 19:18b is a verse I know we can all emulate; “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Monte's Blog 