"There's nothing more self-righteous than a reformed whore." - aphorismThere is nothing in the Bible, old or new testament, about conversion exceptions or exclusions for adultery.
"You shall not commit adultery." Exodus 20:14
"If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die." Deuteronomy 22:22
"If a man commits adultery with another man's wife--with the wife of his neighbor--both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death." Leviticus 20:10
"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery." Mark 10:11-12
"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Luke 16:18
and from Wikipedia about Ms. Davis:
"Davis has been married four times to three different men. The first three marriages ended in divorce in 1994, 2006, and 2008. She is the mother of twins, who were born five months after her divorce from her first husband. Her third husband is the biological father of the twins, who were adopted by her second husband, Joe, who is also her fourth and current husband.Kim Davis, county clerk of Rowan county, Kentucky, is a sincere but "cafeteria" (selective Christian) born-again Apostolic Christian.
Joe supports her stance against same-sex marriage. One of Davis's twin sons, Nathan, works in her office as a deputy clerk and has taken the same position of denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples."
Goody for her. Given the chaos of her past personal life, and her inability to conform to ethical and moral decision making on her own, I can see why she might have needed the crutch of religion, and sought out an extreme version of religion to counter her own extreme poor behavior in her private life.
However, while I was shocked the first time I heard the lead quotation of this post; since then I've come to appreciate the validity of the observation that those who are religiously reformed, like Kim Davis, are too-often the most zealously excessive and extreme in their views, and all too eager and willing to enforce those beliefs on others, willing or otherwise, through persuasion or coercion.
As a self-styled supporter of Biblical marriage, Ms. Davis has a lot of catching up to do, and it appears she hopes to do so by denying the civil and religious freedoms of others, and instead imposing her own. Given how badly she screwed up without religion, it is perhaps understandable she now seeks to save everyone else by forcing her new-found (4 years) religion on them to save them from exercising their own freedom of choice and action - and religion. Or maybe she thinks it makes up for her own adultery.
I can't really see that Davis is a deep thinker, but rather she comes across as a right wing religious fanatic who has become the willing stooge, the compliant pawn, of the radical religious right.
Given how quickly bigot bucks dry up after the first flush of notoriety, it seems far more likely that Ms. Davis is headed for real life sorrow and catastrophe, not some sort of happy martyrdom that translates into subsequent success.
In her 2014 election, Davis won over her opponent by approx. 6.4% of the vote, and won over her primary challenger by only 0.6% of the primary vote. With the exception of her son, her employees in the clerk's office do not support her, and only complied out of fear.
From Think Progress:
In an editorial note accompanying its reporting, the Trial Court Review paints a grim picture of life in the Rowan County courthouse after Davis began a symbol of anti-gay defiance. “The takeaways from the Watkins interview are clear. Davis is acting alone in her zealous mission. Her conduct has terrorized not just her staff but everyone that works in the courthouse. And all for a foolish mission aided by out of state charlatan lawyers trying to raise money for their ‘religious liberty’ mission.”
The county seat, per the AP, doesn't seem to be happy with Davis and the attention it has brought to their county either. That seems to be far more the action and wishes of outside agitators. I would argue strongly that it is a mistake for Davis to give greater emphasis to these outside exploiters of her position, over the wishes of her community, given her election numbers just last year. More than most, her politics need to be local. The 2014 election was Davis' first term; I don't see her getting a second term with her stunt, however piously sincere.
Per the AP this morning:
Residents of Rowan County want things to return to normal
MOREHEAD, Ky. (AP) -- Residents of the eastern Kentucky town where a county clerk was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples say they want things back to normal.
Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis was jailed for five days for refusing a federal judge's order. Her resistance attracted news media and protesters from all over the country and forced residents of this eastern Kentucky community to confront each other with deeply held beliefs they hadn't been talking about that much.
The Rowan County Rights Organization suspended all protests against Davis on Wednesday. Spokeswoman Nashia Fife said it has been a difficult time since most of the groups' members know Davis and her family.
Local pastor Randy Smith said the situation will embolden Christians and gay rights activists alike. But he said both sides can live together in peace.