What I wanted to say to Kim Davis

Everyone has some opinion about Kim Davis, the county clerk who was jailed for contempt this past week after refusing to issue marriage licenses to homosexual couples. 

As a political scientist, I love a good example of civil disobedience. I love American freedoms. Especially now that I'm removed from those freedoms for a year. I particularly love American religious freedoms because they are so vital to equality and equity in this country. 

I don't think people should just blindly follow laws, simply because they are laws. If we did that, the civil rights movement would have never happened. If we blindly followed laws, there would never be change in our society. 

So as a political scientist, there are a few things I wanted to say to Kim Davis as soon as I heard she was arrested. 

I wanted to say, "Yeah girl! Do your thing! Civil disobedience!" 

I wanted to say, "Stay in that jail! Prove your point!" 

I wanted to say, "Good for you! I envy your courage and conviction. Many people would give in after a night in jail." 

I wanted to say, "I'm proud of you for being so committed to your own faith, even if it is different from mine." 

But I cannot, in good conscious, say those things. Because "political scientist" is not the first or most important part of my identity. I am a political scientist. I am an American. I am a supporter of religious freedoms, as many of my fellow Americans are. 

But first and foremost I am a follower of Christ. 

And as a Christian, I can certainly support civil disobedience. I can even support someone who blatantly, purposely breaks the law because her convictions tell her to. 

But I can only support these things if they are for the good of the community. I can only support civil disobedience if it brings about reconciliation, if it brings about shalom. I can only understand and support breaking the law if it brings about the Kingdom of God. (If you need an example of what this looks like, see the Gospel, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, or Shane Claiborne.) 

What Kim Davis is doing is not bringing about shalom in this world that so desperately needs it. What Kim Davis is trying to prove is not meant to bring reconciliation. What Kim Davis is doing is denying rights to people who legally (and naturally) deserve equal rights in our world. 

Imagine a different scenario: a young non-white American comes into the clerk's office to get a building permit for his house. The clerk declares that his religion (whatever religion it may be) tells him that non-whites cannot own land or build on land and refuses to issue the building permit. This clerk is arrested for contempt. 

Imagine a different scenario: a woman comes into the clerk's office and asks to have the county clerk serve as a notary public to notarize her divorce papers.  The clerk declares that according to her religion, divorce is a sin and she refuses to do her duty as a notary public. This clerk is arrested for contempt. 

We cannot let people pick and choose which laws to obey according to their "convictions" - religious or otherwise. Why, you ask? Isn't this violating First Amendment rights, you ask? 

Imagine a different scenario: a man declares that his religion states that all women should be killed. He then begins murdering every woman he encounters. If we abide by such logic as many conservative Christians who are crying out "a violation of First Amendment rights," we would allow this man to continue murdering simply because it is his "religious conviction."  

I support demonstrating our religious freedoms. 

I support civil disobedience. 

I even support criminals in some cases. 

But I cannot support someone who is divisive, discriminatory, and using her religion to harm others.  

We are called by God to not obey the laws of this world. So I am not saying that Kim Davis should obey the law simply because it is a law. There is a time and a place to rise up against the laws of this land (see Jim Crow laws or look up the women's rights movement).  But this is not one of those times. This time, the law is (surprisingly) in line with the Gospel. 

And it is our vocation as Christians is to declare the Gospel - the reconciliatory, wholeness-creating, community-centered, relationship-based, healing Gospel of Christ Jesus to the world.