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KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 2:44 pm
by TK
you have all probably heard that she has been jailed for contempt of court due to her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.

Would it have been a sin for her to have issued such licenses?

Should she have resigned?

Is holding out until the end the right thing?

She herself had had multiple marriages/remarriages.

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:04 pm
by steve
I think she should have resigned at the first indication that her job was going to require her to violate her conscience. Sometimes you can fight City Hall, but you can't fight the Supreme Court.

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:09 pm
by robbyyoung
TK wrote:you have all probably heard that she has been jailed for contempt of court due to her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples.

Would it have been a sin for her to have issued such licenses?

Should she have resigned?

Is holding out until the end the right thing?

She herself had had multiple marriages/remarriages.
Hi TK,

Paul gives us a wonderful principal in which we should live by in Romans 14:23
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Though the immediate context concerns the example of food and drink, "the underline" deals with conscience between self and God in whatever applies; Romans 14:22
The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.
Therefore her sin would be attributed to going against her conscience or being double-minded in the faith towards God; James 1:5-8

TK, you asked some really good questions, but only she can know the truth behind the answers. All we can do is observe contradictions to what may result in sin, based on the standard set by Paul.

Some Christians wouldn't be phased by this administrative responsibility in the least. The sins in this world must not necessarily be a "guilt by association" branding, especially among The Believers. For Paul said, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.", and as mentioned above, conscience plays a personal role in our actions.

God Bless.

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 5:31 pm
by dizerner
good posts. i'm a bit torn—altho i understand that a person feels like they need to stand by their convictions, sometimes the attitude they do it with seems to be to be a bad witness just like the sin they decry. i dont think anyone would hate "conscientious objectors," not even unsaved people, but are we doing it in meekness and respect? does judgment begin in the house of god, while we put our focus on the world? just something to think about.

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:28 pm
by TK
I guess her insistence it went against her conscience meant she shouldn't have done it, but does this mean she had to hold out until she was escorted to jail? Would God have been as pleased with her resignation as with her going to jail over it?

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 6:58 pm
by backwoodsman
As I understand it from what I've run across, it's not just about her beliefs. She says she's not constitutionally allowed to license same-sex marriages. She swore an oath to the state constitution when she took office, and it's her position that doing so would violate that oath. It seems most of the media isn't giving us the whole story.

Putting her in jail seems to me like a cheap publicity stunt intended to make an example of her. If they really wanted to accomplish something, they'd just replace her with someone who will do what they want.

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 8:28 pm
by morbo3000
Her conscience didn't seem to mind being married four times, committing adultery against her first husband, fathering a child with the man who would later become her third husband, while her second husband adopted that child.

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/201 ... four-times

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:07 pm
by SteveF
Her conscience didn't seem to mind being married four times...
I hesitate to comment on someone I don't know, but I wanted to note that she claims to have become a Christian only 4 years ago.


From Wikipedia:


Davis describes herself as an Apostolic Christian[6][28] and attends church services three times a week.[29] She experienced a "religious awakening" in 2011, following her mother-in-law's (Vondal Lee Bailey Davis)[30] "dying wish" that she attend church.[28]Davis has held Bible study for inmates of the Rowan County jail.[28]

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 9:38 pm
by Singalphile
I only just heard about it and I don't know any details.

It seems to me like the answer to all of this (including her situation) is for governors and/or mayors to require the word "marriage" to be replaced by "civil union" (or some equivalent) in all legal documents and to call for "marriage" to be likewise replaced in all laws and statutes, which might require legislation. I would think that this could be done rather easily in many states.

Re: KY Court Clerk

Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2015 10:37 pm
by TheEditor
Just my 2 cents. Being raised a JW I knew many men that spent time on McNeil Island for being COs due to the draft. However, if one joins the military voluntarily, they cannot pick and choose which orders to follow. Same with being a police officer. You cannot say "I am a pacifist" when required to brandish your firearm. In this case, quitting the job seems to be the wisest course of action. It shows that she is willing to relinquish something for her conscience, rather than making a "statement".

Regards, Brenden.