A Woman Who Grew Up in the Pentecostal Movement Explains the Mindset of Kim Davis

Heather Emme grew up in the same sort of Pentecostal world that Rowan County clerk Kim Davis (below) currently inhabits. In an excellent post, she offers some insight into that mindset and how she broke free:

Pentecostalism is a bit like assembling IKEA furniture. As long as you follow all the instructions, you’ll get to hëavën.

When I look at [Kim Davis], I see those women. I see the stubborn, closed-off hatred disguised as piety. I see the surety that comes from having a side in a fight, from backing a team that always wins because it sets the rules. I also recognize the fervour of a new recruit. Davis “found” Jesus just four years ago. She’s still fresh. And the fresh ones make the best mouthpieces. They echo because they haven’t done their homework yet.

…

In the end, what I see when I look at the be-smocked and matron-haired woman who resembles my childhood is a person who chose a path that would both forgive all her shortcomings and let her judge other’s. I see someone who thinks that four years of learning means that she has the answers. With those answers she has built an ideological wall that no amount of rational discourse can climb.

Read the full post here.

You’d hope someone close to Davis could try to talk sense into her, but her faith (coupled with a huge persecution complex) has probably created a fortress around her mind. Anyone who tries to explain how she’s wrong is just Satan trying to break through.