Nostr

love this, a good reminder. I have a bible-America related question - not related to your post - but I thought of asking you as it has been bugging me all day.

The Bible says do swear, do not swear an oath and do not use God’s name. So why do the courts in the US say “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

And you literally have to place your hands on the bible and swear upon it, raise your right hand, and pledge this oath. Wouldn't this contradict the Bible directly ?

In Matthew 5: 34-37, it says “But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

And in James 5:12 it says “Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No,’ otherwise you will be condemned.”

(NIV version for both)

hodlbod 1y ago

I'm honestly not super sure, but I think it has to do with the third commandment, to "not take the name of the Lord your God in vain."

Jews have a way of perversely interpreting this to mean you shouldn't swear in God's name, or even say his name. But I think Jesus teaches the opposite. Swearing by the temple or whatever are ways of avoiding the invokation of the ultimate witness: God the Judge.

Oaths are lawful in the OT, so I think swearing "with God as my witness" is really only an affirmation of what is already true when you say yes or no. It's a solemnization and reminder of the fact that every lie, especially those that hurt your neighbor, is an act of rebellion against the God of Truth.

Jesus is teaching the same sort of thing he does about lust or anger, that minor offenses (a vain word or white lie) are still to be understood in a cosmic context.

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Discussion

pam 1y ago

interesting. But isn't Jesus clear tho when he says 'do not swear' , James too.

Back in the days, when legal system was still "trust me bro", a lot of swearing on God's name was used. And perhaps why its seen as a common mode in OT.

I believe Jew's Torah is from Genesis to Deuteronomy. Islam's Quran is similar to OT (except that it diverges from Abraham's time) - but they still practice claiming God's name to prove innocence through Shari law).

Catholicism, Greek Orthodox and Protestant consume Old and New Testaments (tho Catholicism and Greek Orthodox have an extra chapter in the OT which I have not read yet), But all 3 divergent tend to adopt the New Testaments in superseding the old, based on what Jesus said - and direct Bible translations (based on which version)

I grew up orthodox methodist to pentecostal so it was no using God's name in vain and no swearing too, lol - maybe similar to any orthodox environment.

hodlbod 1y ago

Yeah, I'm not satisfied with my own explanation, it might just be a bad idea to take oaths. But given the prevalnece of the practice in the Bibla and throughout Christianity I suspect there is something deeper going on.