Swearing on the Bible

On Monday, 21 January 2012, Barack Obama was sworn in for his second term as President of the United States of America.  For the oath, the President placed his hand on the family Bible of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. which was sitting on top of a Bible which was owned by the United States President Abraham Lincoln.  The King Bible was on loan from the family of the civil rights leader.  The Lincoln Bible was the one used in President Lincoln’s 1861 inauguration and  is preserved in the Library of Congress. 

United States Presidents being sworn into office upon the Bible is a tradition from the earliest days of the Republic.  Only four presidents, Franklin Pierce, Rutherford B. Hayes, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson, were sworn in without the use of a Bible.

Swearing on the Bible is used in courts for witnesses before they testify.  Many Christians refuse to do this, as do believers in other faiths.  In the United States and some other countries, it is acceptable to decline to swear on the Bible.  Members of other faiths may use the holy text of their faith if the court is notified beforehand.  In the case of a declination, the witness must affirm that he or she will tell the truth.  Any of these methods places one “under oath.”  Lying “under oath” is perjury, a crime punishable by fines and/or imprisonment.

 Dr Helmut Thielicke, in Life Can Begin Again (1963), says that an oath is insulting because it assumes that otherwise the witness would lie. 

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths (Here, Jesus is referencing Deuteronomy 6:13):  But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:  Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.  

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.  But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” Matthew 5: 33-37  The verb in verse 37, ἔστω, translated into English as “let it be,” is in the present active imperative form, a command. ἔστω δὲ ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν ναὶ ναί, οὒ οὔ· τὸ δὲ περισσὸν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστιν.

James, Jesus’ brother, echoed Jesus, “But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.” James 5:12

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While preparing this post I found this on the website of conspiracy theorist David Icke posted by someone calling himself (or herself) MALKOR.  There is always at least one:

 “There is a bit of irony there … swearing to tell the truth while placing your hand on a book of lies.”