God's Ultimate Purpose for Our Creation

Henry David Thoreau (1817 – 1862), an American Transcendentalist philosopher and writer basically lived the life of a hermit on Walden Pond in the State of Masssachusetts (USA).  He rejected organized religion and political parties, was a committed abolitionist and pacifist, and spent his life dedicated to self-improvement.  He never married and never attended any church. The writer, Robert Louis Stevenson said of him, “He was not easy, not ample, not urbane, not even kind; his enjoyment was hardly smiling, or the smile was not broad enough to be convincing; he had no waste lands nor kitchen-midden in his nature, but was all improved and sharpened to a point.”  Thoreau was not a pleasant person, but he still had some important insights, one of which is, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” 

This statement is the essence of Jewish religious thought. As Huston Smith said in his classic work, The World’s Religions, “… Judaism is less an orthodoxy than an orthopraxis.” Orthodox Judaism sees obedience to God’s commands now as important, not for future reward, but for what it does to you. Observance of the Jewish rituals is seen as making all of normal life holy. (Leviticus 11:44, 1 Peter 1:16). Orthodox Judaism believes that observance of the rituals is preparing the world for the appearance of the Messiah and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Many modern Christians have lost sight of the fact that Christianity began as a movement within Judaism and that Christianity can only be understood in the light of the Hebrew Scriptures. The entirety of the Old Testament clearly points to one person, Jesus.

Just as the Jews see obedience to God’s commands as making all of life holy, our allegiance to Jesus is conforming us to the likeness of Christ. This is the process of sanctification. Jesus did not conform to the world. He expected the world to conform to Him. This is God’s ultimate purpose in our creation, that we become conformed to Christ for God’s glory. Romans 8:28-31

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.”