Oaths 2 – Early American Oaths

Early American Oaths

Oaths, lack of respect for them, and failure to understand their importance point toward our country’s problems and perhaps their solution. But first, who is the sovereign of this United States? I don’t mean in the absolute biblical sense; that’s clearly God. I mean in the publicly acknowledged by the people sense and as evidenced by our founding documents.

First question: Does God care? If He rules the world and if He cares about the world that He created, then yes is the obvious answer. He cares about the type of government you erect over your society. He showed that when He lead the Israelites out of Egypt and went about assisting Moses in setting up . . . what? Continue reading “Oaths 2 – Early American Oaths”

Oaths 1 – A Discounted Power

Oaths 1 – A Discounted Power

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: 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 5:33-7.

But this warning on how to speak the truth in your personal life, if taken to the extreme and applied to all contexts, even courtrooms and the covenantal contexts, of course, would deny oaths altogether. Jesus was speaking to the misuse of oaths, like “I swear on a stack of bibles that I’m telling you the truth!” Continue reading “Oaths 1 – A Discounted Power”