Another in the Sydney Morning Herald's 'Spectrum' magazine on 9 May 09: in its 'Big Questions' column (where people ask 'big questions' and various answers are published) a recent question about swearing on the Bible by atheists was asked.
The answer published was the legal answer; in brief, whether you swear on the Bible, irrespective of your belief, or make a declaration ('affirmation' in NSW) you have a legal obligation to tell the truth and can be punished if you have not.
But the question is bigger for Christians; at least, for this Christian.
I think of Matt 5:33-37 and 23:16ff when this comes up. The basic point of these passages is that you tell the truth and it doesn't need quasi magic actions to guarantee that you are telling the truth!
Putting one's hand on a Bible and swearing that you will tell the truth both treats the Bible like some sort of talisman or charm, and ignores its statements about itself; that it is communication about the relationship between God and his creation, not a way for his creatures to garner benefits in their own statements.
For this reason I don't make an oath in court; I've always taken the affirmation. I imagine that some Christians will fill with pride and solomnly make an oath on the Bible, thinking that this is somehow a witness to their faith and evidence of their godliness: quite the contrary, IMO. Non-believers using it similarly is simply ludicrous. Imagine putting your hand on a book that means nothing to you and saying that you will do what you are obliged to do!
I wonder if a cunning court clerk made a book full of blank pages and put a Bible cover on would the incidence of perjury increase?
Does this make me a fundamentalist (see previous blog)?
