Why We Cannot Swear

[gaviria.christian]

A true oath binds whatever is sworn upon with a curse, to guarantee the oath, in order that if the promise is not carried out, that a curse may come upon whatever is being sworn upon. That is why the Hebrew word "shebuah" means oath and also curse. So if you swear by the throne of God to do something tomorrow, you are saying, may a curse come to the throne of God if I do not to what I promised tomorrow. Or if you swear by your own body to do something in a week, you are saying, may a curse come upon my own body if I do not fulfill do what I promised to do in a week. Oaths make promises very sure, putting whatever is being sworn upon at risk, as a guarantee that surely whatever is being promise will be carried out. Yet to be able to swear, you must have authority to bind anything with a curse by your mere word. Angels have this authority to bind with curses, which is why if an angels says, "you shall be blind this moment", rest assured, you will indeed be blind that very moment as if God himself said it. Yet if we tell someone, "you shall be blind this moment", nothing happens, because we do not possess this authority to make something happen by our own word. And that is why unlike angels, who can swear and have word of authority, we are forbidden to swear, because while we remain in these bodies our oaths will never be true oaths, since we have no authority to bind anything with a curse as a true oath necessitates. And that therefore makes our oaths false, because if we were to choose not to fulfill our oaths, nothing bad would happen to what we swore by, which would therefore break the command of the Torah, "you shall not swear falsely". And that is why Yeshuah said, "do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black". Therefore, let our yes be yes, and our no be no. Do not swear neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor even by your little toe. And if you say you are going to do something tomorrow, always end it with "God willing", for you know not what will happen tomorrow either.

 

[rsr]

It always amuses me to find doctrine that has no purpose or reason except to find some obscure point upon which to try to make someone think he or she is not following the Bible.

I've covered courts for 35 years and know that someone can simply affirm without swearing.

I can promise any number of things (my current employment requires me to take a loyalty oath) without breaking any biblical injunction. And I say the pledge of allegiance every school day.

Please find something of relevance to Christian life instead of your hobby horses.

 

[gaviria.christian]

It always amuses me to find doctrine that has no purpose or reason except to find some obscure point upon which to try to make someone think he or she is not following the Bible.

I've covered courts for 35 years and know that someone can simply affirm without swearing.

I can promise any number of things (my current employment requires me to take a loyalty oath) without breaking any biblical injunction. And I say the pledge of allegiance every school day.

Please find something of relevance to Christian life instead of your hobby horses.

You people hate knowledge, and anyone who shares it, and because of that you are rejected by God, as it is written, "because you have rejected knowledge so I have rejected you" and "my people perish because of lack of understanding".