American Minute with Bill Federer
"So Help Me God" - What is the Purpose of an Oath?
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"SO HELP ME GOD"
Why has the tradition in America been for
oaths
to end with
"So Help Me God"?
The
military's oath of enlistment
ended with
"So Help Me God."
The
commissioned officers' oath
ended with
"So Help Me God."
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President's oath of office
ended with
"So Help Me God."
Congressmen and Senators' oath
ended with
"So Help Me God."
Witnesses in Court
swore to tell the truth,
"So Help Me God."
Even an
oath proposed by Lincoln
for individuals wanting to be
U.S. citizens
ended with
"So Help Me God."
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Lincoln
announced his plan, DECEMBER 8, 1863, to let back into the Union those who had been in the Confederacy, proposing:
"Whereas it is now desired by some persons heretofore engaged in said rebellion to resume their
allegiance to the United States ...
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... Therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do proclaim, declare, and make known to all persons who have, directly or by implication, participated in the existing rebellion ...
that
a full pardon is hereby granted
to them ... with restoration of all rights of property ... upon the condition that every such person shall take and subscribe an
oath
... to wit:
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"I, ______, do solemnly swear,
in the presence of ALMIGHTY GOD,
that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder,
and that
I will in like manner abide by and faithfully support
all acts of Congress passed during the existing rebellion with
reference to slaves ...
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... and that I will in like manner abide by and
faithfully support all proclamations of the President
made during the existing rebellion having
reference to slaves
...
SO HELP ME GOD."
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A situation was faced by
Justice Samuel Chase,
who was
Chief Justice of Maryland's Supreme Court
in 1791, and then appointed by
George Washington
to be a
Justice
on the
U.S. Supreme Court,
1796-1811.
In 1799, a dispute arose over whether an Irish immigrant named
Thomas M'Creery
had in fact become a
naturalized U.S. citizen
and thereby able to leave an estate to a relative in Ireland.
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The court decided in
M'Creery's
favor based on a certificate executed before
Justice Samuel Chase,
which stated:
"I,
Samuel Chase, Chief Judge of the State of Maryland,
do hereby certify all whom it may concern,
that ... personally appeared before me
Thomas M'Creery,
and did repeat and subscribe
a declaration of his belief in the Christian Religion,
and take the oath required by the Act of Assembly of this State, entitled, An Act for Naturalization."
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The purpose of an
oath
is to
call a Higher Power to hold you accountable to perform what you promised,
with the fearful understanding that
you are inviting divine judgement upon yourself if you lie or break your promise.
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Webster's 1828 Dictionary
gave the definition:
"OATH:
A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with
an appeal to God
for the truth of what is affirmed.
The
appeal to God
in an
oath
implies that
the person imprecates (invokes) His vengeance
and renounces His favor
if the declaration is false,
or
if the declaration is a promise, the person invokes the vengeance of God
if he should
fail to fulfill it."
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An example of an oath is in Genesis 31:49-53, taken between
Jacob and his father-in-law, Laban:
"... for he said, The L
ORD watch between me and thee,
when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us;
see, God is witness betwixt me and thee ...
Behold this heap ... this pillar, which I have cast betwixt me and thee ...
I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me,
for harm.
The
God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge betwixt us. "
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An unorthodox view of taking an oath was mentioned by
Bill Clinton
at the National Prayer Breakfast, February 4, 1993:
"Just 2 weeks and a day ago, I took the oath of office as President.
You know the last four words, for those who choose to say it in this way, are
'so help me God'
... Deep down inside I wanted to say it the way I was thinking it, which was,
'So, - help me, God.'"
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Judicial courts thought
oaths would lose their effectiveness
if the public at large
lost the fear of the God,
as He gave the commandment "Thou shalt not bear false witness."
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New York Supreme Court Chief Justice Chancellor Kent
noted in
People v. Ruggles,
1811, that irreverence weakened the effectiveness of oaths:
"Christianity was parcel of the law,
and to cast contumelious (insulting) reproaches upon it, tended to
weaken the foundation of moral obligation,
and
the efficacy (effectiveness) of oaths."
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George Washington
warned of this in his Farewell Address, 1796:
"Let it simply be asked
where is the security
for prosperity, for reputation, for life,
if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths,
which are the instruments of investigation in the Courts of Justice?"
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In August of 1831,
Alexis de Tocqueville
observed a court case:
"While I was in America,
a witness,
who happened to be called at the assizes of the county of Chester (state of New York), declared that
he did not believe in the existence of God
or in the immortality of the soul.
The judge refused to admit his evidence,
on the ground that
the witness had destroyed beforehand all confidence of the court in what he was about to say.
The newspapers related the fact without any further comment ..."
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De Tocqueville
continued:
"
The New York Spectator
of August 23d, 1831, relates the fact in the following terms:
'The
court
of common pleas of Chester county (New York), a few days since
rejected a witness who declared his disbelief in the existence of God.
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... The presiding
judge
remarked, that he had not before been aware that there was a man living who did not
believe in the existence of God;
that this belief constituted the sanction (validity) of all testimony in a court of justice:
and that
he knew of no case in a Christian country, where a witness had been permitted to testify without such belief.'"
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President Dwight Eisenhower
addressed the American Legion Back-to-God Program, February 20, 1955:
"Recognition of the Supreme Being
is the first -- the most basic -- expression of Americanism."
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Oaths
to hold office had similar acknowledgments.
The
Constitution of Pennsylvania,
1776, signed by
Ben Franklin,
stated in chapter 2, section 10:
"Each member, before he takes his seat, shall make and subscribe the following declaration, viz:
'I do believe in one
God,
the
Creator and Governor of the Universe,
the
Rewarder of the good and Punisher of the wicked,
and I do acknowledge the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testament
to be given by
Divine Inspiration.'"
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The
Constitution of South Carolina,
1778, article 12, stated:
"Every ... person, who acknowledges the being of a
God,
and believes in the
future state of rewards and punishments
... (is eligible to vote)."
The
Constitution of South Carolina,
1790, article 38, stated:
"That all persons and religious societies, who acknowledge that there is one
God,
and a
future state of rewards and punishments,
and that God is publicly to be worshiped, shall be freely tolerated."
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The
Constitution of Mississippi,
1817, stated:
"No person who denies the being of
God
or a future state of rewards and punishments shall hold any office in the civil department of the State."
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The
Constitution of Maryland,
1851, required office holders make:
"A declaration of belief in the
Christian religion;
and if the party shall profess to be a
Jew
the declaration shall be of his belief in a
future state of rewards and punishments."
In 1864, the
Constitution of Maryland,
required office holders to make:
"A declaration of belief in the
Christian religion,
or of the existence of
God,
and in a
future state of rewards and punishments."
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The
Constitution of Tennessee,
1870, article IX, Section 2, stated:
"No person who denies the being of
God,
or a
future state of rewards and punishments,
shall hold any office in the civil department of this State."
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Justice James Iredell,
nominated by George Washington to the Supreme Court, defined an
oath
as a:
"solemn
appeal to the Supreme Being
for the truth of what is said by a person who believes in the existence of a
Supreme Being
and in
a future state of rewards and punishments."
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Pennsylvania's Supreme Court
stated in
Commonwealth v. Wolf
(3 Serg. & R. 48, 50, 1817:
"Laws cannot be administered in any civilized government unless the people are taught to revere the sanctity of an oath, and look to a future state of rewards and punishments for the deeds of this life."
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It was understood that persons in positions of power would have opportunities to do corrupt deep-state backroom deals for their own benefit.
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But if that person believed that
-God was watching,
-that He wanted them to be honest, and
-that He would hold them accountable in the future,
that person would hesitate, thinking "even if I get away with this my whole life, I will still be accountable to God in the next."
This is what is called "having a conscience."
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But if that person did not believe in God and in
a future state of rewards and punishments,
when presented with the same temptation -- with no ultimate accountability -- they would yield to it.
In fact, if there is no God and this life is all there is, a person would be a fool not to.
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William Linn,
unanimously elected the
first U.S. House Chaplain,
stated May 1, 1789:
"Let my neighbor once persuade himself that there is no God, and he will soon pick my pocket, and break not only my leg but my neck.
If there be no God, there is
no law,
no future account;
government then is the ordinance of man only, and we cannot be subject for conscience sake."
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Democrat Presidential Candidate
William Jennings Bryan
reasoned, September 17, 1913:
"There is a
powerful restraining influence
in the belief that
an all-seeing eye scrutinizes every thought and word and act of the individual."
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President Reagan
stated in 1984:
"Without God there is no virtue because there is no prompting of the conscience."
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Sir William Blackstone,
one of the most quoted authors by America's founders, wrote in
Commentaries on the Laws of England,
1765-1770:
"The belief of a
future state of rewards and punishments,
the entertaining just ideas of the main attributes of the
Supreme Being,
and a firm persuasion that He superintends and will finally compensate every action in human life (all which are revealed in the doctrines of
our Savior, Christ),
these are the grand foundations of al
l judicial oaths,
which
call God to witness the truth of those facts
which perhaps may be
only known to Him
and
the party attesting."
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Signer of the Declaration
John Witherspoon
wrote:
“An
oath
... implies a belief in
God ...
and indeed is
an act of worship
... In vows, there is
no party but God and the person himself who makes the vow.”
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The
Gospel
is, that
God is just, and therefore must judge every sin;
but
God is also love, so He, Himself, provided the Lamb to take the punishment for our sins.
Nevertheless, the Apostle Paul admonished in his letter to the Philippines, 2:12: "Work hard to show the results of your salvation,
obeying God with deep reverence and fear."
(NLT)
This was the view of
Secretary of State Daniel Webster,
who, when asked what was the greatest thought that ever passed through his mind, replied
"My accountability to God."
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Benjamin Franklin
wrote to Yale President Ezra Stiles, March 9, 1790:
"The
soul of Man is immortal,
and
will be treated with Justice in another Life respecting its conduct in this."
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Franklin
also wrote:
"That there is one
God, Father of the Universe
... That He loves such of His creatures as love and do good to others:
and will
reward them
either
in this world or hereafter,
That
men's minds do not die with their bodies,
but are made more
happy or miserable after this life according to their actions."
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John Adams
wrote to Judge F.A. Van der Kemp, January 13, 1815:
"My religion is founded on the love of God and my neighbor; in
the hope of pardon for my offenses; upon contrition ...
In the duty of
doing no wrong,
but
all the good I can,
to the creation, of which I am but an infinitesimal part.
I believe, too, in a
future state of rewards and punishments."
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John Adams
wrote again to Judge F.A. Van de Kemp, December 27, 1816:
"Let it once be revealed or demonstrated that there is
no future state,
and
my advice
to every man, woman, and child, would be, as our existence would be in our own power,
to take opium.
For, I am certain there is nothing in this world worth living for but
hope,
and every hope will fail us, if
the last hope,
that of a
future state,
is extinguished."
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Some tried to extinguish "a future
state."
Friedrich Nietzsche
(1844-1900) is remembered for his line
"God is dead."
He exposed how
hypocritical it was for atheists to claim to be "moral"
("Twilight of the Idols," The Portable Nietzsche,
ed., trans. Walter Kaufman, NY: Penguin Books, 1976, p. 515-6):
"When one
gives up the Christian faith
,
one pulls the right to Christian morality out from under one's feet.
This morality is by no means self-evident: this point has to be exhibited again and again, despite the English flatheads.
Christianity is
a system,
a whole view of things
thought out together. By breaking one main concept out of it,
the faith in God,
one
breaks the whole:
nothing necessary remains in one's hands.
Christianity presupposes that man does not know, cannot know, what is good for him, what evil: he believes in God, who alone knows it.
Christian morality is a command; its origin is transcendent; it is beyond all criticism, all right to criticism; it has truth only if God has truth -- it stands or falls with faith in God."
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Nietzsche
criticized English atheist Mary Ann Evans, who used the pen name "George Elliot":
"G. Elliot:
They are rid of the Christian God
and now believe all the more firmly that they must
cling to Christian morality.
This is an English inconsistency:
we do not wish to hold it against little moralistic females à la Eliot.
In England one must rehabilitate oneself after ever little emancipation from theology by showing in a veritably awe-inspiring manner what a moral fanatic one is. That is the penance they pay there ...
When the English actually believe that they know 'intuitively' what is good and evil,
when they therefore suppose that they no longer require Christianity as the guarantee of morality,
we merely witness the effects of the dominion of the Christian value judgment
and an expression of the strength and depth of this dominion:
such that the origin of English morality has been forgotten, such that the very conditional character of its right to existence is no longer felt. For the English, morality is not yet a problem."
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Russian author
Fyodor Dostoevsky,
in his book
The Brothers Karamazov
(1880), had the character Ivan Karamazov contend that
if there is no God, "everything is permitted."
In the draft of an article "Socialism and Christianity,"
Dostoevsky
criticized Europe for having
"rejected the single formula for their salvation that came from God and was proclaimed through revelation, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,'
and replaced it with practical conclusions such as, 'Chacun pour soi et Dieu pour tous' (Every man for himself and God for all), or 'scientific' slogans like 'the struggle for survival.'" (Kenneth Lantz,
The Dostoevsky Encyclopedia,
2004, Greenwood Publishing)
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Rufus King,
a signer of the U.S. Constitution, wrote in "Reports of the Proceedings and Debates of the Convention of 1821, Assembled for the Purpose of Amending The Constitution of the State of New York," October 30, 1821:
"In our laws ... by the
oath
which they prescribe,
we appeal
to the
Supreme Being
so
to deal with us hereafter
as we observe the obligation of our oaths.
The Pagan world
were and
are without the mighty influence
of this principle which is proclaimed in the Christian system -
their morals were destitute
of its powerful sanction while
their oaths neither awakened the hopes nor fears which a belief in Christianity inspires."
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John Adams
warned October 11, 1798, in his address to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division of Massachusetts' Militia:
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion.
Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net ...
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
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Noah Webster
wrote in
A Collection of Papers on Political, Literary and Moral Subjects
(New York, 1843):
"The
virtue
which is necessary to ... render a government stable, is
Christian virtue,
which consists in the uniform
practice of moral and religious duties,
in conformity with the laws of both of God and man."
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Harvard Professor Clay Christensen,
the Robert & Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, observed February 8, 2011:
"If you take away religion, you cannot hire enough police."
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John Adams
wrote in a Proclamation of Humiliation, Fasting, and Prayer, March 6, 1799:
"No truth is more clearly taught in the Volume of Inspiration ... than ... acknowledgment of ...
a Supreme Being
and
of the accountableness of men to Him
as the searcher of hearts and righteous
distributor of rewards and punishments."
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[email protected]
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