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atheism, atheist, bible, bible verse, bible verses, christianity
Matthew 5:34-37
According to the book of Matthew, Jesus taught that it is wrong to swear an oath. He further explains that swearing on anything in heaven or earth is wrong and that answers should kept to yes or no. He says that other answers come from the “evil one.” The scripture seems to clearly state that Jesus was against swearing oaths. However, I rarely hear Christians refuse to swear oaths on earthly items, such as the Bible based on their religion. I find this curious. I would really love to hear your opinions on this Bible passage.
I am especially interested in hearing how Christians interpret this Bible passage. If you are a Christian, are you opposed to swearing oaths? If you are opposed to swearing oaths, is it because of this passage? If you are not opposed to swearing oaths, what do you understand this Bible passage to be mean?
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I am looking forward to a great conversation!
34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
Harper Bibles (2011-11-22). NRSV Bible with the Apocrypha
(Kindle Locations 66256-66259). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
Why I am Reading the New Testament
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Atheists and theists (of any religion) – Do any of you read the passage the way that I do — that Jesus is saying that we should not be taking oaths on anything at all or do you read it as Micah does — that he is only saying that we should tell the truth?
I am very curious how others see this passage.
Thank you!
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I personally try not to make promises I can’t keep. If I think I won’t be able to keep it I’ll try not to make it. But like all people I have and at times still do make empty promises.
As for the basis for that, I’ve never really thought where it came from. But now I would say from that passage in Matthew and the command not to lie given in exodus.
I think the point Jesus was trying to make was…chances are you make a promise, it’s most likely you won’t keep it. Especially making an oath on something outside of your control.
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Hello Micah! Welcome to Skeptic Mom!
Thank you for joining in on the conversation. I really appreciate your thoughts on how you see this relating to keeping promises.
How do you feel about oaths to tell the truth in courtrooms? Would you take one of these oaths or do you see them as opposed to your Christian teachings? Do you see this verse as related to those types of oaths?
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Thank You! Yes I would take a courtroom oath, for two reasons: telling the truth is right and it is inside my realm of control. Thus, whether I take an oath or not I am responsible for speaking truth. Also in that setting my yes would be yes and my no would be no.
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Hello Micah,
Thank you again for getting back to me! I really appreciate your feedback.
I understand that you would tell the truth. I assumed as much. And, I think that most witnesses who are testifying would try to tell the truth to the best of their ability.
What I am asking is about the oath itself. I am not sure I completely understand your answer regarding the oath. You may have answered it in your last sentence but I didn’t really understand what you meant. Let me see if I can ask my question a little better.
So, for example, let’s say you are a witness to a car accident and you are about to testify in court. You, of course, will answer the questions honestly to the best of your ability. But here s my question – when the person comes to you and asks you to swear an oath on the Bible to tell the truth in court, what will you say? Will you swear to tell the truth on the Bible or will you decline the oath part and just answer the questions?
Thanks!
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Sorry about the confusion. I would take the oath on the bible to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I would do so to remind both the court and myself that I am both under the authority of and held responsible by the law and by God.
In the passage in Matthew Jesus says, “You have heard it said, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all.”
I think that the important words there are “to the Lord”. In other words don’t make a promise to God because you can’t keep it. So it is better to not make an oath at all. I feel at the end when he says ” let your yes be yes and your no be no” gives the freedom to take an oath to tell the truth, such as done in courts.
In taking the oath in court I would be testifying first to myself and the court, that for the remainder of my time on the stand, my yes will be yes and my no will be no.
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Hi Micah,
Thank you again for getting back to me and clarifying your answer!
I guess we are viewing this passage differently. You seem to be understanding the passage to mean that if you do make an oath on anything, you should make sure it is one you can keep. Whereas, I don’t see that in the passage at all. Had I read this when I was a Christian, I would have taken it to mean that I should not swear any oaths, at least not on anything. Therefore, I would have believed that the right thing to do would to be refuse the oath part and simply affirm that I would tell the truth and do so. The way the passage reads to me is that all of the things in heaven and in earth are too sacred for us to be making an oath on so we just just tell the truth without making an oath.
It’s interesting to me that we both view the same passage so differently.
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Yes, it’s actually a really good point that you bring up because, according to my worldview, God is creator and sustainer of all things he owns all things.
Whether it is right or wrong to take an oath, I do not know. But what I do know is that he died for me and rose again. That if I put my trust in him by his blood, I am redeemed to a relationship with God.
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