6 ms·

I don't get it. The point on swearing on the bible is that God (karma, the universe, a higher power) will judge/punish you if you act evil. This is just silly

I don't get it. The point on swearing on the bible is that God (karma, the universe, a higher power) will judge/punish you if you act evil. This is just silly / virtue signaling.

varjag 3y ago
The whole swear in procedure is silly and is literal virtue signaling. Should the official be swearing in on the Bible anyway if they don't believe it?
dncornholio 3y ago
> The point on swearing on the bible is that God (karma, the universe, a higher power) will judge/punish you if you act evil. Many would say, this is silly too. If people need this 'ode' to not do evil, I think something is wrong with them.
yetihehe 3y ago
For many people today swearing on the bible is just as silly as swearing on any scripture of a dead or newly invented religion is to you. Would swearing on a spaghetti monster be acceptable to you?
DoingIsLearning 3y ago
What is silly is that laicism is still not a thing in US government in 2023. Your founding fathers actually wanted a government without religion. Nobody is telling you to not hold your beliefs, just don't impose them on others. > The point on swearing on the bible is that God (karma, the universe, a higher power) will judge/punish you if you act evil Humans can swear and have morals and ethics without fear of punishment.
- kube-system 3y ago
  > Your founding fathers actually wanted a government without religion. They wanted a government where the government did not interfere with the religious beliefs of people.
- leeroyjenkins11 3y ago
  No, they wanted a federal government without a state religion. Like the church of England. The founders saw it necessary that people have a religious based moral system. The same system and values that they based the government on. The premise all men are created equal relies on religion to be true. Inalienable rights is a judao Christian idea. Try arriving there with reason. Otherwise the will to power is exploitation of man by man. The French revolution was based on reason and had a Reign of Terror with a bloody guillotine.
  - gobrewers14 3y ago
    >The founders saw it necessary that people have a religious based moral system. The same system and values that they based the government on. In the system of government they created women were not able to participate in the body politic and slavery was legal. The suppression of women in society and slavery are both endorsed in the bible. Being superstitious has nothing to do with morality or ethics. > The premise all men are created equal relies on religion to be true. Inalienable rights is a judao Christian idea. This is demonstrably false. Christianity had 17 centuries before the French Revolution to setup a system of government based on these ideas but instead was aligned with Monarchy and Feudalism. Equality and inalienable rights are Enlightenment ideas.
bunnie 3y ago
But if you don't happen to believe in God then swearing on a book of (from the oath takers perspective) fairy tails is equivalently silly / virtue signaling. I think it's better if someone calls out that they don't believe in the thing they are swearing on and substitutes it with something they do believe in? otherwise one is making a promise on top of a lie that they also believe in the contents of that book, so the whole stack is forfeit. Or am I missing something?
prawn 3y ago
Isn't their choice a personal gesture? It could be that something in the book spoke to them and their using the book in this way means they will endeavour to hold to that message from the book.
pohl 3y ago
Swearing on a bible is the ur signal of virtue

I don't get it. The point on swearing on the bible is that God (karma, the universe, a higher power) will judge/punish you if you act evil. This is just silly / virtue signaling.

varjag 3y ago

The whole swear in procedure is silly and is literal virtue signaling. Should the official be swearing in on the Bible anyway if they don't believe it?

dncornholio 3y ago

> The point on swearing on the bible is that God (karma, the universe, a higher power) will judge/punish you if you act evil. Many would say, this is silly too. If people need this 'ode' to not do evil, I think something is wrong with them.

yetihehe 3y ago

For many people today swearing on the bible is just as silly as swearing on any scripture of a dead or newly invented religion is to you. Would swearing on a spaghetti monster be acceptable to you?

DoingIsLearning 3y ago

What is silly is that laicism is still not a thing in US government in 2023. Your founding fathers actually wanted a government without religion. Nobody is telling you to not hold your beliefs, just don't impose them on others. > The point on swearing on the bible is that God (karma, the universe, a higher power) will judge/punish you if you act evil Humans can swear and have morals and ethics without fear of punishment.

kube-system 3y ago
> Your founding fathers actually wanted a government without religion. They wanted a government where the government did not interfere with the religious beliefs of people.
leeroyjenkins11 3y ago
No, they wanted a federal government without a state religion. Like the church of England. The founders saw it necessary that people have a religious based moral system. The same system and values that they based the government on. The premise all men are created equal relies on religion to be true. Inalienable rights is a judao Christian idea. Try arriving there with reason. Otherwise the will to power is exploitation of man by man. The French revolution was based on reason and had a Reign of Terror with a bloody guillotine.
- gobrewers14 3y ago
  >The founders saw it necessary that people have a religious based moral system. The same system and values that they based the government on. In the system of government they created women were not able to participate in the body politic and slavery was legal. The suppression of women in society and slavery are both endorsed in the bible. Being superstitious has nothing to do with morality or ethics. > The premise all men are created equal relies on religion to be true. Inalienable rights is a judao Christian idea. This is demonstrably false. Christianity had 17 centuries before the French Revolution to setup a system of government based on these ideas but instead was aligned with Monarchy and Feudalism. Equality and inalienable rights are Enlightenment ideas.

bunnie 3y ago

But if you don't happen to believe in God then swearing on a book of (from the oath takers perspective) fairy tails is equivalently silly / virtue signaling. I think it's better if someone calls out that they don't believe in the thing they are swearing on and substitutes it with something they do believe in? otherwise one is making a promise on top of a lie that they also believe in the contents of that book, so the whole stack is forfeit. Or am I missing something?

prawn 3y ago

Isn't their choice a personal gesture? It could be that something in the book spoke to them and their using the book in this way means they will endeavour to hold to that message from the book.

pohl 3y ago

Swearing on a bible is the ur signal of virtue