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From: rjb@akgua.UUCP (R.J. Brown [Bob])
Newsgroups: net.legal,net.religion
Subject: Swearing in Court - Separation of Church/State
Message-ID: <1695@akgua.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 25-Sep-85 17:54:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: akgua.1695
Posted: Wed Sep 25 17:54:26 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Sep-85 04:02:26 EDT
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Xref: watmath net.legal:2384 net.religion:7771

Affirmation, Swearing, and the Separation of Church and State

I notice that in TV court scenes (shaky evidence) and in the
court system of Georgia a witness is required to raise his
right hand and repeat (approximately):

"I swear (or affirm) that I will tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth...so help me God."

Doesn't the swearing, the invocation of God's name (or a god's
name if you prefer), and (on TV anyway) the laying of the left
hand on the Christian Bible constitute some kind of mingling
of Church and State that the ACLU types get so exercised
about ??

Here it is right in the  heart of our judicial system.

I assume this is a carry-over from the British legal system
from which ours basically sprang.  I understand that the 
affirmation alternate was a concession to the Quakers of
early America who would not "swear".  I'm not familiar enough
with Quaker thought and doctrine to know why. (any Quaker takers ?? :-))

However, if they base their position on the Scripture where both
Jesus in one of the Gospels and the epistle of 
James 5:12 tell us clearly NOT to swear oaths when we make a 
promise, but to let our yes mean yes and no mean no, then I 
understand.

I will not swear an oath in any court room that I will tell
the truth.

But that is a side issue,....why has this thing of oaths and
Bible and swearing persisted apparently without comment 
from our founding fathers (and mothers.) ??

Why haven't the anti-religion groups pressed harder or
been more successful in this area ?

If anybody trots out that Jeffersonian "wall of separation
between Church and State" quote, I challenge you to put
that line in context of the letter it was lifted from.


Bob Brown {...ihnp4!akgua!rjb}


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