I was listening to NPR today, and the guest on the Diane Rehm Show was James Stewart, author of the book Tangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America: From Martha Stewart to Bernie Madoff. There was an interesting discussion on perjury and lying. At one point Diane Rehm asked him about the effectiveness of the Bible or other holy books when making an oath to say the truth.
That made me think. There really shouldn't be a point to presenting the Bible for this purpose. If I have respect for the Bible, then (according to its teaching) I should say the truth whether or not there's a Bible around.
As Matthew 5:37 instructs, we should just say the truth as it is. "Anything beyond this" (like swearing on the Bible) "comes from the evil one."
So if I were the type of person who does not attach enough importance to tell the truth to my inquisitors, then putting a Bible under my hand should logically not change that. The formality is thus pointless.
People are interesting. They're often not that logical.
You can check out more about the interview at http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-04-26/james-stewart-tangled-webs.
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