Taking Oaths

[seeker_of_God]

I was reading in an unrelated thread, and someone said that we should not take oaths, especially if they are about a trivial matter.

I wondered if this is true?

I took an oath when joining a college social fraternity, and so wanted to ask about this.

 

[06convert]

I’m not sure, I haven’t heard of that before.

Not knowing for sure I would say that you shouldn’t take an Oath to do something immoral or wrong. You wouldn’t take an Oath for example to destroy the environment.

But taking an Oath to be part of something or to state your intention isn’t bad. The Knights of Columbus take an Oath. The President of the United States takes an Oath.

The only way I see it could possibly be bad is if you are just taking Oaths and not fullfilling them, thus essentially lying about your intent.

 

[musicality]

I’m not sure of the exact post you are referring to, but I believe I have seen similar posts…

From what I remember from those posts, the idea is that you should not invoke God’s name in an oath that does not coincide with his will (ex. a blood oath).

 

[mav2405]

I was reading in an unrelated thread, and someone said that we should not take oaths, especially if they are about a trivial matter.

I wondered if this is true?

I took an oath when joining a college social fraternity, and so wanted to ask about this.

An oath invokes God to witness to what is being said. This can be sinful if it involves trivial matter or is not made to a legal sorce. I think it is generally believed that oaths can only be made to the government and/or bishops. I think pretty much anything the government would make you swear an oath to would involve non-trivial matter as people’s livelihoods are at stake. For instance, you shouldn’t invoke God to witness that you are saying that the Minnesota Twins are your favorite team. I also believe you can’t take an oath to do anything immoral.

A pledge is making a promise on your personal honor. Huge difference. Social fraternities normally have pledges not oaths. I was in an Honors Fraternity, and we took a pledge, not an oath. The same goes for the Kights of Columbus.

 

[seeker_of_God]

An oath invokes God to witness to what is being said. This can be sinful if it involves trivial matter or is not made to a legal sorce. I think it is generally believed that oaths can only be made to the government and/or bishops. I think pretty much anything the government would make you swear an oath to would involve non-trivial matter as people’s livelihoods are at stake. For instance, you shouldn’t invoke God to witness that you are saying that the Minnesota Twins are your favorite team. I also believe you can’t take an oath to do anything immoral.

A pledge is making a promise on your personal honor. Huge difference. Social fraternities normally have pledges not oaths. I was in an Honors Fraternity, and we took a pledge, not an oath. The same goes for the Kights of Columbus.

Thanks. This was over a year ago, but I am pretty sure it was an oath.