Perhaps you could share this with USAFA cadets?

Hello to Mikey and the MRFF team!

My name is Nina and because I’m about to do some pretty heavy Bible-quoting and theological talk at you, please let me start by saying this is a friendly letter. I’m not a Christian anymore (I read the Bible cover to cover and that kind of put a crimp in the whole wanting-to-live-my-life-by-these-rules thing), but I spent twelve years in a church that started out conservative and ended (or, well, I stopped going to it at this point) totally nut-wing, so I’ve read and memorized a lot of scripture. There is something your Christian USAFA cadet clients may want to know, if they don’t already:

They actually have a Biblical, completely scriptural basis for saying they don’t want to say “so help me god,” and it’s all over the Bible. For those who like to point out (as I do) that the Bible is actually a series of books, letters, and poems written over the course of several hundred years, the argument will carry more weight in that it’s not just one person saying it–it’s several, over the course of several hundred years, from Exodus to the Gospels.

The first and strongest basis is in the ten commandments: “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.” A lot of people think that means you shouldn’t say a certain expletive I won’t include here out of courtesy. That’s not true; if it was, it would be equally verboten to say “God bless you,” because it means the exact same thing in reverse. Taking a name in vain would most literally take this form: “I swear to God.” If what you’ve said before is a lie (“the check is in the mail, I swear to God!”) or is an action you fail to complete (“I will avenge my father’s death, I swear to God”), you’ve taken the Lord’s name in vain and broken the commandment. Because you can’t always be guaranteed to do what’s right in the military–there are, sometimes, only hard choices and no good ones–a devout Christian should not swear this oath, because then the commandment may be broken.

That isn’t the only scriptural basis for refusing to utter the words “I solemnly swear . . . so help me god.” Here are a couple of other choice quotes (all from the New International version unless otherwise noted):

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 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 even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:33-37; the King James edition says “whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” in verse 37, not specifically “the evil one” or Satan)

“Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.” (James 5:12)

“Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:12)

““Though you, Israel, commit adultery, do not let Judah become guilty. Do not go to Gilgal; do not go up to Beth Aven. And do not swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives!’” (Hosea 4:15)