Bonus Content from August 18, 2024

bONUS CONTENT
8.18.24
james 5:7-12

Q: What do you think about making an oath in a wedding?

A: The prohibition of oaths in James 5 (which James picks up almost verbatim from Jesus in Matthew 5) can't be a call to blanket refusal of ever signing our names to any official sworn documents. I found Sam Allberry's explanation insightful: "Oaths are not universally condemned in Scripture. God himself on occasion swears by oath (eg: Acts 2:30). Paul at times calls God to be his witness that what he is writing is true (eg: 2 Corinthians 1:23). The point is not that all oaths are always wrong, but that in everyday contexts oaths should be unnecessary. We shouldn’t need to emphasize the truthfulness of a particular part of our speech, because all our speech should be true and trustworthy. James is not ruling out Christians speaking under oath in a courtroom, but ruling out ever needing to outside of one. Everything we say should be true. Our word should be enough."

Q: Where did the poem you quoted come from?

A: I totally forgot to mention who authored that! That was Thomas Terry's verse from the 2013 Beautiful Eulogy song "Acquired in Heaven."