.
Order of Contents
Book
All Vows are Qualified
On Laying One’s Hand on a Bible
On Taking God’s Name in Vain
On Minced Oaths
.
.
Book
1600’s
Calamy, Edmund – A Practical Discourse Concerning Vows, with a Special Reference to Baptism & the Lord’s Supper (London, 1697) 310 pp. ToC
Calamy (1671–1732) was an English presbyterian and church historian, significantly influenced by Baxter.
.
.
All Vows are Qualified
Samuel Rutherford
Lex Rex… (1644; Edin., 1843), p. 118
“Exigencies of the law of nature cannot be set down in positive covenants, they are presupposed.”
.
James Guthrie
Protesters No Subverters… (1658), p. 60
“But if they [the Resolutioners] will extend it [the ordination vows] further, and say that it is meaned of absolute subjection to the sentence of his brethren, whether he have offended or not, they may as well, and with more color of reason, say that he is bound by his oath, not only to give subjection, but also obedience† to all their admonitions, whether just or unjust, lawful or unlawful;
because there is no express limitation in the words of the oath, these qualifications, being as we said before, amongst the praecognita [assumptions] and praesupposita [presuppositions] of all such questions and answers, and there being no need to express them, except where there are grounds of jealousy.”
† [Notice Guthrie’s distinction between subjection in things lawful (e.g. Rom. 13), versus obedience to all commands.]
.
.
On Laying One’s Hand on a Bible while Swearing
Willard, Samuel – A Brief Discourse Concerning that Ceremony of Laying the Hand on the Bible in Swearing (London, 1689) 8 pp.
Willard was a New England puritan. Willard argues that the practice is unlawful as it enters into the act of worship, which worship is only acceptable if warranted by God’s Word.
“That many good and very learned men have doubted the lawfulness of kissing or touching the book in taking a solemn oath, cannot be denied; those great and famous divines, Rivet, Pareus, Voetius, have all written against it; and that worthy confessor and martyr, Mr. William Thorp, did refuse to comply with the mentionedmode of swearing; and he says that Chrysostom was against the book-oath, as he styles it; he thus argues,
…It is well known that those famous divines, Dr. Thomas Goodwin, Mr. Philip Nye Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs did judge the impleaded rite to be unwarrantable by the Word of God;” – To the Reader
In connection to this, see our page, On Natural Gestures, Signs & Customs about Worship, & of Reverence & Veneration as Distinguished from the Worship of Adoration.
.
.
On Taking God’s Name in Vain
Samuel Rutherford
The Divine Right of Church Government… (1646), p. 88
“…a bearing testimony by word that God is true and knows all secrets, and will be avenged on perjury, is inseparable from vocal swearing by the name of God…”
.
.
On Minced Oaths
Seville, George H. – ‘Minced Oaths’ 1953 10 paragraphs with a historical introduction.
Seville (1876-1977) was a UPCNA minister, a missionary to China and a seminary professor.
The articles Scripturally addresses using exclamations like ‘Gee’, ‘gosh’, ‘darn’, ‘mercy’, ‘goodness’, ‘gracious’, etc.
.
.
.
Related Pages