"Tennis Court Oath" by Jacques-Louis David

An oath (from Anglo-Saxon āð) is either a promise or a statement of fact calling upon something or someone that the oath maker considers sacred, usually a god, as a witness to the binding nature of the promise or the truth of the statement of fact. To swear is to take an oath. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (850x557, 175 KB) David, le serment du Jeu de Paume. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (850x557, 175 KB) David, le serment du Jeu de Paume. ... Jacques-Louis David (August 30, 1748 – December 29, 1825) was a highly influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the prominent painter of the era. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon[1], Old English: ) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... This article is about philosophical term. ... The term statement can have several meanings: In programming, a statement is an instruction to execute something that will not return a value. ... Look up fact in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In various religions, sacred (from Latin, sacrum, sacrifice) or holy, objects, places or concepts are believed by followers to be intimately connected with the supernatural, or divinity, and are thus greatly revered. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... A common dictionary definition of truth is agreement with fact or reality.[1] There is no single definition of truth about which the majority of philosophers agree. ...

A person taking an oath indicates this in a number of ways. The most usual is the explicit "I swear," but any statement or promise that includes "with N as my witness" or "so help me N," with N being something or someone the oath-taker holds sacred, is an oath. Many people take an oath by holding in their hand or placing over their head a book of scripture or a sacred object, thus indicating the sacred witness through their action: such an oath is called corporal. However, the chief purpose of such an act is for ceremony or solemnity, and the act does not of itself make an oath.^{[citation needed]} Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ...

"Lwów Oath" by Jan Matejko

There is confusion between oaths and other statements or promises. The current Olympic Oath, for instance, is really a pledge and not properly an oath since there is only a "promise" and no appeal to a sacred witness. Oaths are also confused with vows, but really a vow is a special kind of oath. Oath of king Jan Kazimierz of Poland, taken in 1655, during The Deluge. ... Oath of king Jan Kazimierz of Poland, taken in 1655, during The Deluge. ... Jan Matejko , self-portrait. ... The Olympic Oath is taken by an athlete and a judge at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. ... Pledge is a verb, meaning to promise solemnly, and a noun, meaning the promise or its maker or its object. ... A vow (Lat. ...

Oath of office: Kissinger being sworn in as Secretary of State

In law, oaths are made by a witness to a court of law before giving testimony and usually by a newly-appointed government officer to the people of a state before taking office. In both of those cases, though, an affirmation can be usually substituted. A written statement, if the author swears the statement is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, is called an affidavit. The oath given to support an affidavit is frequently administered by a notary public who will memorialize the giving of the oath by affixing her or his seal to the document. Breaking an oath to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is perjury. Image File history File links Sec_of_State_Kissinger. ... Image File history File links Sec_of_State_Kissinger. ... Lady Justice or Justitia is a personification of the moral force that underlies the legal system (particularly in Western art). ... This article is about witnesses in law courts. ... A trial at the Old Bailey in London as drawn by Thomas Rowlandson and Augustus Pugin for Ackermanns Microcosm of London (1808-11). ... In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ... A state is a political association with effective dominion over a geographic area. ... An affirmation (from Latin affirmare, to assert) is the declaration that something is true. ... An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the declarant (who is called the affiant), and witnessed (as to the veracity of the affiants signature) by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public. ... A US Embossed Notary Seal. ... Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. ...

Greco-Roman Tradition

In the Greco-Roman Tradition, oaths were sworn upon Iuppiter Lapis or the Jupiter Stone located in the Temple of Jupiter, Capitoline Hill. Iuppiter Lapis was held in the Greco-Roman Tradition to be an Oath Stone, an aspect of Jupiter is his role as divine law-maker responsible for order and used principally for the investiture of the oathtaking of office. In modern Olympic and amateur wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling is a particular style and variation. ... Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill, 6th–1st century BC See Temple of Jupiter for temples to him in other places. ... The Capitoline Hill (Capitolinus Mons), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the most famous and smallest of the seven hills of Rome. ...

Bailey (1907) states:

We have, for instance, the sacred stone (silex) which was preserved in the temple of Iuppiter on the Capitol, and was brought out to play a prominent part in the ceremony of treaty-making. The fetial, who on that occasion represented the Roman people, at the solemn moment of the oath-taking, struck the sacrificial pig with the silex, saying as he did so, 'Do thou, Diespiter, strike the Roman people as I strike this pig here to-day, and strike them the more, as thou art greater and stronger.' Here no doubt the underlying notion is not merely symbolical, but in origin the stone is itself the god, an idea which later religion expressed in the cult-title specially used in this connection, Iuppiter Lapis. ^[1]

Judeo-Christian Tradition

The concept of oaths is deeply rooted within the Judeo-Christian Tradition. It is found in Genesis 8:21, when God swears that he will "never again curse the ground because of man and never again smite every living thing." This repetition of the term never again is explained by Rashi, the preeminent biblical commentator, as serving as an oath, citing the Talmud^[2] for this ruling.^[3] Judeo-Christian (or Judaeo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, and typically considered (sometimes along with classical Greco-Roman civilization) a fundamental basis for Western legal codes and moral values. ... Genesis (‎, Greek: Γένεσις, meaning birth, creation, cause, beginning, source or origin) is the first book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. ... Rashi (1040-1105) (Artists imagination) Rashi רשי is a Hebrew acronym for רבי שלמה יצחקי (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi), (February 22, 1040 – July 13, 1105), a rabbi in France, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Tanakh. ... The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a. ...

The first personage in the biblical tradition to to take an oath is held to be Eliezer, the chief servant of Abraham, when the latter requested of the former that he not take a wife for his son Issac from the daughters of Canaan, but rather from among Abraham's own family. In the Judeo-Christian Tradition, this is held as the origination of the concept that it is required to hold a sacred object in one's hand when taking an oath. Because circumcision was the first commandment Abraham performed and was therefor so dear to him on both a spiritual as well as a personal level, Abraham had Eliezer take hold of his genitals, hence the derivation of the term "testimony" from "testicles". Eliezer (אֱלִיעֶזֶר / אֱלִיעָזֶר Help/Court of my God, Standard Hebrew Eliʿézer / Eliʿázer, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔlîʿézer / ʾĔlîʿāzer) was Moses and Zipporahs second son. ... An angel prevents the sacrifice of Isaac. ... Isaac ,Itzhak or Yitzhak (Hebrew: יִצְחָק, Standard Tiberian  ; Arabic: إسحٰق,  ; he will laugh) is one of the patriarchs, whose story is told in the Biblical book of Genesis. ... Judeo-Christian (or Judaeo-Christian) is a term used to describe the body of concepts and values which are thought to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, and typically considered (sometimes along with classical Greco-Roman civilization) a fundamental basis for Western legal codes and moral values. ... Family circumcision set and trunk, ca. ... Main article: Mitzvah 613 Mitzvot or 613 Commandments (Hebrew: ‎ transliterated as Taryag mitzvot; TaRYaG is the acronym for the numeric value of 613) are a list of commandments from God in the Torah. ... In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ... The testicle (from Latin testis, meaning witness [1], plural testes) or ballock is the male generative gland in animals. ...

As late as 1880, Charles Bradlaugh was denied a seat in parliament since because of his professed atheism he was judged unable to swear the Oath of Allegiance in spite of his proposal to swear the oath as a "matter of form". Charles Bradlaugh (26 September 1833 _ 30 January 1891) was a political activist and one of the most famous English atheists of the 19th century. ... “Atheist” redirects here. ... Members of both UK Houses of Parliament are required to take an oath of allegiance to the Crown on taking their seat in Parliament. ...

Various religious groups have objected to the taking of oaths, most notably the Quakers and the Mennonites. This is principally based on the words of Christ in the Antithesis of the Law, "I say to you: 'Swear not at all'". The Apostle James stated, "Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned." Not all Christians follow this reading, because of the statements in the Old Testament. Jews also avoid taking oaths, as even making an unintentionally false oath would violate a Biblical commandment (see Leviticus 19:12).-1... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The Mennonites are a group of... Christ is the English term for the Greek word (Christós), which literally means The Anointed One. ... The Antithesis of the Law (Matthew 5:17-48) is a less well known but highly structured (you have heard . ... The Expounding of the Law (KJV:Matthew 5:17-48), sometimes called the Antithesis of the Law, is a less well known but highly structured (Ye have heard . ... Saint James the Just (יעקב Holder of the heel; supplanter; Standard Hebrew YaÊ¿aqov, Tiberian Hebrew Yaʿăqōḇ, Greek Iάκωβος), also called James Adelphotheos, James, 1st Bishop of Jerusalem, or James, the Brother of the Lord[1] and sometimes identified with James the Less, (died AD 62) was an important figure... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, also the third book in the Torah (five books of Moses). ...

Opposition to oath-taking caused many problems for these groups throughout their history. Quakers were frequently imprisoned because of their refusal to swear loyalty oaths. Testifying in court was also difficult. George Fox famously challenged a judge who had asked him to swear, saying that he would do so once the judge could point to any Bible passage where Jesus or his apostles took oaths. (The judge could not, but this did not allow Fox to escape punishment.) Legal reforms from the 18th century onwards mean that everyone in the United Kingdom now has the right to make a solemn affirmation instead of an oath. The United States has permitted affirmations since it was founded; it is explicitly mentioned in the Constitution. Only two US Presidents, Franklin Pierce and Herbert Hoover, have chosen to affirm rather than swear at their inaugurations. For other persons named George Fox, see George Fox (disambiguation). ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Birthplace of Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 — October 8, 1869) was an American politician and the fourteenth President of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. ... Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964), the thirty-first President of the United States (1929–1933), was a world-famous mining engineer and humanitarian administrator. ...

Types Of Oaths

• Hippocratic Oath
• Hittite military oath
• Pauper's oath
• Oaths of allegiance
• Oaths of citizenship
• Oaths of office
• Veterinarian's Oath

A twelfth-century Byzantine manuscript of the Oath in the form of a cross. ... The Hittite military oath is a Hittite of two cuneiform tablets. ... A paupers oath is a sworn statement or oath by a person that he or she is completely destitute or a pauper, i. ... An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges his duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to his monarch or country. ... An Oath of Citizenship is an oath taken by immigrants that officially naturalizes immigrants into citizens. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with President of the United States oath of office. ... Veterinarians Oath (Adopted by the House of Delegates, July 1969, amended by the Executive Board, November 1999) Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of...

Famous Oaths

• Oaths in Freemasonry
• Oaths of Strasbourg
• Tennis Court Oath
• Oath More Judaico (Jewish)
• Anti-Modernist oath

The Masonic Square and Compasses. ... Text of the Oaths The Oaths of Strasbourg (Modern French: les serments de Strasbourg, Modern German: die Straßburger Eide) is the name by which we know the pledges of allegiance taken in 842 by Louis the German, son of Louis the Pious, and ruler of the eastern Frankish kingdom... Sketch by Jacques-Louis David of the Tennis Court Oath. ... The Oath More Judaico or Jewish Oath was a special form of oath, accompanied by certain ceremonies, which Jews were required to take in European courts of law until the 20th century, and which was often intentionally humiliating or dangerous. ... His Holiness St. ...

Fictional

• Oath of the Peach Garden
• Oath of Fëanor
• Oath of Eorl

The Oath of the Peach Garden (義重桃園 or 桃園三節義) was an oath by which the three fighters Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Guan Yu became sworn brothers in a ceremony amid peach blossom trees. ... In the fictional world of J.R.R. Tolkien the oath of Fëanor was an oath taken by Fëanor and his seven sons after Morgoth killed Finwe and stole the Silmarils. ... In J. R. R. Tolkiens universe of Middle-earth, the Oath of Eorl is the alliance sworn between the Middle-earth nations of Rohan and Gondor. ...

Other Meanings

The word "oath" is often used to mean any angry expression which includes religious or other strong language used as an expletive. The word expletive is currently used in three senses: syntactic expletives, expletive attributives, and bad language. The word expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning to fill, via expletivus, filling out. It was introduced into English in the seventeenth century to refer to various kinds of padding — the padding...

Notes

1. ^ In Chapter Two: The 'Antecedents' of Roman Religion. Source: http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:n4dELmJ0vaYJ:www.gutenberg.org/files/18564/18564-h/18564-h.htm+iuppiter+lapis&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=au (accessed: August 21, 2007)
2. ^ Shavous 36a
3. ^ Metsudah Chumash and Rashi, KTAV Publishing House, 1991. page 88

References

Bailey, Cyril (1907). The Religion of Ancient Rome. London, UK: Archibald Constable & Co. Ltd. Source: [1] (Accessed: August 21, 2007)

See Also

• Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau has several publications for Australia dealing with multi-faith issues and A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services covers oaths as well as many other topics (in review as of 12/2/2006 but the 2nd Edition is available.)
• ACLU of N.C. & Syidah Matteen v. State of North Carolina a court case in a state of the United States about taking oaths by different scriptures. The results have reversed several times.

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau (formerly the National Police Ethnic Advisory Bureau) is an agency of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs of the Government of Australia. ... A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services is a publication of Australasian Police Multicultural Advisory Bureau. ... Syidah Mateen ACLU of N.C. & Syidah Matteen v. ...

External Links

• Courtroom oaths from the North Dakota Supreme Court website (jury oath, witness oath and so on)
• North Carolina faith leaders supporting Quran oath
• for comments about John Quincy Adams' Oath of Office.