What is an oath and why can't you swear?

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

An oath is an immutable vow, a promise, an assurance of something. A person who vows to do something is obligated to perform that action. The word "I swear" strengthens the belief that the one who said this is telling the truth, is not disingenuous and is confident in his words. Breaking an oath is considered a serious crime. They usually swear by what is most precious: relatives, expensive property, he alth. However, is it possible to do this? Why can't swear by children or parents categorically?

Origin of the word

Turning to Dahl's dictionary, you can find out that the word "oath" comes from "curse" which meant "scold" or "curse". Following the etymological development of the root of this word, it can be noted that such a word as, for example, "curse" came from it.

Oath in mythology

In the mythology of the ancient Greeks, the oath was personified by Styx. It was believed that the most terrible oath was the waters of the Styx.

If any of the Olympian Gods broke such an oath, severe punishment awaited him:for nine years he was expelled from Mount Olympus and for a whole year he had to lie without signs of life. Zeus was often called to witness the oath.

Oath in Islam

In the Muslim religion, there are traditionally several varieties of oaths: involuntary, related to events in the past, and about what will happen in the future.

• Vows are involuntary or unintentional. Such an oath is considered to be uttered by chance, at the moment of emotional outburst or excitement. In the Qur'an it is called "frog". The person who uttered it does not bear any responsibility for this, as he swore unintentionally. To redeem such an oath, it is enough simply not to say anything like that in the future.
• Oaths confirming some events that happened in the past. They are called "gamus", and begin with the words "By Allah …"
• Oaths about future events. Such an oath is called "munakit". It also begins with the words "By Allah", followed by a promise to do or vice versa not to do something in the future.

If unintentional oaths do not involve redemption, as they were made unconsciously, then the situation is different with the other two. If the person who uttered such an oath breaks it, according to the order of Allah, he must either feed or clothe ten beggars. If he does not have the material opportunity to do this, then for each broken oath, he is obliged to observe a three-day fast.

Attitude towards oath in Christianity

If you turn to the Old Testament, then you can see the instruction to swear by the name of God:

Fear the Lord your God and serve Him alone, and cling to Him and swear by His name.

This custom was enshrined in the law of Moses. There are many examples of various oaths in the Old Testament. If we turn to the text of the New Testament, we can see how much the attitude towards oaths has changed. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus cancels the rite of swearing in the name of God.

From that moment, conscience became the main witness of human deeds, and conscience is the voice of God in a person. Jesus Christ, imposing a ban on oaths, says the following words:

You have also heard what the ancients said: do not transgress your oath, but fulfill your oaths before the Lord. But I say to you: do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor the earth, for it is His footstool; nor Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King; do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your word be: yes, yes; no no; and what is more than this is from the evil one.

So why can't you swear in Orthodoxy? Jesus says that during the oath a person speaks of something valuable: heaven, the Motherland, his own life. However, he is not the owner of any of this, he does not own any of this. God owns and controls everything. Consequently, he does not have the right to dispose of what a person does not own. That's why you can't swear by God or life or anything else.

Superstitions related to oaths

As noted above, the words "oath" and "curse" have the same root. Some people believe that by taking an oath, a person can cause great harm to himself and his loved ones. Psychics believe that at the moment when the oath was pronounced, the course of events in the karmic body of a person goes astray. An oath imposes a ban on those things that a person has sworn, blocks them. The sworn can block financial flows, good luck, well-being, disrupt the reproductive system. This explains why one cannot swear by he alth or money.

If a person swears by other people, such as parents or a child, misfortunes and illnesses fall on those who swore. And watching their suffering, the one who swore will also suffer. That's why you can't swear by mom or kids. By the way, swearing by a child is one of the strongest and one of the most terrible.

It is believed that even if a person swore in an emotional outburst, otherworldly forces will still take this oath into account. If, for example, a person vowed never to do something, he will find himself in such life circumstances in which it will be impossible to follow this oath, and sooner or later he will still break it. For example, an unfaithful spouse, having cheated on his wife, swore on his own he alth never to do this again. In the future, he will definitely face the temptation at work or at a party. By breaking the oath and changing it again, he will lose both he alth (which he swore) and his family.

Oaths givento the dead

Such oaths have special power. Most often, this is a promise to the deceased spouse never to have a relationship with anyone else. They take an oath in different ways: they write letters to the dead, they say it orally, they put their photo in the grave. The motivation of a person who took an oath is understandable: he experiences the pain of loss and excludes even the thought of happiness with another. However, if over time the relationship does begin, the deceased spouse will appear to the person. People who are faced with such a situation turn to psychics, magicians, churches and psychologists just to get rid of such visions.

When you can swear

Doing this is permissible in one situation: psychics believe that an oath is not a crime if a person reinforces her sincere words. For example, if he is accused of theft, but he did not actually do this and reinforced the words of his innocence with an oath. In this situation, she will not cause a negative reaction from otherworldly forces.

Most famous oaths

• The Hippocratic Oath. Doctors take this oath. Its text expresses the basic ethical principles of medical work. In total, it contains nine such principles: obligations to colleagues, non-harm, medical confidentiality, providing assistance to those who need it, respect for life, caring for the needs of the patient, refusing intimate contact with patients, negative attitudes towards abortion, personal improvement. In Russia, such an oath is pronounced when receiving a document on education in a solemn atmosphere.
• Olympicthe oath. Its text was invented in 1913 by Pierre de Coubertin, who proposed to revive the ancient Greek ritual of the Olympic oath. Now such an oath is pronounced by the athlete of the host country of the Olympic Games. The oath implies compliance with all the rules of this tournament. Since 1968, the Olympic oath has been taken not only by athletes, but also by judges, promising to judge impartially.
• Judicial oath. In some countries, when giving evidence in court, at the legislative level, the speaker takes an oath, promising to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. In the United States of America, while saying these words, they put their hand on the Constitution.



• Military oath. Every soldier gives it in a solemn atmosphere. The essence of the oath is that the soldier promises not to defile weapons, to defend the Fatherland, to obey the laws, to adequately endure the difficulties associated with the service. The tradition of giving a military oath has existed since ancient times in almost every state where there are official armed forces.

These oaths are of course special. For those for whom they exist (doctors, military, athletes), it is not only possible, but also necessary to give them. And it is especially necessary to fulfill them.