Topic: A Book by any other name...

In Minnesota this past election the first Muslim was elected to Congress. Why is it any surprise that he would want to be sworn in using the Quran? Apparantly there are some conservatives who find this offensive. They feel that regardless of religious belief, that the Bible should be used in the swearing in ceremony. Now, no where was I able to find that the Bible was the Constitutionally accepted means of taking an oath. In fact, I was not able to find "Bible" anywhere in the Constitution. From my perspective, if it is not specified in the Constitution or it's amendments then the complaint is without foundation. When an oath is specified - it is simply that - an oath, no instructions on verbiage or ceremony.

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Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible

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I'm sorry, but who is this guy speaking for? I don't care what someone uses to swear an oath on, provided they uphold the values and guidelines of the Constitution. They can swear on the dust bunny found under the Congressional carpet for all I care. If swearing in on a different holy book makes the oath more meaningful for the individual, the by all means let them do it. I personally feel it would be more meaningful (if less practical) for elected officials to swear in on the Constituion - after all, that is the collection of words they are elected to uphold, not the words of a holy book.

(Edited by Moon Dancer on 12-02-2006 03:48)

Yes.... I heard this a few days back and just shook my head. If nothing else it's an astonishing display of insecurity. I doubt that Joe Lieberman had his hand on the bible when being sworn in.

Is it just me or does it seem that silly season is here earlier than usual?

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"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying that I approved of it." Mark Twain

The ignorance and audacity is amazing.

"this country's bible"

fuckwads.

Is it just me, or are these folks the same sort of gents who would have owned land and slaves back in the late 1700s yet would tell us "all men are created equal"? Is it so hard to grasp the notion that maybe, just maybe, the God in the Old Testament, New Testament, Torah and Quran are all the same God? Maybe because it's all *gasp! shock! alarm!* the same text retranslated and reinterpreted hundreds if not thousands of times?

Maybe the swearing-in ceremony should be more like an application:

Name:_____________________

Office:_____________________

Imaginary Friend (if any):____________

Comments/Hooplah:______________

Is that all-inclusive enough? Oh, and poi? The "imaginary friend" bit was just for you.

At least we soft, stupid, flabby Americans can call our leaders soft, stupid, and flabby without risk of getting shot. That only happens if you wear the wrong shoes in the wrong town.

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Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein

The book matters not, it is the oath which is taken that matters. Why focus on the inanimate object a politician lays his hand on when entering office, and totally ignore the fact that the oath they take is more often than not totally broken?

Because it is nothing more than a diversionary news story made falsely controversial among the brainwashed masses by the likes Shawn Hannity and the rest of the League of Shills, to detract from the real and important news that they fail to cover everyday.

There is no common sense in this country anymore.

Ram

(Edited by Ramasax on 12-03-2006 05:49)

The Bible is made out of paper, just like the Quran. It consists of letters and words, just like the Quran.

So, what difference does it make what one lays a hand on when swearing an Oath (well, unless it is a steaming pile of crap)?

I am more interested in the person in question upholding the Oath and not what he/she puts her hand one while swearing to do so.

And for the record, as I was in the Air Force and became a Sergeant, I also had to swear an Oath. I never had to lay my hand on anything - I just had to raise it.

If such is good enough for those who are laying down their lives for their Oaths and serving their country as a soldier, then I believe such is also good enough for those who will be serving the country as a politician.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

Basically taking an oath with a hand placed on a Bible suggests that the official is going to uphold the duties of the oath in the scrutiny of that Bible? So if that is true I can understand why officials would be edgy about letting someone use another book, if they want the official to be held accountable to the laws in the first book. However, I can also understand why a Muslim would rather use a Quran than a Bible to be sworn in. And hey, if you elect someone with a different cultural upbringing than your other officials, wouldn't something like this be expected?

(Personally, I think this is more about the tradition of things and politicians trying to get more votes...but that's just my thoughts.)

"For reason is a property of God's...moreover, there is nothing He does not wish to be investigated and understood by reason." ~Tertullian de paenitentia Carthaginian Historian 2nd century AD

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Gideon said:

Basically taking an oath with a hand placed on a Bible suggests that the official is going to uphold the duties of the oath in the scrutiny of that Bible? So if that is true I can understand why officials would be edgy about letting someone use another book, if they want the official to be held accountable to the laws in the first book.

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Fortunately for all of us, the laws in the "first book" have nothing to do with the laws we live by, and nothing to do with the office taken by the public officials.

If we are going to have elected officials swear on anything, it should be a copy of the constitution. Not a religious book.

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If we are going to have elected officials swear on anything, it should be a copy of the constitution. Not a religious book.

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I agree wholeheartedly.

WebShaman | The keenest sorrow (and greatest truth) is to recognize ourselves as the sole cause of all our adversities.
- Sophocles

+1

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Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein

+1

Gothmatum: Thanks for the pun, but I'd rather throw the "imaginary friend" line alltogether. An official building is not a place of cult.

poi: Good point. We'd like to see our leaders as reliable and trustworthy, not necessarily 'defenders of the faith'. Americans like operating under the illusion that their elected officials (and, by extension, they themselves) have some control over this fading republic.

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Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. - Albert Einstein