by Jackie Marcink

Created on: May 27, 2008

I believe the bible has no place in the court system. Like others have said, separation of church and state should be prevalent in all areas of government, including the courts. What most people have wrong though, is that our country was not founded on Christian concepts. Look at the Treaty of Tripoli, written in 1796. Article 11 states, "As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries." Therefore, the argument that this country is a Christian country so the government should abide in such a manor is a farce. People need to become better educated on the subject of religion and government. Also, most of our founding forefathers where not Christians but Deists and Agnostics. We must never forget what these people came from and what they were aiming for. They were escaping the brutal society created by the Catholic church, the epitome of religion at the time. They wanted to created a country where people were free to believe as they wish or not believe at all.

With that said, should the bible be a prerequisite to testifying in court, where do people like atheists, agnostics, Muslims, Buddhists, Wiccans, etc. stand? Why should every American be subjected to paying homage to a book that they believe is a work of fiction? Why don't we just swear on "Huckleberry Finn"? To some, this book is just as divine as the bible. Besides, how many Christian scandals have come out in the wide open in the recent years? It's easy to refute that Christians are honest people. They are just as dishonest as anyone else. What's to stop someone from lying based on the book they swore on? If they want to lie, they will.

As people who live in a free country, we should all have the right to worship and swear as we like... or not. The courts should have no say in what we believe or live our lives by. Maybe instead of swearing on a book and believing in superstitions, the court should just hook people up to a lie-detector. It is bi-partisan, interfaith, and is a better gage of honesty.

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