by Isaac Madengu Mangatu

Created on: November 26, 2008

From the foundation of time, when our fore-fathers began swearing in ceremonies, the bible was used because of what it represents. We have a mandate to our fathers to really let the bible be the bible and keep the foundations solid. When you change something, it is never the same forever.

To those who are Christians, the bible is more than the word of God, it is more than text, and it is God speaking through the text. In the ancient days, God would speak to his people through prophets and now he speaks through his word, the Bible. The symbol of holding the Bible & swearing on it reminds me of scripture that says that let all men be liars but let God be true, the bible represents that truth because there is no other word that means more than the word of God.

All money bills in the USA have a small print that reads "in God we trust", the foundations of the nation is built on a love & sacred trust of the Almighty God. The Bible holds dear those foundations, it brings people closer to God and shows some level of honesty, decency that surpasses a man just raising his hand and swearing by his mother or anything else. Swearing on the Bible brings some weight and sincerity to that which is honest & true.

In Christianity when someone gives their life to God, they raise on hand and place another hand on their heart. This in itself means something, the hand that is raised is a sign of surrender to God, the hand on the heart is a sign of sincerity that is related and reflected by placing the hand on the heart. Its shows that one is speaking with truth and that the truth is heart felt.

In our modern day as morals seem to be distancing themselves from the society, as our society has decided to be ruled by how a majority feels. The Bible remains the one true thing that we can depend on.

Many may ask "if we rely & swear people on the Bible what happens to other religions that do not believe on the Bible"? The simplest answer that I have to that question is very simply, before your religion is your nationality, if your nation is founded on Christianity, freedom of worship, then let the overall principle be what the nation was founded on. The foundations of the nation are based on Biblical principals; let the Bible remain what is sworn on.

We can argue about many things & equally debate these issues but our Principals should never be debated or put to the test. When you allow your principles to change, you have fundamentally changed everything about you and what you believe in. Again, the Bible is the one book that is more that paper, it is the very God that we so fear & worship and the Bible holds more than truth & value to what we aspire & drive for.

The content of what we want those being sworn in is what is important, In God we should truly trust and it is that trust that helps the leaders lead. It is not a bullet proof and sure that that when the swearing in is done using the bible the leaders will not fault, no. The Bible has a certain weight that it carries, it is not only an international known and respected book, it is a book that speaks to lives of people and means every word.

We can never take away the meaning of the Bible and what it means to have anyone swear on something that has meaning and that is respected by all walks of life, even those that do not believe in God. I believe that the Bible should & will always remain the one true book that can be used at swearing in ceremonies

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