Matt 5:33-37 Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Jam 5:12 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.
To be a Member of Parliament you have to make the following Oath of Allegiance…
I, …, swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God.
It’s possible to refuse to take the oath and make an affirmation instead but an affirmation and an oath are effectively the same thing.
Every person shall be entitled as of right to make his affirmation, instead of taking an oath, in all places and for all purposes where an oath is required by law, and every such affirmation shall be of the same force and effect as an oath.
I would consider myself compromised by such an oath. I should not and would not give my allegiance to Queen Elizabeth the Second, Her heirs and successors by oath or by its equivalent.
What about you, if the opportunity arose and you were elected as a Member of Parliament would you, should you take the Oath of Allegiance?
I’m not a Christian so that prohibition doesn’t affect me. However I would not want to swear allegiance to any fallible human especially not to that person’s heirs and successors who I don’t know anything about. Swearing to uphold and defend a Constitution that is set in concrete and that I approve of is another matter. I would have no objection to swearing such an oath.
To say ‘yes’ is to make an affirmation, isn’t it? Perhaps not in the legal sense of the word or in the legally prescribed manner.
Legally, yes, but in the eyes of God? As for the Queen, she’s Defender of the Faith, Supreme Governor of the Church of England and Head of the Commonwealth (formerly known as the British Empire). I can think of far worse people to pledge my allegiance to.
Martin Luther said, “Sometimes it is necessary to drink a little more, play, jest, or even commit some sin in defiance and contempt of the devil in order not to give him an opportunity to make us scrupulous about trifles.” In other words, “don’t sweat the small stuff.” I think I would pledge my allegiance and take the consequences.
But if you have qualms … take an unelectable position on the party list!
Don’t worry about God. Would you be bound by your oath/affirmation?
Don’t worry about consequences. If Jesus instruction/advice doesn’t apply in this situation when would it?
Should Martin Luther have sworn allegiance to the Defender of the Faith, Supreme Governor of the Church of Rome or to the head of the Roman Empire?
No qualms.
Better to be elected and cause a constitutional crisis. The people think that the government’s purpose is to serve the people. It’s not. From its foundation the purpose of the NZ government is to serve the Crown.