"So help me God" - unconstitutional?

[lpetrich]

Huffman Calls Congressional Oath to God "Unconstitutional," "Preposterous" | News Blog

“It’s unconstitutional to require a witness in congressional testimony to affirm an oath to a deity they may not even believe in or to affirm an oath to a singular deity when you might be a polytheistic Hindu, for example,” Huffman said. “It’s just preposterous.”

Or else if one believes that God helps those who help themselves or that God doesn't like being bugged by people begging to him.

This lawmaker isn’t sure that God exists. Now, he’s finally decided to tell people. - The Washington Post
Huff the Humanist | News Blog
His district is from the Golden Gate Bridge to the California-Oregon border.

Speaking to Freethought Matters this week, Huffman said congressional committees have a “sporadic standard” for including God in their oaths. He said altering the oath or making it voluntary has been proposed in the House but was shot down.

“Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) just went ballistic,” Huffman said of the House Republican Conference Chair. “She smelled blood in the water, went on Fox News and started ranting about how Democrats were dropping God from the Congress.”

As Richard Dawkins noted, why is it necessary to defend God so ferociously?

That interview can be found in Freethought Matters TV Show - YouTube

House Democrat calls it 'unconstitutional' to cite God in hearing oaths | TheHill

Fox noted that Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) has criticized Democrats this year for excluding the “so help me God” phrase from oaths, including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) and Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.), the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

 

[lpetrich]

I agree with Rep. Jared Huffman. I would go further, and get rid of "In God We Trust" and "Under God" as contrary to the spirit of the Constitution.

Constitution for the United States - We the People Here is its preamble (preface):

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

In other words, the United States of America is a purely human creation, and not something decreed by some deity. There is no "Following God's orders" in it.

I like John Adams: Defence of the Constitutions, 1787 - purely secular, and JA noted the widespread habit of leaders calling themselves gods or descendants of gods or provincial governors of gods.

 

[lpetrich]

Declaration of Independence: A Transcription | National Archives - It refers to "Nature's God" and "the Creator", but that entity appears as a sort of cosmic lawgiver who makes fundamental laws, but not much more than that. In it, governments are purely human creations and not directly decreed by any deity. There are no references to the Bible.

Likewise, the Federalist Papers barely get into religion, and I don't think that they mention the Bible at all.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Matthew 5
³⁴ But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
³⁵ Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
³⁶ Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
³⁷ But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

 

[ideologyhunter]

Thanks for quoting Matthew 5!!! I was on the point of bringing in Mr. Christ, but you beat me to it. Funny how Christians push for the position that's 100% antithetical to JC when it comes to any and all public piety: whether money should have religious language on it, whether public prayer (let alone prayer foisted on children) is appropriate, whether an oath to God is suitable. Seeing that Trump took an oath three years ago and dragged the poor deity into it, wtf, caveat emptor. If His Orangeness takes an oath to gawd, I don't think I wanna.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

It is interesting to me that one notable sect of Christians has historically taken Matthew 5 seriously, the Jehovah's Witnesses. And over some decades, taken a lot of grief over this from their fellow Christians.