A typical idea should be that for every bad behavior, there should be consequences. Society has put basic infrastructure to punish outlaws or people contrary to the norms. But it appears that particular criminal behavior is not penalized by most communities, or even if it is a criminal offense, there is no surefire way to detect it. One such behavior is telling lies under oath; since it is a crime in certain quarters, people will always do it if they are sure the law will not catch up with them. 

In most developed countries’ court systems, you will find a witness swearing with the bible. The common slogan is “I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me, God.” we have seen numerous occasions that people will recite this phrase and lie in the next heartbeat. A classic example is The Insider, a film that shows CEOs of cigarette companies being brought before a panel and asked to swear that their product was not harmful to the public’s health. These men would have recited the familiar slogan, calling on God to help them, and vouch that their product would be suitable for public consumption in the very next second. But it was evident that they were ready to lie from the get-go. Russel Crowe plays the part of a research chemist who faces persecution from his former “Big Tobacco.” employers for going on 60 minutes and exposing the processes with which they produce these cigarettes that make them dangerous for consumption. 

These CEOs were well aware of their product’s dangers, so they required a non-disclosure agreement from Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe). Still, they were willing to lie under oath. We have also seen many politicians voted into office go ahead and swear that they will carry out their office to the best of their ability. This ritual also ends with “so help me, God.” but most of us are familiar with the behavior of most politicians. When people swear with the bible, they believe they are swearing to an all-forgiving God at the back of their minds. This idea is the bane of Christianity: you can always come to God and repeatedly ask for forgiveness. 

Another example is from the movie Silence, a Martin Scorsese film released in 2016 that tells the story of sixteenth-century Japan when one could be tortured to death if one were a Christian. All you had to do to denounce your faith during these times would be to step on a carved picture of Jesus or anything representative of Christian divinity. There were instances where one would have to spit on a crucifix to escape execution.

Yosuke Kubosuka, a Japanese actor, known for his role in Samurai Ressurection, plays the part of Kichijiro, a serial apostate who repeatedly stomped on the picture of the divine ornament to escape torture and imminent death. As depicted in this movie, Kichijiro does this because he knows God can absolve him through a confession to a priest. The behavior of Kichijiro would lead the viewer to believe that he (Kichijiro) takes advantage of this as he would always stomps on the ornament and, in the next breath, ask for forgiveness.

It is evident in society that most are armed with the knowledge of Kichijiro. As earlier described with the CEOs of Big Tobacco, who would swear and lie, there are no imminent consequences considering that the option exists for a quick pill of forgiveness that is constantly available to whomsoever can ask. Apart from the biblical threat of eternal damnation, which most people who swear by the bible do not believe in, there appears to be no consequence for altering the truth under oath. Since the common Christian doctrine emphasizes dying in a ‘state of grace’ to escape eternal damnation, people believe there is enough time to lie, irrespective of an oath taken. They will only worry about cleaning themselves up at the hour of their death. 

This behavior does not apply to everyone; some genuinely respect what the crucifix represents. Sadly these people do not constitute the majority of those willing to participate in dirty politics. So, when you have more Godless people swearing by a bible that promises no immediate consequence for bad behavior, the increasing levels of corruption that we continue to see in our society shouldn’t be surprising.

In all, whether we fall into the category of the Big Tobacco CEOs that need to protect their business interest or Kichijiro, who lies as a survival strategy, it seems evident that the dependence on human honesty based on a sworn oath is a lame attempt to extract the truth. A lie detector may function better when the truth is necessary. People tend to take advantage of a broken system, and society makes laws so that crime must meet punishment because deterrents tend to work better than the continuous availability of absolution that everlasting forgiveness provides.