A Double Standard Of Truth

The Merman's Children, Book Three, VIII-IX.

Tauno suspects that Haakon lies and challenges him to swear on the Cross:

"Haakon sat. He stared." (p. 171)

He had lied. Later, when Haakon wants Tauno's cooperation in battle, he says:

"'If you win, you both go free. That oath I will give you on the Cross.'" (p. 173)

So Haakon has a double standard of truth. Some of us prefer, when giving evidence in court, to affirm instead of to swear on the Bible. The Bible itself tells us not to swear on anything: Matthew 5:37. If we do not believe in the Bible, then we should not swear on it. If we do believe in the Bible, then we should not swear on it. Whether or not we believe in the Bible, we should not swear on it because we should not have a double standard of truth as the Quakers in particular say. If we are definitely telling the truth when holding a Bible, then we might be lying at other times. A Quaker that I respected once said that he thought that, if some of his co-religionists were really honest, then they would acknowledge that they did not believe in God. That goes against the principle of no double standard. Non-theists can practice silent contemplation.

Muslims swear on the Koran. When we had a Hindu Prime Minister, he once gave evidence in public and swore on the Gita. Huck Finn felt ok about lying when a girl asked him to swear on a dictionary!