Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.
— Voltaire
(2-13-21, the Day of Donald trump’s acquittal by the US Senate.)

To call upon God to be a witness to whatever one says and does is a matter of considerable seriousness. Whatever name one may use to call upon the power that is above human abilities, claiming that same power as standing with and in approval of whatever words one may use in taking an oath, places the oath taker in an extraordinary relationship with the Divine.

When we heard the U.S. Senate Majority Leader clearly stating that when taking the oath before the first impeachment trial of President of the United States, he had no intention of fulfilling his oath to be be impartial, but rather to “work closely with White House counsel and the President” during that trial. The second impeachment trial of the former President likewise held the expectation of a not guilty verdict by a majority of the Republican Senators before the trial began.

The text of the oath reads: “I solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of President Donald John Trump, now pending, I will do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, So help me God.”

These elected leaders called upon God to witness and approve the debasement of the oath they were about to take. I strongly object to calling upon God as witness to a deliberate lie. This matter holds religious, spiritual, moral and legal weightiness for the elected leaders who take the oath. I objet to this public act of blasphemy that flies in the face of the spiritual and ethical values of the world’s religions and those of the United States of America.

America chooses to call upon God in other oaths that are taken. The President, other elected officials, and military personnel, as well as in courts of law all take oaths that end with the words, “So help me God.” If what one says is not really what one is intending to do, then leave God out of it. “So help me God” is not a throw away phrase. Saying that we are “one Nation under God” is a far more serious matter than we seem to be taking it.

—  Joseph Kilikevice, OP