Why don't church-priests, monks, and nuns repent of the vows which they swore?

[RileyG]

Lots of words; but Christ the Lord says all swearing of oaths is of evil. Therefore, it is.

….you are free not to make oaths then

What about numbers 30?

 

[Michie]

“Say to the people of Israel, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, he shall separate himself from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar made from wine or strong drink and shall not drink any juice of grapes or eat grapes, fresh or dried. . . . All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the time is completed for which he separates himself to the Lord, he shall be holy; he shall let the locks of hair of his head grow long. All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. Neither for his father nor for his mother, nor for brother or sister, if they die, shall he make himself unclean; because his separation to God is upon his head. All the days of his separation he is holy to the Lord” (Num. 6:2-3, 5-8).

“And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Behold, you are barren and have no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore beware, and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for lo, you shall conceive and bear a son [Samson]. No razor shall come upon his head, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth; and he shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines'” (Judges 13:3-5).

“[Hannah] vowed a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thy maidservant, and remember me, and not forget thy maidservant, but wilt give to thy maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head” (1 Sam. 1:11).

“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity, and as a widow till she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (Luke 2:36-37).

“Honor widows who are real widows. . . . She who is a real widow, and is left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day; whereas she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. … Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband; and she must be well attested for her good deeds, as one who has brought up children, shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way. But refuse to enroll younger widows; for when they grow wanton against Christ they desire to marry, and so they incur condemnation for having violated their first pledge” (1 Tim. 5:3, 5, 8-12).

 

[Lukaris]

Paul had a vow in Acts 18:18 and there is an account in Acts 21:18-27. The stringent aspects of shaving heads etc. when under a vow do not apply to gentiles. Maybe this is what the Lord means and what was referred to by the apostles not ordinary words during a wedding. In Matthew 23 the Lord seems to further clarify that this is in relation to the burdens the Pharisees imposed but would not endure ( Matthew 23:1-4 per Matthew 23:1-37. James was with Paul in the account in Acts 21:18-27. James conclusion in James 5:12 in his “brother”the Lord’s words in Matthew 5 seem to reflect this.

 

[Michie]

Many have so repented; but oddly, for the descriptions to exist as they do, they cannot repent of the vows which they swore. And the same with their higher authorities; with every increase, they swear more vows. I wonder why they do not repent of this.

It is justified in the Old and New Testament; the faithful and the Church from Apostolic times to the present day have employed oaths; and canonical legislation and doctrinal decrees have affirmed their lawfulness.

Nothing to repent of.

 

[JEBofChristTheLord]

Christ the Lord, says all swearing of oaths is evil.

It is justified in the Old and New Testament; the faithful and the Church from Apostolic times to the present day have employed oaths; and canonical legislation and doctrinal decrees have affirmed their lawfulness.

Nothing to repent of.

There are statements in Old and New Testament. And then there is that which Christ the Lord has said. All who swear vows, do so of evil.

33 Again, you heard that it was said to the ancients: You will not swear falsely, but you will pay to the LORD your oaths; 34 but I say to you not to swear at all; neither by Heaven, because it is the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is [the] city of [the] great King, 36 nor may you swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black; 37 but let your word be, Yes, Yes, No, No, and that which is more than these is of the evil [one].

Matthew 5:33-37

 

[Michie]

Christ the Lord, says all swearing of oaths is evil.

There are statements in Old and New Testament. And then there is that which Christ the Lord has said. All who swear vows, do so of evil.

33 Again, you heard that it was said to the ancients: You will not swear falsely, but you will pay to the LORD your oaths; 34 but I say to you not to swear at all; neither by Heaven, because it is the throne of God, 35 nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is [the] city of [the] great King, 36 nor may you swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black; 37 but let your word be, Yes, Yes, No, No, and that which is more than these is of the evil [one].

Matthew 5:33-37

You do realize that was said because Jesus teaches that we should be so true to our words that the need for oaths disappears?

God Himself took oaths but he does not have issues with the tongue as we do. We should simply tell the truth, not look for loopholes, etc. we are to mean what we say and follow through. Yes or no.

Do you know what an issue it was in that time and culture with the twisting of oaths?

Rabbis back in that time invented a system where they were twisting oaths where it defeated the whole purpose of oaths.

They taught that oaths might or might not be binding, depending on how one swore: If one swore by Jerusalem it was not binding, but if one swore toward Jerusalem, it was, etc.

The rabbinic teaching perverted the purpose of oaths. Instead of calling on God to assure honesty, oaths were phrased so as to avoid God’s punishment when speaking dishonestly. Since oaths no longer guaranteed anything, Jesus removed the artificial distinction between vows that invoked God’s name, which were binding, and those that did not, and were not binding. Whatever anyone swears by, Jesus says, it refers to God. If someone swears by heaven (Matt. 5:34b), he invokes God, for heaven is his throne. If someone swears by the earth (Matt. 5:35a), he invokes God, for it is his footstool. If someone swears by Jerusalem (Matt. 5:35b), he invokes God, for it is the city of the King. If someone swears by the hair of his head (Matt. 5:36), he invokes God, for he rules our heads. All oaths call God to witness, for he created and sustains all things, even our hair.

Think about it. There is nothing wrong with making a solemn oath or vow toward religious life, marriage, military, police work, doctors etc.

You need to read deeper in Sacred Scripture. It’s not taking the oath but twisting it dishonestly.

There is no need for religious to repent. Same with the rest of the groups I mentioned. You are just wrong here. You read Scripture with tunnel vision and cherry picking. You need to read it In full.

 

[Michie]

Do I object? I am not concerned with myself and any objections of mine. I am concerned with that which Christ the Lord has said on the subject.

Do you know why?

 

[JEBofChristTheLord]

You do realize that was said because Jesus teaches that we should be so true to our words that the need for oaths disappears?

That is one cause given. Another given, is that all swearing of vows, everything more than simply making yes yes and no no, is of evil.

 

[Lukaris]

The whole message of Matthew 5 is how we must be, strive to be and are unable to be ( Matthew 5:48, per Matthew 5:1-48). The Lord took the rich young man at his word and invited him to be perfect and the rich young man walked away ( Matthew 19:16-30).

 

[chevyontheriver]

It is justified in the Old and New Testament; the faithful and the Church from Apostolic times to the present day have employed oaths; and canonical legislation and doctrinal decrees have affirmed their lawfulness.

Nothing to repent of.

I am glad for all of the many priests and brothers and sisters who have kept their vows and maintained loyal service to our LORD.

 

[Michie]

I am glad for all of the many priests and brothers and sisters who have kept their vows and maintained loyal service to our LORD.

Amen to that.

 

[Michie]

That is one cause given. Another given, is that all swearing of vows, everything more than simply making yes yes and no no, is of evil.

No. You are missing the point because you obviously want to. Good luck with that.

 

[JEBofChristTheLord]

No. You are missing the point because you obviously want to. Good luck with that.

Christ the Lord says swearing vows is of evil. Many are devoted to their vows, and bury His Words in all sorts of other things to which they are avowed. This is a consequence.

 

[Michie]

Christ the Lord says swearing vows is of evil. Many are devoted to their vows, and bury His Words in all sorts of other things to which they are avowed. This is a consequence.

I just think you’re being obtuse.

 

[Hvizsgyak]

Lots of words; but Christ the Lord says all swearing of oaths is of evil. Therefore, it is.

I thank God as much as I can that He has given us the Catholic Church to interpret His Words and set the record for all to know God the way He intended Himself to be known. I know you mean well but as Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus, "Stop persecuting me".

 

[JEBofChristTheLord]

JEBofChristTheLord said:
Lots of words; but Christ the Lord says all swearing of oaths is of evil. Therefore, it is.

I thank God as much as I can that He has given us the Catholic Church to interpret His Words and set the record for all to know God the way He intended Himself to be known. I know you mean well but as Jesus said to Saul on the road to Damascus, "Stop persecuting me".

It was not Saul who told Jesus, 'Stop persecuting me'. It was Jesus who told Saul this. One day, Jesus will tell all who "interpret" His words out of effect to themselves, something similar, if they deny themselves, take up His Father's mission for them, and follow Him.

 

[chevyontheriver]

It was not Saul who told Jesus, 'Stop persecuting me'. It was Jesus who told Saul this.

Exactly.

One day, Jesus will tell all who "interpret" His words out of effect to themselves, something similar, if they deny themselves, take up His Father's mission for them, and follow Him.

We Catholics in this thread at least, and other careful and faithful Christians, know the context of Jesus speaking on oaths is that you keep your oaths, not fudging them, not making pretend oaths you intend to back out of. THAT is what is odious. Not the making of oaths but the making of oaths you don't intend to keep. But that might be too much for you to comprehend. I too am glad for the nearly two thousand years of faithful reflection on the words of Jesus by the Catholic Church so I don't have to guess all by myself and wrongly to boot what Jesus intended.

 

[JEBofChristTheLord]

Interesting, that the "context", referring to words of people not God, is said to be more important than that which Christ the Lord has said. It is the exact reverse. Christ the Lord is righteous and true. No one else quoted or described in the New Testament, fits this description, except the Comforter of God Himself. According to Him, all sworn vows, without exception, are of evil.

Or to put it a different way. Those devoted to the vows they have sworn and may swear, deliver tens and hundreds and thousands of words in order to glorify themselves, in order that they declare that which He has said, to have no application to them. But that which He has said, has much application.

This is precisely the same as many other acts of evil, to which human beings of churches are and may be devoted.

 

[prodromos]

Or to put it a different way. Those devoted to the vows they have sworn and may swear, deliver tens and hundreds and thousands of words in order to glorify themselves, in order that they declare that which He has said, to have no application to them. But that which He has said, has much application.

How bizarre that you equate people humbling themselves by devoting their lives to serving Christ, as "glorifying themselves"

 

[JEBofChristTheLord]

JEBofChristTheLord said:
Or to put it a different way. Those devoted to the vows they have sworn and may swear, deliver tens and hundreds and thousands of words in order to glorify themselves, in order that they declare that which He has said, to have no application to them. But that which He has said, has much application.

How bizarre that you equate people humbling themselves by devoting their lives to serving Christ, as "glorifying themselves"

Given that which Christ the Lord has said, the swearing of a vow, is the very opposite of devotion to service to Christ, no matter what the content of the vow. When one swears a vow, one does an act Christ the Lord has said is of evil. Therefore, the devotion is not to Him, it is to appearances, behaviors of flesh, satisfaction of that act of evil, not obedience to Christ.