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

RileyG

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I can be released from my vows then?
Well....you and I both know the answer to that.

If it's a true sacramental marriage, only the death of a spouse will release one from any marital sacramental vows.

Baptismal vows are irrevocable. If someone gives up their baptismal vows, they essentially damn themselves.
 
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RileyG

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Thanks, that helps. So I think your focus is on the making of vows. It's not about clergy or monastic orders, but rather about how we should avoid making vows at all. Correct?

I think the Quakers are correct to pay close attention to Matthew 5. I share with them a reluctance to swear to anything or to make vows or take oaths. If we live lives of integrity and truth-telling, then there is little need to say "I swear that I am now going to tell the truth".

In my own life, I have two sets of vows that I consider binding on me: my baptismal vows, and my wedding vows. As you understand Matthew 5, would you recommend that people avoid making vows in these contexts -- promising to follow Christ, and promising to be faithful to one's spouse?

(As a note, the Quakers do not baptize, so they do not have baptismal vows. They do marry, and I don't know how they view the promises one typically makes at one's wedding. I'll have to ask one of my Quaker friends.)
This is very well said.

Thank you for your well thought out answer.

[Not to go off topic, I was under the impression some Quaker off-shoots do indeed have the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion per prior reading, but it appears I am wrong. The Religious Society of Friends is relatively small, around ~300,000]
 
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RileyG

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All of them. I notice that every one of those designations is given according to sworn vows.


Yep.

Agreed. I don't add words to it though. Christ the Lord described all swearing of vows as of evil. This is quite a thing.

A "promise" can be a simple affirmation...or it can be swearing a vow. Quite a number of human groups, including most if not all of the eastern churches, have vow-less marriages, which was interesting for me to learn recently.
Uhhh there are plenty of priests, nuns, and monks who remain faithful to their vows for life in both the Western and Eastern Churches.

Yes, indeed, many of them are good and holy men and women.

Your point being...?

[Yes, some leave the monastic life or priesthood. That does happen].
 
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Valletta

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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 think people should repent of their Baptismal vows as well?
 
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JEBofChristTheLord

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True: the divorce rate is quite high.
Marriage based on love and agreement and faithfulness, remains. Marriage based on swearing vows, is declining quite rapidly, as the influence of the Comforter of God is felt more and more throughout the world. Some are converted.
 
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com7fy8

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Well, I recall that Jesus does not directly say it is evil to make a vow. But > do not swear by an altar or by the temple . . . things less than God, and of possibly human culture.

I'll have to recheck the wording.

But even if He means vows based on less than God, Peter essentially vowed to Jesus how he would go with Jesus through prison and death. And we see how that went.

It is not wise to boast/ vow what we are able to do.

I personally believe God can direct me to take a vow, if He pleases; but it would be on the condition that God in me has me succeed in obeying Him >

"for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13).

But in my case I have a policy not to make promises, but to do better than what I might be able to think and promise ahead of time. After all, God is able to have us do better than we can think and get ourselves to do.
 
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Lukaris

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Doesn’t it depend on the vow itself? The vows of the Nazirites involved separation from the world to God ( Numbers 6:1-2, per Numbers 6:1-27). Whereas the vow of Herod to the daughter of Herodias ( Salome) leading to the beheading of John the Baptist was evil ( Mark 6:21-26 per Mark 6:14-29).
 
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com7fy8

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But God has made vows. And we are told to follow God > Ephesians 5:1-2. So, I suppose it can be godly to make and keep a vow.

I think of something else >

"'So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.'"
(Isaiah 55:11)

So, I see from this how every thing of God's word is guaranteed to do all that > God < means. So, every part of God's word is a vow, possibly we could say. Because it is guaranteed and a vow is a guarantee.

And what God can mean is better than things we could think and vow.

But if it can be godly to make a vow . . . what is the best answer?

My opinion is, trust God to personally guide us to do what He wants, all the time. He will do all

***He is committed***

to doing with us.

"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

So, in case God has me take a vow, I should cast on Him that He is responsible to make sure I keep it and that I do all He means by it.
 
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zippy2006

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Marriage based on love and agreement and faithfulness, remains. Marriage based on swearing vows, is declining quite rapidly, as the influence of the Comforter of God is felt more and more throughout the world. Some are converted.
(Evidence that superficial forms of Christianity are indistinguishable from New Age Religion.)
 
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Laodicean60

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I ask because of that which the Lord has said.
Jeb you are being cryptic because I'm lost reading this thread and you can add me in the title. I made a vow to God when I became a Christian.
Christians make vows all the time, have you ever signed a contract, marriage vows?
 
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JEBofChristTheLord

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No one swears vows, in obedience to Christ the Lord.
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
A contract is not a vow. And there is marriage based on faithfulness, not vows.
 
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Michie

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*permission to post on full*

Question:​

How do we reconcile the Church’s acceptance of oaths with Matthew 5:33-35?

Answer:​

“Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one” (Matt. 5:33-37).

An oath is basically calling upon God to be a witness to the truth of a statement. The occasional necessity of an oath for serious matters is accepted by Scripture: “When a man makes a vow to the LORD or binds himself under oath to a pledge, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered” (Num. 30:3), and “When you make a vow to the LORD, your God, you shall not delay in fulfilling it; for the LORD, your God, will surely require it of you and you will be held guilty . . . whatever your tongue utters you must be careful to do, just as you freely vowed to the LORD, your God, with your own mouth” (Deut. 23:22, 24).

The problem was that tradition had permitted all sorts of lesser oaths/vows that were considered morally permissible to break. It became a kind of game by which rather than simply swearing by God that you were telling the truth or would do something, you would instead swear by something else whereby there was an acceptable list of reasons to break the vow/oath. Jesus addresses this in his condemnation of the “blind guides” (Matt. 23:16-22)

Jesus condemned the idea of using levels of oaths to hedge our responsibility to tell the truth or fulfill a promise. Jesus is also warning against speaking and acting in such a manner that the truthfulness of our statements is only believed if sworn by oath.

Such a way of living would clearly be contrary to the commandment against lying. This would be similar to the Essenes, who were reported to have taught that “he who cannot be believed without swearing an oath is already condemned.” And yet the Essenes still required an oath to join them and would take an oath in a Jewish court.

In day-to-day life, we should avoid oaths and vows, because they too casually call upon God to be a witness, and such a cavalier attitude toward God is irreverent. If we fulfill the commandments to be truthful and loving, we shall have no need for oaths, for neither our honesty nor motives would be called into question by anyone who knows us. However, there are occasions where the gravity or solemnity of the situation would appropriately call for an oath.

 
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RileyG

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Doesn’t it depend on the vow itself? The vows of the Nazirites involved separation from the world to God ( Numbers 6:1-2, per Numbers 6:1-27). Whereas the vow of Herod to the daughter of Herodias ( Salome) leading to the beheading of John the Baptist was evil ( Mark 6:21-26 per Mark 6:14-29).
Yes! Let’s not forget about Sampson or John the Baptist!
 
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Michie

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The occasional necessity of an oath for serious matters is accepted by Scripture: “When a man makes a vow to the LORD or binds himself under oath to a pledge, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered” (Numbers 30)

 
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RileyG

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The occasional necessity of an oath for serious matters is accepted by Scripture: “When a man makes a vow to the LORD or binds himself under oath to a pledge, he shall not violate his word, but must fulfill exactly the promise he has uttered” (Numbers 30)
QFTW
 
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