This is a picture of George Fox refusing to take an oath. Many Quakers refuse to take oaths, even in courtrooms. Quakers believe that taking oaths is not necessary, because one should ALWAYS speak the truth. The Quakers follow the teaching of Jesus "But now I tell you: do not use any vow when you make a promise; do not swear by heaven, because it is God's throne; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Just say "Yes" or "No"-anything else you have to say comes from the Evil One." (Mathew 5:34-37) This is why at first, many Quakers would only reply "Yea" or "Nay" to inquires from judges in court.

Taking Oaths

Taking an oath is similar to making a promise to do something. Often, oaths involve god. an example of this is the oath that witnesses take before giving evidence in court, which is "I swear by the almighty God that the evidence I will give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." People are allowed to refuse to take the oath due to personal beliefs. Quakers don't take the oath because there is a passage in the bible, telling the folowers of Jesus not to swear on a holy name. Some people take this more seriously than others. Some will not even make promises, in the belief that this too is immoral.