Thursday 19th September 2013

Yesterday, the new Australian parliament was sworn into office, including Tony Abbott as the 28th Prime Minister of Australia. One of the surprising things about the occasion was the way the Bible took centre stage.

Members being sworn into parliament took a pledge to serve in their position before the Governor-General Quentin Bryce. The Australian Constitution stipulates that they may do so either by swearing an oath, or by making an affirmation of allegiance. The main difference in the wording is that the oath adds “So help me God!” at the end, and includes the Bible as part of the solemnity of that oath.

Mr Abbott chose to swear using the oath. Kevin Rudd had done the same on his previous two occasions of being sworn in as Prime Minister. Julia Gillard chose to make an affirmation, in line with her beliefs.

Some of the Bibles that other MPs used in the ceremonies were remarkable for other reasons.

Scott Ryan MP, being sworn in as Parliamentary Secretary, drew various comments when he chose to use a massive Bible for his swearing in. His office told Eternity that it was his great great grandmother’s Bible, originally from the 1880s, and that he had used it at the request of his grandmother.

Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce brought two Bibles: one was the first Bible he used when sworn into the Senate. The second was his grandmother’s missal.

Josh Frydenberg MP (Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) used a Bible with both historic and personal value. It was a version of the Torah, the Old Testament, that had previously been used by former Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen, and was itself the Bible that Sir Zelman had used to be sworn into that office. Mr Frydenberg’s office said the Bible held “great personal significance” because it represented the friendship and mentorship that Mr Frydenberg had with Sir Cowen, and that he had read that Bible himself “on many occasions”. Sir Cowen is known as the successor to the more infamous Sir John Kerr, but also as a leading constitutional lawyer, and active in Jewish community affairs.

The wording in the constitution is that the oath must be recited using a ‘holy book’, but it is left to the Member’s conscience as to whether that book is the Bible, a particular form of the Bible, or “in respect of a non-Christian faith, a book or work of such a nature”.

“The essential requirement is that every member taking an oath should take it in a manner which affects his or her conscience regardless of whether a holy book is used or not,” the Attorney General’s Department is quoted as saying.

There was some controversy earlier this year when federal MP for Chifley, Ed Husic became the first Muslim MP sworn into federal parliament and chose to do so using the Qu’ran.

However, the difference between the oath and the affirmation is not always as simple as those who claim religious faith and those who do not. Michael Tate, now a Catholic priest, was a Labor senator in 1984 who then chose to forgo swearing on the Bible because of his understanding of Scripture.

He was quoted as saying, “It is quite clear from St Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, chapter 5, verses 33-37 … that Christians should not invoke an oath to bolster their undertakings or truthfulness. A plain yes or no is all that is required of a Christian. I refuse to take the oath precisely because of my understanding of that injunction.”

Related: Eternity article on ‘Whether Christians should swear oaths?’