Swearing falsely
is in an especial manner a sin against God, because in an oath an appeal is directly made to God, and if the thing sworn to is false, God is called to witness to a thing as true which the swearer knows to be false. It is also in an especial manner a sin against society, as mutual truth-telling is the very bond of social trust. When the moral and religious tone of a nation stands high, "an oath for confirmation is the end of all strife" (Hebrews 6:16), and on the other hand, when either a disbelief in God's providence or a casuistical theology saps the confidence placed in promises confirmed by oaths, society is perilously near its dissolution (see Bishop Sanderson's 'Obligation of Oaths'). The sanctity of an oath is guarded by a special commandment in the Decalogue.