Raleigh-based writer Patrik Jonsson writes for a variety of publications, including the Christian Science Monitor. Here is his Wednesday piece on the Guilford controversy regarding the desire of some witnesses in court to swear on the Koran or other non-Biblical religious texts. Jonsson works in an interesting reference to John Locke:
. . .the Carolinas have their own unique role in the history of oaths. British philosopher John Locke, who helped forge the Fundamental Constitutions in the Carolinas in the 1660s, believed that atheists could not hold office or testify. After all, Locke wondered, how could anyone believe what they said if they carried no fear of God?
