The traditional courtroom oath used to require the witness to state "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God."  To emphasize God's role in this oath, the witness would place his hand on the Bible. When a witness took that oath, even if he was only a moderately religious person, he could not escape the knowledge that he had put his soul on the line.  If he got creative in his testimony, he wasn't just lying to the court, he was lying to his Maker.  That's serious stuff. For the past many years, though, the oath has been abbreviated in American courtrooms.  Now, witnesses about to testify keep their hands in their laps and state only "I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."  The end. Can't you just hear the nefarious, knowing snicker a less-than-honest witness inaudibly tacks on to...(Read Full Article)